Masculinity and femininity have often been considered lasting, internal personality characteristics or traits although many psychologists agree that masculinity and femininity are important traits, few have actually attempted to define these characteristics. Much of the pertinent literature becomes tied up in a tautology that suggests that the traits, of masculinity and femininity are composed of the characteristics exhibited by males and females respectively the issue is further confused by the fact that culturally prescribed social roles sometimes identify different characteristics as masculine or feminine in different cultures