Abstract
Little is known about gender-related stereoty** among transgender and gender expansive adults. Using the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (AIS; Glick & Fiske, 1996), we examined explicit gender attitudes in 3298 cisgender, transgender, and gender expansive respondents designated female at birth (FAB; n = 1976 cisgender, n = 108 transgender, n = 188 gender expansive) and male at birth (MAB; n = 922 cisgender, n = 52 transgender, n = 52 gender expansive). In order to learn more about implicit gender-related stereoty**, a subset of 822 participants (FAB; n = 445 cisgender, n = 32 transgender, n = 51 gender expansive. MAB; n = 254 cisgender, n = 21 transgender, n = 19 gender expansive) completed the gender-leadership Implicit Association Test (IAT; Dasgupta & Asgari, 2004). Cisgender men scored significantly higher than all other groups on hostile sexism, but patterns of endorsement for benevolent sexism and implicit attitudes were more nuanced, with cisgender women and gender expansive FAB often scoring significantly below other groups. We observed that transgender men and transgender women, along with cisgender men and gender expansive MAB, moderately endorsed essentialist views regarding differences between men and women (i.e., complementary gender differentiation). These data reveal novel patterns of gender-related stereoty**, with some corresponding to sex designated at birth and others corresponding to current gender identification. Together, these findings suggest that one’s experienced gender, designated sex at birth, and the intersection between them may relate to gender stereoty**, underscoring the importance of including transgender and gender expansive individuals in this research.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Additional analyses were conducted controlling for sexual orientation and socially desirable responding (BIDR), and results remained consistent with the original analyses reported here. A non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis test was also conducted, and results remained consistent with the original analyses with the exception of one pairwise comparison: on the complementary gender differentiation subfactor, cisgender women and gender expansive MAB no longer significantly differed from each other, p = .09.
References
Abrams, D., Viki, G. T., Masser, B., & Bohner, G. (2003). Perceptions of stranger and acquaintance rape: The role of benevolent and hostile sexism in victim blame and rape proclivity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(1), 111–125. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.1.111
Ahrold, T. K., & Meston, C. M. (2010). Ethnic differences in sexual attitudes of U.S. college students: Gender, acculturation, and religiosity factors. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 190–202. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-008-9406-1
Austin, A., & Goodman, R. (2017). The impact of social connectedness and internalized transphobic stigma on self-esteem among transgender and gender non-conforming adults. Journal of Homosexuality, 64(6), 825–841. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2016.1236587
Becker, J. C. (2010). Why do women endorse hostile and benevolent sexism? The role of salient female subtypes and internalization of sexist contents. Sex Roles, 62(7–8), 453–467. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9707-4
Becker, J. C., & Wright, S. C. (2011). Yet another dark side of chivalry: Benevolent sexism undermines and hostile sexism motivates collective action for social change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(1), 62–77. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022615
Bonnot, V., & Croizet, J. C. (2007). Stereotype internalization and women’s math performance: The role of interference in working memory. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43(6), 857–866. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2006.10.006
Braun, S., Stegmann, S., Hernandez Bark, A. S., Junker, N. M., & van Dick, R. (2017). Think manager—think male, think follower—think female: Gender bias in implicit followership theories. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 47(7), 377–388. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12445
Brems, C., Adams, R. L., & Skillman, G. D. (1993). Person drawings by transsexual clients, psychiatric clients, and nonclients compared: Indicators of sex-ty** and pathology. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 22(3), 253–264. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541770
Carpenter, T. P., Pogacar, R., Pullig, C., Kouril, M., Aguilar, S., LaBouff, J., Isenberg, N., & Chakroff, A. L. (2019). Survey-software implicit association tests: A methodological and empirical analysis. Behavior Research Methods, 51, 2194–2208. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-019-01293-3
Casey, L. S., Reisner, S. L., Findling, M. G., Blendon, R. J., Benson, J. M., Sayde, J. M., & Miller, C. (2019). Discrimination in the United States: Experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Americans. Health Services Research, 54, 1454–1466. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13229
