Abstract
We explore how gender, attitudes about traditional gender roles, and threats to masculinity and femininity affect U.S. participants’ support for transgender rights. First, we present analyses using data from the 2016 pilot survey of the American National Election Survey (ANES) showing how men and women differ in their attitudes toward transgender people as measured by thermometer ratings toward transgender people and questions about perceptions of whether they are victims of discrimination. Next, we describe our randomized laboratory experiment, testing three hypotheses/predictions: (a) that men are less supportive of transgender people and rights than women are, (2) that threatening a man’s masculinity increases opposition to transgender rights whereas threatening a woman’s femininity has no effect, and (3) that this effect will be stronger among men who report that their gender identity is very important to them. Consistent with existing scholarship, we find that women are more supportive of transgender rights compared to men. More importantly, we also find that threatened masculinity is an even better predictor of opposition to transgender rights than gender identity. In short, we find that attitudes toward transgender people and rights are closely linked with the way people think and feel about their own gender identity and expectations of gender performance.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams, H. E., Wright Jr., L. W., & Lohr, B. (1996). Is homophobia associated with homosexual arousal? Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 105, 440–445. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.105.3.440.
Akerlof, G. A., & Kranton, R. E. (2000). Economics and identity. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 3, 715–753. https://doi.org/10.1162/003355300554881.
Brewer, M. B., & Lui, L. N. (1989). The primacy of age and sex in the structure of person categories. Social Cognition, 7, 262–274. https://doi.org/10.1521/soco.1989.7.3.262.
Bridges, T., & Tober, T. L. (2017). Masculinity & violence, and the violence of masculinity. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/masculinity-violence-and-the-violence-of-masculinity_us_5a0d2d59e4b023a796fed40c.
Burdge, B. J. (2007). Bending gender, ending gender: Theoretical foundations for social work practice with the transgender community. Social Work, 52, 243–250. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/52.3.243.
Burke, P. J. (1991). Identity processes and social stress. American Sociological Review, 56, 836–849 www.jstor.org/stable/2096259.
Burke, P. J., & Stets, J. E. (2009). Identity theory. New York: Oxford University Press.
Burn, S. M., Aboud, R., & Moyles, C. (2000). The relationship between gender social identity and support for feminism. Sex Roles, 42, 1081–1089. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007044802798.
Cavanagh, S. L. (2010). Queering bathrooms: Gender, sexuality, and the hygienic imagination. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Cooper, B., Cox, D., Lienesch, R., & Jones, R. P. (2016). Majority of Americans oppose laws requiring transgender individuals to use bathrooms corresponding to sex at birth. Retrieved from https://www.prri.org/research/poll-lgbt-transgender-bathroom-bill-presidential-election/.
Crary, D. (2017). Killings of transgender people hit a record high in 2017, advocacy groups say. Time Magazine. Retrieved from http://time.com/5029561/transgender-murders-2017/.
Davis, H. F. (2017). Beyond trans: Does gender matter? New York: New York University Press.
Druckman, J. N. (2004). Political preference formation: Competition, deliberation, and the (ir)relevance of framing effects. American Political Science Review, 98, 671–686. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055404041413.
Elischberger, H. B., Glazier, J. J., Hill, E. D., & Verduzco-Baker, L. (2016). ‘Boys don’t cry’—or do they? Adult attitudes toward and beliefs about transgender youth. Sex Roles, 75, 197–214. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-016-0609-y.
Ely, R. J. (1995). The power in demography: Women’s social constructions of gender identity at work. Academy of Management Journal, 38, 589–634. http://www.jstor.org/stable/256740.
Enloe, C. (2017). Exposing and challenging the persistence of patriarchy. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Erikson, R. S., & Tedin, K. L. (2015). American public opinion: Its origins, content and impact (9th ed.). New York: Routledge.
Fasteau, M. F. (1974). The male machine. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Flores, A. (2015). Attitudes toward transgender rights: Perceived knowledge and secondary interpersonal contact. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 3, 398–416. https://doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2015.1050414.
Flores, A., Herman, J. L., Gates, G. J., & Brown, T. N. T. (2016). How many adults identify as transgender in the United States? Retrieved from https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/How-Many-Adults-Identify-as-Transgender-in-the-United-States.pdf.
Gadarian, S. K., & Van der Vort, E. (2017). The gag reflex: Disgust rhetoric and gay rights in American politics. Political Behavior, 23, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-017-9412-x.
Geller, W. W. (1991). Attitudes toward gays and lesbians: A longitudinal study. Eric Documents, ED 340970. Retrieved from https://archive.org/stream/ERIC_ED340970/ERIC_ED340970_djvu.txt.
