MASCULINITY, POPULARITY, AND SELF-ESTEEM AMONG ISRAELI PREADOLESCENT GIRLS

This study compared girls who evidence more traditionally masculine ch aracteristics to girls who evidence more traditionally feminine charac teristics for popularity and various aspects of self-esteem (general, home and parents, and social). Subjects were 166 Israeli girls aged 9 to 10 years who were categorized into four gender-role orientation gro ups: feminine, masculine, androgynous, and undifferentiated. They comp leted a tomboyism questionnaire designed for the study, which included items representing components of gender-stereotypes such as roles, ph ysical appearance and occupation [K. Deaux and L. L. Lewis (1984) ''St ructure of Gender Stereotypes: Interrelationships Among Components and Gender Label,'' Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 46 , pp. 991-1004]. All subjects completed Version A of the S. Coopersmit h Self-Esteem Questionnaire [(1967) The Antecedents of Self-Esteem, Sa n Francisco, Freeman] and their sociometric status was measured. Resul ts indicated that those girls who reported both traits and behaviors c onsidered to be traditionally masculine comprised a unique group. They were less popular, they had lower social self-esteem, and they were l ess satisfied with their gender.