Girls aren't what they use to be, says a recent survey.

In fact girls are getting to be less like girls and more like boys if you believe the 723 women undergraduate students in colleges and universities who took part in the survey conducted for the Shanghai Second Polytechnic University's female studies department.

The survey compared the personalities of women students 10 years beforehand with today's young women and found that the new breed tends to be more like boys - more independent, more self-reliant and more opinionated.

In fact the survey, which questioned women from all sorts of backgrounds, found that 31 percent of those asked felt they wanted to have the characteristics of both genders. That is 16 per cent higher than the response of women questioned in a 1998 survey.

Male personalities, for the sake of the survey, featured characteristics such as independence, idealism, self-reliance, strength, aggression, being analytical, enjoying leading roles and being willing to take risks.

Women are more likely to be emotional, sensitive, tender, sympathetic and child-loving.

"We can see a huge difference in how girls think of themselves. Girls born after 1980 have more of the male characteristics which are indispensable in the highly competitive 21st century," said Shen Wenjia, a postgraduate researcher with East China Normal University's psychology department and the survey's program leader.

Childhood environments were key elements affecting the way women students defined their gender characteristics. Respondents from large cities enjoyed more equality with men than women who were raised in country areas.

Researchers noted that traditional attitudes to gender - which can still thrive in rural areas - often led girls to assume an obedient and inferior attitude.

But the pressure and social mix of large cities encourage women to approach challenges and frustrations the same way that men have.

"Maybe it would be better to refer to these male characteristics as characteristics of the modern society," Shen said.

Falling in love also gives a woman more strength. The survey found that the more often a woman had been in love, the more likely she was to be independent.

"After a disappointment in love we learn to be stronger and even tougher. It's a sign of maturity," said Shen Yaxin, a student at Fudan University.

(Shanghai Daily October 31, 2007)