Abstract
Negativity toward gay men and transgender people is pervasive. Past research suggests that authoritarianism predicts biases against transgender people, in part due to an essentialist view of gender. To determine the generalizability of these findings, but with political conservatism as the focal predictor, we re-analyzed Norton and Herek’s (2013) large (n = 2281) nationally representative U.S. dataset. In doing so, we modeled a latent factor indicated by anti-transgender attitudes and prejudice toward gay men to capture prejudice toward gender non-conformists. That is, prejudice against transgender people and gay men on the political right might arise from perceived gender norm violations, which binary gender beliefs could potentially explain. Consistent with social dominance theory, results revealed that those more conservative in ideology were more likely to display prejudice toward gender non-conformists in part due to their greater endorsement of binary gender beliefs. Unexpectedly, and novel to the existing literature, conservatism predicted binary gender beliefs and prejudice toward gender non-conformists more strongly for women than for men. Binary gender beliefs seemingly function as a legitimizing myth to bolster existing hierarchical relations between gender conforming versus gender non-conforming people, particularly among conservative women.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams, K. A., Nagoshi, C. T., Filip-Crawford, G., Terrell, H. K., & Nagoshi, J. L. (2016). Components of gender-nonconformity prejudice. International Journal of Transgenderism, 17, 185–198. https://doi.org/10.1080/15532739.2016.1200509.
Arbuckle, J. L. (2006). Amos (version 22.0) [computer software]. Chicago: SPSS.
Billard, T. J. (2016). Writing in the margins: Mainstream news media representations of transgenderism. International Journal of Communication, 10, 4193–4218. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3262789.
Billard, T. J. (2019). (No) shame in the game: The influence of pornography viewing on attitudes toward transgender people. Communication Research Reports, 36, 45–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/08824096.2018.1549539.
Blashill, A. J., & Powlishta, K. K. (2009). Gay stereotypes: The use of sexual orientation as a cue for gender-related attributes. Sex Roles, 61, 783–793. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9684-7.
Bostwick, W. B., Boyd, C. J., Hughes, T. L., West, B. T., & McCabe, S. E. (2014). Discrimination and mental health among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults in the United States. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 84, 35–45. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0098851.
Brewer, P. R. (2003). The shifting foundations of public opinion about gay rights. The Journal of Politics, 65, 1208–1220. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2508.t01-1-00133.
Brewer, P. R. (2008). Value war: Public opinion and the politics of gay rights. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Capuzza, J. C., & Spencer, L. G. (2017). Regressing, progressing, or transgressing on the small screen? Transgender characters on US scripted television series. Communication Quarterly, 65, 214–230. https://doi.org/10.1080/01463373.2016.1221438.
Costa, P. A., & Davies, M. (2012). Portuguese adolescents' attitudes toward sexual minorities: Transphobia, homophobia, and gender role beliefs. Journal of Homosexuality, 59, 1424–1442. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2012.724944.
Crandall, C. S., & Eshleman, A. (2003). A justification-suppression model of the expression and experience of prejudice. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 414–446. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.129.3.414.
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, 359–378. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.82.3.359.
Cumming, G., & Calin-Jageman, R. (2016). Introduction to the new statistics: Estimation, open science, and beyond. New York: Routledge.
Eagly, A. H. (1987). Sex differences in social behavior: A social-role interpretation. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Eagly, A. H., Eaton, A., Rose, S. M., Riger, S., & McHugh, M. C. (2012). Feminism and psychology: Analysis of a half-century of research on women and gender. American Psychologist, 67, 211–230. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027260.
Fisher, A. D., Castellini, G., Ristori, J., Casale, H., Giovanardi, G., Carone, N., … Ricca, V. (2017). Who has the worst attitudes toward sexual minorities? Comparison of transphobia and homophobia levels in gender dysphoric individuals, the general population and health care providers. Journal of Endocrinological Investigation, 40, 263–273. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40618-016-0552-3.
Foran, C. (2017). America’s political divide intensified during Trump’s first year as president. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/10/trump-partisan-divide-republicans-democrats/541917/.
