The lyrics of 151 songs representing Country, Soul, and Easy Listening genres are content analyzed for conformity or nonconformity to specific stereotypical sex role traits. Males conform to stereotypical male traits in all three genres more often than women conform to stereotypical female traits. The variability in female traits may be due to varying interpretations of the female role by male lyricists or to actual variation in role expectations among American subcultures.
This article is a revised version of a paper presented at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, San Francisco, August 1975.