Masculine Gender Identity Scale for Females

Masculine Gender Identity Scale for Females

RAY BLANCHARD,1 Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

The Masculine Gender Identity Scale for Females (MGIS; Blanchard & Freund, 1983) was developed to measure “masculinity” occurring in homosexual females. Masculine gender identity in females was conceived as a continuous variable, inferable from the extent of an individual’s departure from the usual female pattern of behavior toward the pattern typical of female-to-male transsexuals.

The MGIS was developed as a companion instrument to the Feminine Gender Identity Scale for Males (FGIS; Freund, Langevin, Satterberg, & Steiner, 1977; Freund, Nagler, Langevin, Zajac, & Steiner, 1974). The FGIS is presented elsewhere in this volume in the article by Freund and Blanchard; differences between the gender identity scales and conventional masculinity-femininity scales are also discussed there.

Description

The MGIS is a self-administered, multiple-choice questionnaire measure. It includes two subscales. The 20 items of Part A mainly concern the examinee’s childhood preference for female versus male playmates, games, and toys; the predilection for stereotypically masculine house- hold chores; childhood fantasies of adult pursuits commonly associated with the male or female sex; and the frequency of frank cross-gender wishes at various ages. Part A may be administered to any female over the age of 17. Part B con- sists mostly of items concerning cross-dressing and erotic preferences presupposing homosexuality. This subscale, which includes nine items, is only appropriate for homo- sexual females.

Scale development for both parts was conducted using all-female samples. The initial item pool for Part A was administered to 236 heterosexuals, 44 homosexuals who did not desire sex-change surgery (simple homosexuals), and 50 homosexuals who did (female-to-male transsexuals). From an initial pool of 25 items, those 20 were retained whose part-remainder correlations were greater than or equal to .30. The item pool for Part B was administered only to the 94 homosexual subjects. Because none of the nine items in the pool had a part-remainder correlation less than .30, all were retained.

Address correspondence to Ray Blanchard, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 250 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5T 1R8, Canada; e-mail: [email protected]

Response Mode and Timing

Examinees may check or circle the response option of their choice. They are instructed to endorse one and only one response option per item. Part A of the scale should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete, and Part B should take no longer than 5.

Scoring

The scoring weight for each response option is shown in parentheses in the accompanying exhibit. The total score for each subscale is simply the sum of scores of its individual items; the full scale score is the sum of the two sub- scale scores. Higher scores indicate more masculine gender identity.

Reliability

Blanchard and Freund (1983) found an alpha reliability coefficient for Part A of .89. The alpha reliability of Part B was .92.

Validity

Blanchard and Freund (1983) found that factor analysis of Part A revealed three weak factors (each accounting for less than 6% of the total variance), and one strong factor, accounting for 31% of the total variance and 70% of the common variance. Factor loadings of the 20 items of Part A may be found in their Table 2 (p. 208). Factor analysis of Part B revealed only one factor, accounting to 57% of the total variance.

The construct validity of Part A was supported by its reliable discrimination among three groups of females expected to show different degrees of masculine gender identity: heterosexuals, homosexuals, and female-to-male transsexuals (in ascending order). The homosexuals obtained higher scores than the heterosexuals, and the transsexuals obtained higher scores than the homosexuals. Part B, which is administered only to homosexual females (simple or transsexual), discriminated reliably between the homosexuals and the female-to-male transsexuals.

Age was not significantly correlated with Part A scores for heterosexuals, homosexuals, or transsexuals. Correlations between education and Part A scores ranged from .12 to .15, indicating that education accounts for only about 2% of the variance in Part A scores. Part B did not correlate with age or education for the homosexual or the transsexual group.

Masculine Gender Identity Scale for Females

Instructions: The following questions ask what sex role you have preferred at different times of your life, what were your childhood fantasies and activities, and how you felt about being born a female. Try to answer questions pertaining to childhood in terms of the way you felt then and not the way you see things now.

Please circle one and only one answer to each question. If you are not sure of the meaning of a question, you may ask the person giving the questionnaire to explain it to you. There is no time limit for answering these questions.

Part A: Items Administered to All Females

1. Between the ages of 6 and 12, did you prefer:

   1. to play with boys (2)

   2. to play with girls (0)

   3. didn’t make any difference (1)

   4. not to play with other children (1)

   5. don’t remember (1)

2. Between the ages of 6 and 12, did you:

   1. prefer boys’ games and toys (soldiers, football, etc.) (2)

   2. prefer girls’ games and toys (dolls, cooking, sewing, etc.) (0)

   3. like or dislike both about equally (1)

   4. had no opportunity to play games or with toys (1)

3. In childhood, were you very interested in the work of a garage mechanic? Was this:

   1. prior to age 6 (1)

   2. between ages 6 and 12 (1)

   3. probably in both periods (1)

   4. do not remember that I was very interested in the work of a garage mechanic (0)

4. Between ages 6 and 14, which did you like more: romantic stories or adventure stories?

   1. liked romantic stories more (0)

   2. liked adventure stories more (2)

   3. it did not make any difference (1)

5. Between the ages of 6 and 12, did you like to do jobs or chores which are usually done by men?

   1. yes (2)

   2. no (0)

   3. don’t remember (1)

6. Between the ages of 13 and 16, did you like to do jobs or chores which are usually done by men?

   1. yes (2)

   2. no (0)

   3. don’t remember (1)

7. Between the ages of 6 and 12, when you read a story did you imagine that you were:

   1. the male in the story (cowboy; detective, soldier, explorer, etc.) (2)

