Recently formulated conceptions of psychological androgyny appear to involve a variety of metaphorical models whereby masculinity and femininity are said to be balanced, tempered one by the other, integrated, or transcended. Through an application of Stephen Pepper's (1942) root metaphor theory to these models, it is argued that validational research will prove more profitable than theoretical debate over which vision of androgyny is “best.” The importance of including measures of self-esteem in sex role research is also emphasized.
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