The Male Sex Role: Definitions, Problems, and Sources of Change

Abstract

This article examines some persistent paradoxes in the definition of the male role, and proposes a distinction between traditional and modern male roles. Four current perspectives on the problems of the male role are distinguished: individual‐level sex‐role identity, cultural‐level sex‐role identity, contradictory socialization role strain, and inherent role strain. Finally, sources and forms of change in the male role are analyzed in terms of a distinction between the male role in relationship to women and the male role in other areas of life experience.