Gillig, T. K., & Murphy, S. T. (2016). Fostering support for LGBTQ youth?: The effects of a gay adolescent media portrayal on young viewers. International Journal of Communication, 10, 3828–3850. Retrieved from http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/5496.
Gillig, T. K., Rosenthal, E. L., Murphy, S. T., & Langrall Folb, K. L. (2017). More than a media moment: The influence of televised storylines on viewers’ attitudes toward transgender people and policies. Sex Roles. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0816-1.
Goldberg, L. R. (1992). The structure of phenotypic personality traits. American Psychologist, 48, 26–34. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.48.1.26.
Haider-Markel, D., Miller, P., Flores, A., Lewis, D. C., Tadlock, B., & Taylor, J. (2017). Bringing “T” to the table: Understanding individual support of transgender candidates for public office. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 5, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2016.1272472.
Haines, E. L., & Kray, L. J. (2005). Self-power associations: The possession of power impacts women’s self-concepts. European Journal of Social Psychology, 35, 643–662. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.252.
Harrison, B. F., & Michelson, M. R. (2017). Listen, we need to talk: How to change attitudes about LGBT rights. New York: Oxford University Press.
Heise, D. R. (2007). Expressive order: Confirming sentiments in social actions. New York: Springer.
Herek, G. M. (1984). Attitudes toward lesbians and gay men: A factory-analytic study. Journal of Homosexuality, 10, 39–51. https://doi.org/10.1300/J082v10n01_03.
Iyengar, S., & Kinder, D. R. (1987). News that matters: Television and American opinion. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
James, S. E., Herman, J. L., Rankin, S., Keisling, M., Mottet, L., & Anafi, M. (2016). The report of the 2015 U.S. transgender survey. Washington, DC: National Center for Transgender Equality Retrieved from http://www.transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTS%20Full%20Report%20-%20FINAL%201.6.17.pdf.
Karner, T. (1996). Fathers, sons, and Vietnam: Masculinity and betrayal in the life narratives of Vietnam veterans with post traumatic stress disorder. American Studies, 37, 63–94. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40642783.
Kimmel, M. (1996). Manhood in America: A cultural history. New York: The Free Press.
Kimmel, M. (2012). Masculinity, mental illness, and guns: A lethal equation? Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/19/living/men-guns-violence/.
King, M. E., Winter, S., & Webster, B. (2009). Contact reduces transprejudice: A study on attitudes towards transgenderism and transgender civil rights in Hong Kong. International Journal of Sexual Health, 21, 17–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/19317610802434609.
Klar, S. (2013). The influence of competing identity primes on political preferences. Journal of Politics, 75, 1108–1124. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022381613000698.
Krosnick, J. A., & Brannon, L. A. (1993). The impact of the Gulf war on the ingredients of presidential evaluations: Multidimensional effects of political involvement. American Political Science Review, 87, 963–975. https://doi.org/10.2307/2938828.
Lazarsfeld, P. F., Berelson, B., & Hazel Gaudet, H. (1948). The people’s choice: How the voter makes up his mind in a presidential campaign (2nd ed.). New York: Columbia University Press.
Maass, A., Cadinu, M., Guarnieri, G., & Grasselli, A. (2003). Sexual harassment under social identity threat: The computer harassment paradigm. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 853–870. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.5.853.
Macmillan, R., & Gartner, R. (1999). When she brings home the bacon: Labor-force participation and the risk of spousal violence against women. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 947–958. https://doi.org/10.2307/354015.
Mananzala, R., & Spade, D. (2008). The nonprofit industrial complex and trans resistance. Sexuality Research & Social Policy, 5, 53–71. https://doi.org/10.1525/srsp.2008.5.1.53.
Martin, C. L., & Ruble, D. N. (2010). Patterns of gender development. Annual Review of Psychology, 61, 353–381. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100511.
McBride, S. (2017). HRC & Trans people of color coalition release report on violence against the transgender community. Retrieved from https://www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-trans-people-of-color-coalition-release-report-on-violence-against-the.
McCall, C., & Dasgupta, N. (2007). The malleability of men’s gender self-concept. Self and Identity, 6, 173–188. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298860601115328.
McDermott, M. L. (2016). Masculinity, femininity, and American political behavior. New York: Oxford University Press.
McLeish, K. N., & Oxoby, R. J. (2008). Social interactions and the salience of social identity. Journal of Economic Psychology, 32, 172–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2010.11.003.
Miller, P. R., Flores, A. R., Haider-Markel, D. P., Lewis, D. C., Tadlock, B. L., & Taylor, J. K. (2017). Transgender politics as body politics: Effects of disgust sensitivity and authoritarianism on transgender rights attitudes. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 5, 4–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2016.1260482.