Funder, D. C., Levine, J. M., Mackie, D. M., Morf, C. C., Sansone, C., Vazire, S., … West, S. G. (2014). Improving the dependability of research in personality and social psychology: Recommendations for research and educational practice. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 18, 3–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868313507536.
Gardner, D. G., Cummings, L. L., Dunham, R. B., & Pierce, J. L. (1998). Single-item versus multiple-item measurement scales: An empirical comparison. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 58, 898–915. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164498058006003.
Gillig, T. K., Rosenthal, E. L., Murphy, S. T., & Folb, K. L. (2018). More than a media moment: The influence of televised storylines on viewers’ attitudes toward transgender people and policies. Sex Roles, 78, 515–527. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0816-1.
Glick, P., Gangl, C., Gibb, S., Klumpner, S., & Weinberg, E. (2007). Defensive reactions to masculinity threat: More negative affect toward effeminate (but not masculine) gay men. Sex Roles, 57, 55–59. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-007-9195-3.
Herek, G. M. (1994). Assessing heterosexuals' attitudes toward lesbians and gay men: A review of empirical research with the ATLG scale. In B. Greene & G. M. Herek (Eds.), Psychological perspectives on lesbian and gay issues (pp. 206–228). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483326757.n11.
Herek, G. M. (2000). Sexual prejudice and gender: Do heterosexuals' attitudes toward lesbians and gay men differ? Journal of Social Issues, 56, 251–266. https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-4537.00164.
Hodson, G., MacInnis, C. C., & Busseri, M. A. (2017). Bowing and kicking: Rediscovering the fundamental link between generalized authoritarianism and generalized prejudice. Personality and Individual Differences, 104, 243–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.08.018.
Hoffarth, M. R., & Hodson, G. (2018). When intergroup contact is uncommon and bias is strong: The case of anti-transgender bias. Psychology & Sexuality, 9, 237–250. https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2018.1470107.
Hoffarth, M. R., & Jost, J. T. (2017). When ideology contradicts self-interest: Conservative opposition to same-sex marriage among sexual minorities – A commentary on Pinsof and Haselton (2016). Psychological Science, 28, 1521–1524. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617694866.
Hoffarth, M. R., Hodson, G., & Molnar, D. S. (2018). When and why is religious attendance associated with anti-gay bias and gay rights opposition? A justification-suppression model approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 115, 526–563. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000146.
Hoyt, C. L., Morgenroth, T., & Burnette, J. L. (2019). Understanding sexual prejudice: The role of political ideology and strategic essentialism. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 49, 3–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12560.
James, S. E., Herman, J. L., Rankin, S., Keisling, M., Mottet, L., & Anafi, M. (2016). The report of the 2015 US transgender survey. Washington, DC: National Center for Transgender Equality.
Jones, B. (2019). Republicans and Democrats have grown further apart on what the nation’s top priorities should be. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/02/05/republicans-and-democrats-have-grown-further-apart-on-what-the-nations-top-priorities-should-be/.
Jones, P. E., Brewer, P. R., Dannagal, G. Y., Lambe, J. L., & Hoffman, L. H. (2018). Explaining public opinion toward transgender people, rights, and candidates. Public Opinion Quarterly, 82, 252–278. https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfy009.
Jost, J. T. (2017). Ideological asymmetries and the essence of political psychology. Political Psychology, 38, 167–208. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12407.
Jost, J. T., & Banaji, M. R. (1994). The role of stereotyping in system-justification and the production of false consciousness. British Journal of Social Psychology, 33, 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8309.1994.tb01008.x.
Jost, J. T., Glaser, J., Kruglanski, A. W., & Sulloway, F. J. (2003a). Political conservatism as motivated social cognition. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 339–375. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.129.3.339.
Jost, J. T., Glaser, J., Kruglanski, A. W., & Sulloway, F. J. (2003b). Exceptions that prove the rule—Using a theory of motivated social cognition to account for ideological incongruities and political anomalies: Reply to Greenberg and Jonas (2003). Psychological Bulletin, 129, 383–393. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.129.3.383.
Jost, J. T., Napier, J. L., Thorisdottir, H., Gosling, S. D., Palfai, T. P., & Ostafin, B. (2007). Are needs to manage uncertainty and threat associated with political conservatism or ideological extremity? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 989–1007. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167207301028.
