Gender-role transcendence & Androgyny Essay

Gender role transcendence is the principle that involves the conceptualization of a person based on his individual competency and traits and not on the basis of his or her androgynous traits, feminine traits, and masculine traits (Santrock, 2007, p. 187). It is generally viewed as an alternative to androgyny, which is the characterized by the manifestation of both masculine and feminine traits and behaviors in a single individual (Santrock, 2007, p. 184). The idea of androgyny initially sought to clarify the various issues regarding gender and the differences in gender roles. However, there several reports and critics claimed that the principles behind androgyny posed more problems than solutions to the issues regarding gender. Generally, the main difference between gender-role transcendence and androgyny is the basis on which their ideas are founded on. Gender-role transcendence mainly uses an approach that is person-based. Meaning to say, when discerning or assessing a person’s proficiency and skill, it should not be based on his or her male and female traits but rather on that person as a whole. In other words, it involves thinking of individuals as people and not as feminine, masculine, and androgynous. Androgyny, on the other hand, focuses more on a person’s traits since it is the presence of both feminine and masculine traits in a single person. General examples of feminine characteristics include being affectionate, gentle, and refusing to use foul and profane language, among others (Santrock, 2007, p. 184). On the other hand, general examples of male characteristics include being dominant, aggressive, and willing to take risks, among others (Santrock, 2007, p. 184). Since androgyny deals with both feminine and masculine characteristics, when a male, for example, is dominant and aggressive yet is also gentle and affectionate, he is considered to be androgynous. References Santrock, J. W. (2007). Adolescence 12th edition. McGraw-Hill/Social Sciences/Languages.