Moyer, J. W. (2015). Why Houston’s gay rights ordinance failed: Fear of men in women’s bathrooms. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/11/03/why-houstons-gay-rights-ordinance-failed-bathrooms/.
Nagoshi, J. L., Adams, K. A., Terrell, H. K., Hill, E. D., Brzuzy, S., & Nagoshi, C. T. (2008). Gender differences in correlates of homophobia and transphobia. Sex Roles, 59, 521–531. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-008-9458-7.
National Center for Transgender Equality. (2016). Frequently asked questions about transgender people. Retrieved from http://www.transequality.org/issues/resources/frequently-asked-questions-about-transgender-people.
Norton, A. T., & Herek, G. M. (2013). Heterosexuals’ attitudes toward transgender people: Findings from a national probability sample of U.S. adults. Sex Roles, 68, 738–753. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-011-0110-6.
Nownes, A. J. (2015). Interest groups and transgender politics: Opportunities and challenges. In J. K. Taylor & D. P. Haider-Markel (Eds.), Transgender rights and politics: Groups, issue framing, & policy adoption (pp. 83–107). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Roughgarden, J. (2013). Evolution's rainbow: Diversity, gender, and sexuality in nature and people. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Rudman, L. A., & Phelan, J. E. (2010). The effect of priming gender roles on women’s implicit gender beliefs and career aspirations. Social Psychology, 41, 192–202. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000027.
Schlit, K., & Westbrook, L. (2015). Bathroom battlegrounds and penis panics. Contexts, 14, 26–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/1536504215596943.
Schmader, T. (2002). Gender identification moderates stereotype threat effects on women’s math performance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 194–201. https://doi.org/10.1006/jesp.2001.1500.
Sinclair, S., Hardin, C. D., & Lowery, B. S. (2006). Self-stereotyping in the context of multiple social identities. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 529–542. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.90.4.529.
Starr, C. R., & Zurbriggen, E. L. (2017). Sandra Bem’s gender schema theory after 34 years: A review of its reach and impact. Sex Roles, 76, 566–578. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-016-0591-4.
Tadlock, B. L., Flores, A. R., Haider-Markel, D. P., Lewis, D. C., Miller, P. R., & Taylor, J. K. (2017). Testing contact theory and attitudes on transgender rights. Public Opinion Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfx021.
Tajfel, H. (1981). Human groups and social categories. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup relations. In S. Worchel & W. G. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 7–24). Chicago, IL: Nelson-Hall.
Taylor, C. (2004). Modern social imaginaries. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Tobin, D. D., Menon, M., Menon, M., Spatta, B. C., Hodges, E., & Perry, D. G. (2010). The intrapsychics of gender: A model of self-socialization. Psychological Review, 117, 601–622. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018936.
Tourjée, D. (2015). Why do men kill trans women? Gender theorist Judith Butler explains. Broadly. Retrieved from https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/z4jd7y/why-do-men-kill-trans-women-gender-theorist-judith-butler-explains.
Tupes, E. C., & Christal, R. E. (1961). Recurrent personality factors based on trait ratings. No. ASD-TR-61-97. Personal Research Lab, Lackland AFB, Texas. Retrieved from http://www.dtic.mil/get-tr-doc/pdf?AD=AD0267778.
Wade, L. (2016). The hypermasculine violence of Omar Mateen and Brock Turner. New Republic. Retrieved from https://newrepublic.com/article/134270/hypermasculine-violence-omar-mateen-brock-turner.
Westbrook, L., & Schilt, K. (2014). Doing gender, determining gender: Transgender people, gender panics, and the maintenance of the sex/gender/sexuality system. Gender & Society, 28, 32–57. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243213503203.
White, J. B., & Gardner, W. L. (2009). Think women, think warm: Stereotype content activation in women with a salient gender identity, using a modified Stroop task. Sex Roles, 60, 247–260. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-008-9526-z.
Willer, R., Rogalin, C., Conlon, B., & Wojnowicz, M. T. (2013). Overdoing gender: A test of the masculine overcompensation thesis. American Journal of Sociology, 118, 980–1022. https://doi.org/10.1086/668417.
Wood, W., Christensen, P. N., Hebl, M. R., & Rothgerber, H. (1997). Conformity to sex-typed norms, affect, and the self-concept. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 523–535. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.73.3.523.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Experimental data for this paper was obtained via the undergraduate research lab at Northwestern University. All participants provided informed consent prior to participating in the experiment. Prior to data collection, the study was approved by Menlo College’s Institutional Review Board.
Electronic Supplementary Material
ESM 1
(DOCX 263 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Harrison, B.F., Michelson, M.R. Gender, Masculinity Threat, and Support for Transgender Rights: An Experimental Study. Sex Roles 80, 63–75 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0916-6
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0916-6