Chapleau, K. M., Oswald, D. L., & Russell, B. L. (2007). How ambivalent sexism toward women and men support rape myth acceptance. Sex Roles, 57(1–2), 131–136. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-007-9196-2
Chen, Z., Fiske, S. T., & Lee, T. L. (2009). Ambivalent sexism and power-related gender-role ideology in marriage. Sex Roles, 60(11–12), 765–778. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9585-9
Christopher, A. N., & Mull, M. S. (2006). Conservative ideology and ambivalent sexism. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 30(2), 223–230. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2006.00284.x
Connor, R. A., & Fiske, S. T. (2019). Not minding the gap: How hostile sexism encourages choice explanations for the gender income gap. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 43(1), 22–36. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684318815468
Cowie, L. J., Greaves, L. M., & Sibley, C. G. (2019). Sexuality and sexism: Differences in ambivalent sexism across gender and sexual identity. Personality and Individual Differences, 148, 85–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2019.05.023
Crandall, C. S., Eshleman, A., & O’brien, L. (2002). Social norms and the expression and suppression of prejudice: The struggle for internalization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(3), 359–378. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.82.3.359
Cronin, T. J., Pep**, C. A., & Lyons, A. (2019). Internalized transphobia and well-being: The moderating role of attachment. Personality and Individual Differences, 143, 80–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2019.02.018
Dardenne, B., Dumont, M., & Bollier, T. (2007). Insidious dangers of benevolent sexism: Consequences for women’s performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93(5), 764–779. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.93.5.764
Dardenne, B., Dumont, M., Sarlet, M., Phillips, C., Balteau, E., Degueldre, C., Luxen, A., Salmon, E., Maquet, P., & Collette, F. (2013). Benevolent sexism alters executive brain responses. NeuroReport: for Rapid Communication of Neuroscience Research, 24(10), 572–577. https://doi.org/10.1097/WNR.0b013e3283625b5b
Dasgupta, N., & Asgari, S. (2004). Seeing is believing: Exposure to counterstereotypic women leaders and its effect on the malleability of automatic gender stereoty**. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 40(5), 642–658. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2004.02.003
Davies, M., Gilston, J., & Rogers, P. (2012). Examining the relationship between male rape myth acceptance, female rape myth acceptance, victim blame, homophobia, gender roles, and ambivalent sexism. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 27(14), 2807–2823. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260512438281
del Prado Silván-Ferrero, M., & López, A. B. (2007). Benevolent sexism toward men and women: Justification of the traditional system and conventional gender roles in Spain. Sex Roles, 57(7–8), 607–614. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-007-9271-8
DePaulo, B. M., & Morris, W. L. (2005). Singles in society and in science. Psychological Inquiry, 16(2–3), 57–83. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli162&3_01
Eagly, A. H., & Karau, S. J. (2002). Role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders. Psychological Review, 109(3), 573–598. https://doi.org/10.1037//0033-295X.109.3.573
Eagly, A. H., & Steffen, V. J. (1984). Gender stereotypes stem from the distribution of women and men into social roles. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46(4), 735–754. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.46.4.735
Eagly, A. H., & Wood, W. (2011). Social role theory. In P. van Lange, A. Kruglanski, & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Handbook of theories in social psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 458–476). Sage Publications.
Fast, A. A., & Olson, K. R. (2017). Gender development in transgender preschool children. Child Development, 89(2), 620–637. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12758
Fingerhut, H. (2016, August 16). In both parties, men and women differ over whether women still face obstacles to progress. Pew Research Centre. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/08/16/in-both-parties-men-and-women-differ-over-whether-women-still-face-obstacles-to-progress/
Fischer, A. R. (2006). Women’s benevolent sexism as reaction to hostility. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 30(4), 410–416. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2006.00316.x
Fleming, M. Z., Jenkins, S. R., & Bugarin, C. (1980). Questioning current definitions of gender identity: Implications of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory for transsexuals. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 9(1), 13–26. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541398
Gaunt, R., & Pinho, M. (2018). Do sexist mothers change more diapers? Ambivalent sexism, maternal gatekee**, and the division of childcare. Sex Roles, 79(3–4), 176–189.
