Toxicity and Positivity Across Genders: Feminine, Masculine, and Androgynous Consumer Characteristics

Abstract

A research model is designed to assess toxic and positive consumer behavior based on masculinity, femininity, and androgyny. New definitions of androgyny are developed, resulting in two types of consumer androgyny – hypo-androgyny and hyper-androgyny. Also, the hypotheses of the research model are assessed using a snowball sample beginning with young consumers enrolled in upper-division marketing classes at a large U.S. university. Results show important insights on the toxicity of certain consumer characteristics not only in individuals who measure high in masculinity, but also those others included in this study who are more feminine or androgynous. Results also offer findings indicating positive consumer characteristics for all consumer classifications of this research.