In contemporary Western society, it is no longer popular to polarize male and female sex-role concepts (the male dominant and fearless and the female passive and tender). Instead, the concept of androgyny (from the Greek 'andro' male and 'gyne' female), which refers to the blending of traditional male and female sex-role concepts, has emerged as the ideal for a mature adult, whether male or female. The androgynous person is not only independent and assertive but also sympathetic and tender. Sex-role concepts of 50 male inmates and 50 female inmates were measured against the androgynous ideal. Each of the subjects was administered the Berger Self-Concept Scale, which measures selfesteem and esteem of other people, and the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, which asks each subject to rate himself/herself according to a list of adjectives traditionally associated with male and female stereotypes. Results showed selfesteem among the subjects to be considerably higher than among inmates in general and on a par with persons in the free world. Also, a higher percentage of individuals with androgynous sex-role concepts was found among the inmates than among the Stanford University population. There was a strong relationship between being male, having androgynous sex-role concepts, and having high selfesteem. The women were considerably more likely to hold to a traditional feminine stereotype than men were to hold to a traditional masculine stereotype. Correctional programs should be reviewed to ensure that all program elements for women encourage and reinforce an androgynous self-concept. Tabular data and 18 references are provided. For related documents, see NCJ-70361-73 and 70375-77.