The perception of today's male and the preferred traits of a partner with regard to the constructs of masculinity and femininity

The main goal of the research was to explore how female students in Belgrade perceived today's male and the preferred traits that the partner should possess to be a potential father of their child. The study was conducted on a sample of 550 female respondents. The traits assessed in the research are the ones used by the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) as indicators of femininity and masculinity. The findings confirmed a significant difference between the perception of today's male and the image of a preferred father of the respondent's child. There were also statistically significant correlations between masculinity/femininity of the respondents and their estimations of the masculinity/femininity of the preferred partners and today's males. The research results indicate that the image of the preferred partner depends on the perception of today's male