Author: Diane Maeda Sugimura

Publisher:

Published: 1971

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13:

The study was undertaken for the purpose of investigating the relationship between clothing behavior and sex, Japanese and American cultures, feminine or masculine personality types, and sex-role concepts. The aspects of clothing behavior included in the study are interest, tolerance, acceptance, and innovation of uni-sex clothing items, and the femininity-masculinity ratings of uni-sex clothing items. The instrument developed for the study consisted of four parts: 1) background information, Fe (femininity) scale of personality, and a measure of sex-role concept which determined the subjects' degree of restrictiveness on occupations which women should never have, 2) a measure of tolerance, acceptance, and innovation (T-A-I) of uni-sex clothing items, (3) interest in uni-sex clothing items, and 4) an F-M rating scale for each of the 15 uni-sex items. The participants were from the total Japanese student population and a random selection of American students registered for the 1970 summer term at Oregon State University and the University of Oregon. Also included were members of the Japanese-American Study Program at Oregon State. The total sample included 78 subjects, 46 of them male and 32 female. Japanese and Americans numbered 32 and 46, respectively. Statistical analyses of the data included a two-tailed t-tests as a measure of difference between the means of two variables and simple correlations (r) between variables. The study found that the men and women did differ in their clothing behavior--in interest in, and tolerance, acceptance, and innovation of uni-sex clothing items, and in the F-M ratings of the items which they accepted. Women showed greater interest and T-A-I, and rated the items more feminine than did the men. A comparison between. Japanese and Americans found no significant differences in any of the aspects of clothing behavior studied. Femininity- masculinity of personality showed a relationship with the individuals' F-M ratings of the uni-sex items which they accepted, with the more feminine personality rating the accepted items more feminine. Those differing in sex-role concept were found to differ in interest in, and T-A-I of uni-sex clothing items. Greater interest and T-A-I were indicated by those with the less restrictive sex-role concepts. The F-M ratings of items accepted did not differ among those with differing sex-role concepts.