SISSINESS, TOMBOYISM, SEX-ROLE, SEX IDENTITY AND ORIENTATION

Masculinity and femininity have been studied by self-ratings in indepe ndent areas of research: one investigating personality traits consider ed masculine (M) or feminine (F); the other, behaviours statistically more common in one than in the other sex (sex-linked behaviours), The two approaches were compared for the first time in the present study o f 66 male and 51 female medical students, Consistent with previous fin dings using the second approach, male but not female subjects' opposit e sex-linked ''sissy'' and ''tomboyish'' behaviours correlated signifi cantly with their reported ratio of homosexual to heterosexual feeling s (Ho/Het), Ho/Het did not correlate with either sex's M and F scores, but high M scores in women correlated strongly with several ''tomboyi sh'' behaviours, As ''tomboyish'' behaviours are shown more strongly b y women exposed prenatally to increased levels of opposite sex hormone s compared to controls, the findings have implications for the biologi cal theory attributing Ho/Het to such prenatal hormonal exposure.