Gender Intensification

Nancy L. Galambos

Considering the period of adolescence, Hill and Lynch (1983) argued that, with the onset of puberty, boys and girls experience an intensification of gender-related expectations. This gender intensification hypothesis posits that behavioral, attitudinal, and psychological differences between adolescent boys and girls increase with age and are the result of increased socialization pressures to conform to gender roles that are traditionally masculine (characteristics considered most appropriate for males) and feminine (characteristics considered most appropriate for females). Hill and Lynch (1983) proposed that puberty plays a part in the differentiation of masculine and feminine characteristics by serving as a signal to socializing others (parents, teachers, peers) that the adolescent is beginning the approach to adulthood and should begin to act accordingly, that is, in ways that resemble the stereotypical male or female adult. Galambos, Almeida, and Petersen (1990) suggested that empirical support for gender intensification is provided if a pattern of increasing ...

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