Girod, S., Fassiotto, M., Grewal, D., Ku, M. C., Sriram, N., Nosek, B. A., & Valantine, H. (2016). Reducing implicit gender leadership bias in academic medicine with an educational intervention. Academic Medicine, 91(8), 1143–1150.
Glick, P., Diebold, J., Bailey-Werner, B., & Zhu, L. (1997). The two faces of Adam: Ambivalent sexism and polarized attitudes toward women. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23(12), 1323–1334. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672972312009
Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1996). The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory: Differentiating hostile and benevolent sexism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(3), 491–512. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.3.491
Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1997). Hostile and benevolent sexism: Measuring ambivalent sexist attitudes toward women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21(1), 119–135.
Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (2001). An ambivalent alliance: Hostile and benevolent sexism as complementary justifications for gender inequality. American Psychologist, 56(2), 109–118. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.2.109
Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (2011). Ambivalent sexism revisited. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 35(3), 530–535. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684311414832
Glick, P., Fiske, S. T., Mladinic, A., Saiz, J. L., Abrams, D., Masser, B., Adetoun, B., Osagie, J. E., Akande, A., Alao, A., Annetje, B., Willemsen, T. M., Chipeta, K., Dardenne, B., Dijksterhuis, A., Wigboldus, D., Eckes, T., Six-Materna, I., Expósito, F., … López, W. L. (2000). Beyond prejudice as simple antipathy: Hostile and benevolent sexism across cultures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(5), 763–775. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.79.5.763
Glick, P., Lameiras, M., Fiske, S. T., Eckes, T., Masser, B., Volpato, C., Manganelli, A. M., Pek, J. C. X., Huang, L.-l, Sakalli-Uğurlu, N., Castro, Y. R., Pereira, M. L. D., Willemsen, T. M., Brunner, A., Six-Materna, I., & Wells, R. (2004). Bad but bold: Ambivalent attitudes toward men predict gender inequality in 16 nations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86(5), 713–728.
Glick, P., Sakali-Uğurlu, N., Ferreira, M. C., & Souza, M. A. D. (2002). Ambivalent sexism and attitudes toward wife abuse in Turkey and Brazil. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 26(4), 292–297. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-6402.t01-1-00068
Glick, P., Wilkerson, M., & Cuffe, M. (2015). Masculine identity, ambivalent sexism, and attitudes toward gender subtypes. Social Psychology, 46, 210–217. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000228
Gómez-Gil, E., Gómez, A., Cañizares, S., Guillamón, A., Rametti, G., Esteva, I., Vázquez, A., & Salamero-Baró, M. (2012). Clinical utility of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) in the Spanish transsexual and nontranssexual population. Journal of Personality Assessment, 94(3), 304–309. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2011.650302
Goodrich, K. M., Farmer, L. B., Watson, J. C., Davis, R. J., Luke, M., Dispenza, F., Akers, W., & Griffith, C. (2017). Standards of care in assessment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender expansive, and queer/questioning (LGBTGEQ+) persons. Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling, 11(4), 203–211. https://doi.org/10.1080/15538605.2017.1380548
Graf, N., Brown, A., & Patten, E. (2019). The narrowing, but persistent, gender gap in pay. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/03/22/gender-pay-gap-facts/
Greenwald, A. G., McGhee, D. E., & Schwartz, J. L. (1998). Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: The Implicit Association Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(6), 1464–1480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.74.6.1464
Greenwald, A. G., Nosek, B. A., & Banaji, M. R. (2003). Understanding and using the Implicit Association Test: I. An improved scoring algorithm. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(2), 197–216. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.197
Gülgöz, S., Glazier, J. J., Enright, E. A., Alonso, D. J., Durwood, L. J., Fast, A. A., Lowe, R., Ji, C., Heer, J., Martin, C. L., & Olson, K. R. (2019). Similarity in transgender and cisgender children’s gender development. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(49), 24480–24485. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1909367116
Herek, G. M. (1988). Heterosexuals’ attitudes toward lesbians and gay men: Correlates and gender differences. Journal of Sex Research, 25(4), 451–477. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224498809551476
Herman-Jeglińska, A., Grabowska, A., & Dulko, S. (2002). Masculinity, femininity, and transsexualism. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 31(6), 527–534. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020611416035
Hideg, I., & Ferris, D. L. (2016). The compassionate sexist? How benevolent sexism promotes and undermines gender equality in the workplace. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 111(5), 706–727. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000072
Hill, D. B., & Willoughby, B. L. (2005). The development and validation of the Genderism and Transphobia Scale. Sex Roles, 53(7–8), 531–544. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-005-7140-x
Hughto, J. M. W., Reisner, S. L., & Pachankis, J. E. (2015). Transgender stigma and health: A critical review of stigma determinants, mechanisms, and interventions. Social Science & Medicine, 147, 222–231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.11.010
Jena, A. B., Olenski, A. R., & Blumenthal, D. M. (2016). Sex differences in physician salary in US public medical schools. JAMA Internal Medicine, 176(9), 1294–1304.
