A YouGov poll earlier this year asked Americans about where they see themselves on the spectrum between femininity and masculinity, how they think others perceive them, and how society at large views these traits. The survey finds that men 65 and older are more likely than men of younger generations to see themselves as masculine.
When asked to place themselves on a scale of masculinity and femininity, where 0 is completely masculine and 6 is completely feminine, 38% of men put themselves at 0. A similar percentage of women (40%) put themselves at a 6, meaning they see themselves as completely feminine.
Among men, 35% put themselves at a 1 or 2 on the scale, on the masculine end of the spectrum but not completely masculine. Only 6% of men see themselves as completely feminine.
Women are far less likely to see themselves as more masculine than feminine than men are to see themselves as more feminine than masculine. Among women, 43% place themselves at a 4 or 5 on the scale, meaning they’re more feminine than masculine but not completely feminine. Fewer (9%) say they’re a 3, and just 2% of women say they fall between 0 and 2 on the scale.
Among all U.S. adult citizens, 6% say they see themselves as neither masculine nor feminine.
Men over 65 are the most likely to see themselves as completely masculine, at 50% — consistent with results when the same question was asked in 2016. One-third (34%) of younger men share this view of themselves. The gap by age is similar among women:, 53% who are 65 and older see themselves as completely feminine; 36% of younger women share this view of themselves.
The survey also asked people to evaluate how they think other people view them in terms of masculinity and femininity. Generally, people think others view them the same way they view themselves: 83% of people who put themselves at a 0 think others do, and that's 85% for a 6, or completely feminine. As a result, the aggregate figures also are similar between how people view themselves and how they think others view them: 35% of men put themselves at a 0 and 40% of women put themselves at a 6. Among adult men, 36% think others see them as a 1 or 2, 10% think they’re viewed as a 3, 8% think they’re seen as a 4 or 5, and 4% think other people view them as a 6, or completely feminine.
Four in 10 adult women (42%) think they’re seen as a 4 or 5, 9% think they’re seen as a 3, 3% think they’re seen as a 1 or 2, and just 1% think they’re viewed as completely masculine.
For most men (59%), it is very (28%) or somewhat (30%) important to them to be viewed as manly or masculine. Men between 30 and 44 (67%) are more likely to say this is important to them than are younger and older men.
About one-third (35%) of women under 30 also say it’s important to them to be seen as manly or masculine.
Among American women, 59% say it’s important to them personally to be seen as feminine, including 31% who say it is very important. One-quarter of men say it’s important for them to be seen by others as feminine. Adult men under 30 (43%) and between 30 and 44 (48%) are especially likely to say it’s important to them personally to be viewed this way.
Two in five U.S. adult citizens (39%) think that most people look up to men who are manly or masculine. Fewer (16%) say that society looks down on men who are masculine, and 26% say neither. Among men, 21% think society looks down on men who are manly or masculine; about half as many women (11%) share this view.
Just over one-third (36%) of Americans think that most people look up to women who are womanly or feminine, while 18% say most people look down on women who have these traits. Men are slightly more likely than women to say that most people look up to women who are womanly or feminine (40% vs. 33%).
Some people are worried about getting a negative reaction for acting too masculine or feminine. Among men, 17% worry that they will be judged for acting too masculine. Men under 45 are about three times as likely as older men to say they worry about this (26% vs. 9%). A small percentage of women (13%) are worried about being judged for acting too masculine.
One in five men (22%) are worried about being judged for acting too feminine; 12% of women share this worry. Men and women under 45 are especially likely to think they’ll be judged for acting too feminine: 36% of men and 21% of women under 45 worry about this. Just 11% of men and 5% of women 45 and older are concerned about being judged for acting too feminine.
— Taylor Orth and Carl Bialik contributed to this article
Related:
- Gendered language: Is it acceptable to refer to women as 'girls' or 'guys'?
- One in three men say males are disadvantaged by gender diversity efforts in the workplace
- The decline of the Manly Man
See the results for this YouGov poll
Methodology: The poll was conducted among 2,000 U.S. adult citizens on two separate surveys from February 23 - 27, 2023 and February 24 - 28, 2023, with each survey taken by 1,000 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel using sample matching. A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected from the 2019 American Community Survey. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given prior to March 15, 2022, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (33% Democratic, 28% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 3%.
Image: Getty (gorodenkoff)
