This article investigates three aspects of male gender role developmen
t, using linked mother-son files from the young men and mature women c
ohorts of the National Longitudinal Surveys from the mid-1960s to 1981
. The three aspects are: (a) race differences between African American
and White men's attitudes about women's gender roles, (b) changes in
gender role attitudes across time, and (c) maternal and life course in
fluences on gender role attitudes. Our findings indicate that African
American and White men differ in their attitudes about women's gender
roles, that men's beliefs change across time, and that individual stat
us and life course processes influence these attitudes of men. However
, we do not find maternal influence on adult sons' attitudes.