Kcomt, L. (2019). Profound health-care discrimination experienced by transgender people: Rapid systematic review. Social Work in Health Care, 58(2), 201–219. https://doi.org/10.1080/00981389.2018.1532941
Khorashad, B. S., Roshan, G. M., Talaei, A., Arezoomandan, S., & Sadr, M. (2019). Views of individuals with gender dysphoria and disorders of sex development on sexism: An Iranian study. International Journal of Transgenderism, 20(4), 459–470. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-017-1139-6
Kins, E., Hoebeke, P., Heylens, G., Rubens, R., & De Cuypere, G. (2008). The female-to-male transsexual and his female partner versus the traditional couple: A comparison. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 34(5), 429–438. https://doi.org/10.1080/00926230802156236
Lee, T. L., Fiske, S. T., Glick, P., & Chen, Z. (2010). Ambivalent sexism in close relationships: (Hostile) power and (benevolent) romance shape relationship ideals. Sex Roles, 62(7–8), 583–601. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9770-x
Major, B., & O’Brien, L. T. (2005). The social psychology of stigma. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 393–421. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.56.091103.070137
Masser, B., & Abrams, D. (1999). Contemporary sexism: The relationships among hostility, benevolence, and neosexism. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 23(3), 503–517.
Mathy, R. M. (2003). Transgender identity and suicidality in a nonclinical sample: Sexual orientation, psychiatric history, and compulsive behaviors. Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality, 14(4), 47–65. https://doi.org/10.1300/J056v14n04_03
McCauley, E. A., & Ehrhardt, A. A. (1978). Role expectations and definitions: A comparison of female transsexuals and lesbians. Journal of Homosexuality, 3(2), 137–147.
Miller, L. R., & Grollman, E. A. (2015). The social costs of gender nonconformity for transgender adults: Implications for discrimination and health. Sociological Forum, 30(3), 809–831. https://doi.org/10.1111/socf.12193
Moss-Racusin, C. A., Dovidio, J. F., Brescoll, V. L., Graham, M. J., & Handelsman, J. (2012). Science faculty’s subtle gender biases favor male students. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(41), 16474–16479. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1211286109
Najmabadi, A. (2013). Professing selves: Transsexuality and same-sex desire in contemporary Iran. Duke University Press.
Nosek, B. A., Smyth, F. L., Hansen, J. J., Devos, T., Lindner, N. M., Ranganath, K. A., Tucker Smith, C., Olson, K., Chugh, D., Greenwald, A. G., & Banaji, M. R. (2007). Pervasiveness and correlates of implicit attitudes and stereotypes. European Review of Social Psychology, 18(1), 36–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/10463280701489053
Olson, K. R., & Enright, E. A. (2018). Do transgender children (gender) stereotype less than their peers and siblings? Developmental Science, 21(4), e12606. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12606
Olson, K. R., & Gülgöz, S. (2018). Early findings from the Transyouth Project: Gender development in transgender children. Child Development Perspectives, 12(2), 93–97.
