2005/04/01 by Donald R. McCreary, Deborah M. Saucier, Will Courtenay · 244 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Eating Disorders and Behaviors #Media, Gender, and Advertising #Gender Roles and Identity Studies #Masculinity #Psychology #Social psychology #Developmental psychology
paper · doi:10.1037/1524-9220.6.2.83
published in Psychology of Men & Masculinity 6(2), 83-94 (American Psychological Association)
openalex publication_date 2005/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
Prior qualitative research has suggested that people assume muscular men are more masculine. This assumption was tested quantitatively in 2 studies. In Study 1, men and women completed measures of gender-role traits and behaviors, whereas in Study 2, men completed measures of gender-role conflict and traditional attitudes about men. Study 1 revealed a correlation between self-rated male-typed traits and behaviors, with a need to be more muscular for both men and women. In Study 2, men with more traditional attitudes about men also wanted to be more muscular; men who wanted to be more muscular were experiencing conflict with regard to society’s expectations that they be successful, powerful, and competitive, and they reported that finding a balance between workand leisure is difficult.