   2. the female in the story (the girl being saved, etc.) (0)

   3. the male sometimes and the female other times (1)

   4. neither the male nor the female (1)

   5. did not read stories (1)

8. In childhood or at puberty, did you like mechanics magazines? Was this:

   1. between ages 6 and 12 (1)

   2. between ages 12 and 14 (1)

   3. probably in both periods (1)

   4. do not remember that I liked mechanics magazines (0)

9. Between the ages of 6 and 12, did you sometimes imagine yourself as being the courageous leader of others?

   1. yes (2)

   2. no (0)

   3. unsure (1)

10. Between the ages of 6 and 12, did you wish you had been born a boy instead of a girl?

    1. often (2)

    2. occasionally (1)

    3. never (0)

11. Between the ages of 13 and 16, did you wish you had been born a boy instead of a girl?

    1. often (2)

    2. occasionally (1)

    3. never (0)

12. Since the age of 17, have you wished you had been born a boy instead of a girl?

    1. often (2)

    2. occasionally (1)

    3. never (0)

13. Do you think your appearance is:

    1. very feminine (0)

    2. feminine (0)

    3. a little masculine (1)

    4. quite masculine (2)

14. In childhood did you sometimes imagine, in your fantasies, yourself physically defending someone against a monster, a dangerous animal, or “evil” people?

    1. prior to age 6 (1)

    2. between ages 6 and 12 (1)

    3. probably in both periods (1)

    4. do not remember such fantasies (0)

15. In childhood fantasies, did you sometimes wish you could go hunting big game? Was this:

    1. prior to age 6 (1)

    2. between ages 6 and 12 (1)

    3. probably in both periods (1)

    4. do not remember such fantasies (0)

16. In childhood, did you wish you would become very strong physically? Was this:

    1. prior to age 6 (1)

    2. between ages 6 and 12 (1)

    3. probably in both periods (1)

    4. do not remember the desire to become very strong physically (0)

17. In childhood, was there ever a period in which you wished you would, when adult, become a dressmaker or dress designer? Was this:

    1. prior to age 6 (0)

    2. between ages 6 and 12 (0)

    3. probably in both periods (0)

    4. do not remember having this desire (1)

18. In childhood fantasies, did you sometimes imagine yourself driving a racing car? Was this:

    1. prior to age 6 (1)

    2. between ages 6 and 12 (1)

    3. probably in both periods (1)

    4. do not remember having this fantasy (0)

19. In childhood, did you ever wish to become a dancer? Was this:

    1. prior to age 6 (0)

    2. between ages 6 and 12 (0)

    3. probably in both periods (0)

    4. do not remember having this desire (1)

20. In childhood, did you ever wish to become a pilot, or did you fantasize yourself being a pilot? Was this:

    1. prior to age 6 (1)

    2. between ages 6 and 12 (1)

    3. probably in both periods (1)

    4. do not remember having such a desire (0)

       Part B: Items Administered Only to Homosexual Females (Transsexual or Nontranssexual)

21. Between the ages of 6 and 12, did you put on men’s underwear or clothing?

    1. once a month or more, for about a year or more (2)

    2. (less often, but) several times a year for about 3 years or more (1)

    3. very seldom did this during this period (0)

    4. never did this during this period (0)

    5. don’t remember (0)

22. Between the ages of 13 and 16, did you put on men’s underwear or clothing?

    1. once a month or more, for a least a year (2)

    2. (less often, but) several times a year for at least 2 years (1)

    3. very seldom did this during this period (0)

    4. never did this during this period (0)

23. Since the age of 17, have you put on men’s underwear or clothing?

    1. once a month or more, for at least a year (2)

    2. (less often, but) several times a year for at least 2 years (1)

    3. very seldom did this during this period (0)

    4. never did this during this period (0)

24. If you have ever wished to have a male body rather than a female one, was this:

    1. mainly to please females but also for your own satisfaction (2)

    2. mainly for your own satisfaction but also to please females (2)

    3. entirely for your own satisfaction (2)

    4. entirely to please females (1)

    5. about equally to please females and for your own satisfaction (2)

    6. have never wanted to have a male body (0)

25. Have you ever felt like a man?

    1. only if you were wearing a least one piece of male underwear or clothing (1)

    2. while wearing at least one piece of male underwear or clothing and only occasionally at other times also (1)

    3. at all times and for at least one year (2)

    4. never felt like a man (2)

26. When completely dressed in female clothing (underwear, etc.), would you:

    1. have a feeling of anxiety because of this (2)

    2. have no feeling of anxiety but have another kind of unpleasant feeling because of this (2)

    3. have no unpleasant feelings to do with above (0)

27. What kind of sexual contact with a female would you have preferred on the whole, even though you may not have done it?

    1. touching your partner’s privates with your hands (1)

    2. touching your partner’s privates with your mouth (1)

    3. you would have preferred one of those two modes but you cannot decide which one (1)

    4. your partner touching your privates with her hands (0)

    5. your partner touching your privates with her mouth (0)

    6. you would have preferred one of those two latter modes but you cannot decide which one (0)

    7. you would have liked all four modes equally well (0)‌

    8. you would have preferred some other mode of sexual contact (1)

28. What qualities did you like in females to whom you were sexually attracted?

    1. slightly masculine behavior (0)

    2. slightly feminine behavior (1)

    3. very feminine behavior (2)

29. Would you have preferred a partner:

    1. who was willing to have you lead her (2)

    2. who was willing to lead you (0)

    3. you didn’t care (1)

References