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In the thesis I inquire into the nature of the same-sex bonds in Shakespeare’s comedies. I discuss seven pairs of characters and demonstrate how in his comedies, Shakespeare first created homosocial relationships, later homoerotic relationships, then bisexual relationships, and, finally, a couple that may be described as androgynous. I demonstrate that in the early comedies the relationships are primarily homosocial and serve the purpose of self-realization. The self-realization includes reaching of a balance between a “feminine,” and a “masculine” self, with the goal of becoming a mature, androgynous human being. Although there are some homoerotic undercurrents in both the male and female relationships created during this period, I do not believe that these relationships are intended to represent a permanent sexual orientation. I see them as a part of the pattern that occurs in most of the plays, which possibly reflects Shakespeare’s concept of the process of maturing into an adult who is ready to accept the bonds of marriage. All of Shakespeare’s comedies contain homosocial relationships, sometimes with homoerotic undercurrents. The primary purpose of these relationships is the realization of the self. A young person enters into a relationship with another young person, a coeval, who resembles him/herself in numerous ways. They spend a lot of time together, involved in activities that are of interest to both of them. They see themselves in their friend. They identify not only with the persona, but also with the physique of the friend. Therefore, the (homo)erotic undercurrents that are present in some of the relationships are in fact the realization of the characters’ own eroticism and sexuality and are therefore not directed at the other character with the aim of gratification of sexual desire. The relationships with (homo)erotic undercurrents are merely a stage in the development of the self, and do not constitute a permanent sexual orientation. The final stage in the above pattern is marriage. Once the character has realized him/herself, (s)he is ready to marry. The homoerotic undercurrents begin to emerge in 1598, and in 1599 Shakespeare creates Antonio and Sebastian as his first homoerotic couple. In the same play appear the first three bisexual characters: Olivia, Orsino, and Sebastian. Again, since the three characters reach self-realization and marry at the play’s end, the issue of bisexuality can be interpreted either as a lifestyle, or as a stepping stone in one’s development toward adulthood and marriage. Another possibility is that the occurrence of bisexuality and the androgynous twins Viola and Sebastian serve to open up space for an inward marriage. In other words, the twins represent the climax of the pattern of self-realization through friends and lover, and add the notion that the better we know ourselves, the more we are aware of our androgyny. In the pattern that I trace through the four comedies, I demonstrate how Shakespeare uses homosocial, homoerotic, and bisexual relationships as means of learning about the true self, the self which reaches beyond the boundaries of gender, into—androgyny.

The following study examines the experiences of non-binary people living in a society that emphasizes a gender binary, along with how being non-binary affects participants' views of the world and themselves. The study also looked to establish a working definition of "non-binary." I interviewed 17 participants who self-identified as non-binary regarding their lived experiences as non-binary people. Narratives were used to establish codes and themes. Adopting a narrative approach to the data, the study puts forth working definitions of non-binary and related terms, such as gender non-conforming, androgyny, and genderfluid. The study found that most participants saw themselves as breaking the norms by being non-binary and in other ways, including their sexuality and religion. Participants placed an emphasis on visibility, asserting that by being visible as non-binary they help society move away from strict binary constructs. Participants also described many adverse experiences associated with being non-binary, including being misgendered and safety concerns, which can impact non-binary people's mental health. This study forms a basis for further research into non-binary experiences, both in relation to lived day-to-day experiences and in terms of associated mental health outcomes.

This thesis explores Woolf's concept of androgyny through a comparison of her nonfiction essay A Room of One's Own and her fiction-fantasy novel Orlando. Recent and past critical writings on Woolf and androgyny have been consulted, as well as primary sources including her works, private letters, and diaries. Woolf's concept of androgyny embodies a fundamental dilemma. In A Room of One's Own, Woolf calls for spiritual and mental androgyny while avidly supporting physical, social, and cultural differences between men and women. In Orlando, Woolf creates a character who is unable to reach mental androgyny because of social conditioning of gender and sex roles. The dilemma lies in Woolf's embrace of stereotypical ideas that distinguish men and women, while in the end, such differences inhibit the mental and spiritual androgyny she exalts. The findings shed new light on Woolf and the controversy of her "androgynous vision" by exposing the fundamental dilemma.