Olson, K. R., Key, A. C., & Eaton, N. R. (2015). Gender cognition in transgender children. Psychological Science, 26(4), 467–474. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614568156
Parker, K., Menasce Horowitz, J., & Stepler, R. (2017). On gender differences, no consensus on nature vs. nurture. Pew Research Centre. https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2017/12/05/on-gender-differences-no-consensus-on-nature-vs-nurture/
Pfeffer, C. A. (2010). “Women’s work”? Women partners of transgender men doing housework and emotion work. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72(1), 165–183. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2009.00690.x
Plant, E. A., & Devine, P. G. (1998). Internal and external motivation to respond without prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(3), 811–832. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.75.3.811
Rood, B. A., Reisner, S. L., Puckett, J. A., Surace, F. I., Berman, A. K., & Pantalone, D. W. (2017). Internalized transphobia: Exploring perceptions of social messages in transgender and gender-nonconforming adults. International Journal of Transgenderism, 18(4), 411–426. https://doi.org/10.1080/15532739.2017.1329048
Rudman, L. A., & Kilianski, S. E. (2000). Implicit and explicit attitudes toward female authority. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26(11), 1315–1328.
Sevelius, J. M. (2013). Gender affirmation: A framework for conceptualizing risk behavior among transgender women of color. Sex Roles, 68(11), 675–689.
Sharp, E. A., & Ganong, L. (2011). “I’m a loser, I’m not married, let’s just all look at me”: Ever-single women’s perceptions of their social environment. Journal of Family Issues, 32(7), 956–980. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X10392537
Sibley, C. G., & Becker, J. C. (2012). On the nature of sexist ambivalence: Profiling ambivalent and univalent sexists. European Journal of Social Psychology, 42(5), 589–601.
Skrapec, C., & MacKenzie, K. R. (1981). Psychological self-perception in male transsexuals, homosexuals, and heterosexuals. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 10(4), 357–370.
Swim, J. K., Aikin, K. J., Hall, W. S., & Hunter, B. A. (1995). Sexism and racism: Old-fashioned and modern prejudices. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68(2), 199–214.
Szymanski, D. M., Gupta, A., Carr, E. R., & Stewart, D. (2009). Internalized misogyny as a moderator of the link between sexist events and women’s psychological distress. Sex Roles, 61(1–2), 101–109. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9611-y
Szymanski, D. M., & Stewart, D. N. (2010). Racism and sexism as correlates of African American women’s psychological distress. Sex Roles, 63(3–4), 226–238. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9788-0
Vandello, J. A., Bosson, J. K., Cohen, D., Burnaford, R. M., & Weaver, J. R. (2008). Precarious manhood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(6), 1325–1339.
Waddell, N., Sibley, C. G., & Osborne, D. (2019). Better off alone? Ambivalent sexism moderates the association between relationship status and life satisfaction among heterosexual women and men. Sex Roles, 80(5–6), 347–361. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0935-3
Walch, S. E., Ngamake, S. T., Bovornusvakool, W., & Walker, S. V. (2016). Discrimination, internalized homophobia, and concealment in sexual minority physical and mental health. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 3(1), 37–48.
Yavorsky, J. E., Kamp Dush, C. M., & Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J. (2015). The production of inequality: The gender division of labor across the transition to parenthood. Journal of Marriage and Family, 77(3), 662–679. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12189
Zitek, E. M., & Hebl, M. R. (2007). The role of social norm clarity in the influenced expression of prejudice over time. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43(6), 867–876. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2006.10.010
Funding
This work was supported by the Wilfred and Joyce Posluns Chair in Women’s Brain Health and Aging (WJP-150643) and The Jacqueline Ford Gender and Health Fund to GE and a graduate fellowship from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to DEP.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in this research were approved by the University’s Research Ethics Board. Participants were healthy adults who voluntarily chose to participate in this research and provided informed consent. At any point in the study, participants could decline to answer a question or choose to opt out without incurring any penalties.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Schiralli, J.E., Peragine, D.E., Chasteen, A.L. et al. Explicit and Implicit Gender-Related Stereoty** in Transgender, Gender Expansive, and Cisgender Adults. Arch Sex Behav 51, 2065–2076 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-022-02339-y
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-022-02339-y