Abstract:
In an attempt to clarify the relation between parental variables, sexual preference,
and sex-role attitudes, three groups of women were studied: lesbian feminists,
heterosexual feminists, and heterosexual traditional women. The women
were asked about their perceptions of their parents when they were in high
school. The groups differed more from each other with respect to their perceptions
of their fathers than their mothers. The perceived attitudes.of the father
were much more important in differentiating lesbian feminists from heterosexuals
than in differentiating heterosexual feminists from heterosexual traditionals.
Both the heterosexual groups (feminist and traditionals) reported having
a more affectionate and involved father who also encouraged them more in the
expression of anger than the lesbian feminists reported. The results suggest women's
father relationships must not be obscured in research and support Johnson's
hypothesis that the father relationship is more central than the mother relationship
in sex typing and especially in the specifically sexual aspects of sex
typing.