The stereotype that male nurses are less masculine has existed for generations and spans all age groups. Several studies have investigated masculinity and femininity in nurses using the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, but the results are conflicting and inconclusive. Therefore, a nationwide survey was conducted across the United States that examined the sex-role identity of individuals who chose nursing as a career path. Twenty-eight males and 81 females from 37 states completed the survey. The males and females in the study both had higher mean scores on masculinity and femininity scales when compared with previous studies. The greatest percentage of participants were classified as androgynous, as opposed to masculine, feminine, or undifferentiated, with half of the males and nearly half of the females falling into this category. © The Author(s) 2011.

Gender performativity, detailed by Judith Butler and accepted by most contemporary queer theorists, rests on an agentive model of gender wherein “genders are appropriated, theatricalized, worn, and done” (“Imitation and Gender Insubordination” 716). This academic orthodoxy is challenged, however, by the increasing presence of transgender persons joining the theoretical discourse, many of whom experience an essential gender as a central facet of their identity. I respond to Katie R. Horowitz’s recent modification of Butler’s theories—a theory of omniperformance to dissolve the distinction between performance and performativity, and thereby between artifice and “real life.” I argue that gender-as-art, a schema that acknowledges both the intention and the intuition of gender, is a more fruitful foundation than omniperformance. I use, as my model, Elisabeth Bergner’s performance as Rosalind in Paul Czinner’s 1936 As You Like It and Bryce Dallas Howard’s 2007 Rosalind in Kenneth Branagh’s film adaptation of the same play. In Bergner and Howard’s androgynous gender performances, I argue, a body—a transgender body, an androgynous body, a genderqueer body, a cisgender body—represents an aesthetic ideal, the product of the human drive to create, to beget, to beautify.

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A group of 125 female college students were given Spielberger's State Anxiety Inventory and Bem's Sex Role Inventory. Those females with minimal typing skills and minimal computer experience interacted with a computer ten minutes and then given a second State Anxiety Inventory. Pretest and posttest data were obtained from forty-eight subjects selected on the basis of Bem's Sex Role Inventory to test the hypotheses: females that score high on the Androgynous scale of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) will experience relatively low levels of anxiety while interacting with computer, females that score high on the Feminine and Undifferentiated scales of BSRI will experience relatively high levels of anxiety while interacting with a computer, and females that score high Masculine on the BSRI will experience relatively intermediate levels of anxiety. Androgynous females will produce high performance scores on the computer typing task while Feminine or Undifferentiated subjects will have the lowest performance scores. No significant differences among the four groups were found F(3,44)=2.14, p > .05 for anxiety change. No significant differences were found for performance scores among the four groups F(3,44)=.773, p > .05. Implications for alternative predictors of anxiety are discussed.

This research studies the interaction between sex role identity, sexual preference and intrapersonal competence. The subjects were 46 homosexual and 30 heterosexual white, single women of the Central Florida area. Subjects were classified as Masculine, Feminine, Androgynous or Undifferentiated using the Bem Sex Role Inventory. Intrapersonal Competence was measured using the Personal Adjustment, Self Confidence and Self Control scales of the Adjective Check List. A Two-way Analysis of Variance showed no significant main effects for sex role or sexual orientation. Post hoc analysis of the three Intrapersonal Competence subscales indicated that the Androgynous and Masculine women were higher in self confidence than the Feminine and Undifferentiated women. When the two groups, Masculine-Androgynous and Feminine-Undifferentiated were analyzed by homosexual and heterosexual groups using a 2 X 2 Chi-square procedure, a significant association was found between sex role categorization and sexual orientation. It is believed that future studies would benefit from including the bisexual sexual preference, the effects of coupling, and a measure of the effects of active involvement in the feminist movement. It is the opinion of this writer that society is in flux on these issues and a longitudinal study is also needed for a fuller assessment.

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