Kerrigan, M. F. (2012). Transgender discrimination in the military: The new don't ask, don't tell. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 18, 500–518. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025771.
King, M., Semlyen, J., Tai, S. S., Killaspy, H., Osborn, D., Popelyuk, D., … Nazareth, I. (2008). A systematic review of mental disorder, suicide, and deliberate self harm in lesbian, gay and bisexual people. BMC Psychiatry, 8, 70–87. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-8-70.
Kline, R. B. (2011). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (3rd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
Lombardi, E. L., Wilchins, R. A., Priesing, D., & Malouf, D. (2002). Gender violence: Transgender experiences with violence and discrimination. Journal of Homosexuality, 42, 89–101. https://doi.org/10.1300/J082v42n0105.
MacInnis, C. C., & Hodson, G. (2015). Why are heterosexual men (vs. women) particularly prejudiced toward gay men? A social dominance theory explanation. Psychology and Sexuality, 6, 275–294. https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2014.987684.
Madon, S. (1997). What do people believe about gay males? A study of stereotype content and strength. Sex Roles, 37, 663–685. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02936334.
Makwana, A. P., Dhont, K., De Keersmaecker, J., Akhlaghi-Ghaffarokh, P., Masure, M., & Roets, A. (2018). The motivated cognitive basis of transphobia: The roles of right-wing ideologies and gender role beliefs. Sex Roles, 79, 206–217. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0860-x.
Mays, V. M., & Cochran, S. D. (2001). Mental health correlates of perceived discrimination among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 91, 1869–1876. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.91.11.1869.
Norton, A. T., & Herek, G. M. (2013). Heterosexuals’ attitudes toward transgender people: Findings from a national probability sample of US adults. Sex Roles, 68, 738–753. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-011-0110-6.
Pacilli, M. G., Taurino, A., Jost, J. T., & van der Toorn, J. (2011). System justification, right-wing conservatism, and internalized homophobia: Gay and lesbian attitudes toward same-sex parenting in Italy. Sex Roles, 65, 580–595. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-011-9969-5.
Phillips, C. E., Kivisalu, T. M., King, C., & O’Toole, S. K. (2015). A reliability generalization of the Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men (ATLG) Scale. Race, Gender & Class, 22, 189–214. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26505333.
Postmes, T., Haslam, S. A., & Jans, L. (2013). A single-item measure of social identification: Reliability, validity, and utility. British Journal of Social Psychology, 52, 597–617. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12006.
Prusaczyk, E., & Hodson, G. (2018). Left-right differences in abortion policy support in America: Clarifying the role of sex and sexism in a nationally representative 2016 sample. Personality and Individual Differences, 127, 22–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.01.030.
Saad, L. (2018). Conservative lead in U.S. ideology is down to single digits. Retrieved from https://news.gallup.com/poll/225074/conservative-lead-ideology-down-single-digits.aspx.
Schiappa, E., Gregg, P. B., & Hewes, D. E. (2005). The parasocial contact hypothesis. Communication Monographs, 72, 92–115. https://doi.org/10.1080/0363775052000342544.
Schiappa, E., Gregg, P. B., & Hewes, D. E. (2006). Can one TV show make a difference? Will & grace and the parasocial contact hypothesis. Journal of Homosexuality, 51, 15–37. https://doi.org/10.1300/J082v51n04_02.
Shrout, P. E., & Bolger, N. (2002). Mediation in experimental and nonexperimental studies: New procedures and recommendations. Psychological Methods, 7, 442–445. https://doi.org/10.1037//1082-989X.7.4.422.
Sidanius, J., & Pratto, F. (1999). Social dominance: An intergroup theory of social hierarchy and oppression. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Stern, C., & Rule, N. O. (2018). Physical androgyny and categorization difficulty shape political conservatives’ attitudes toward transgender people. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 9, 24–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550617703172.
Taylor, A. (1983). Conceptions of masculinity and femininity as a basis for stereotypes of male and female homosexuals. Journal of Homosexuality, 9, 37–53. https://doi.org/10.1300/J082v09n01_04.
Wanous, J. P., Reichers, A. E., & Hudy, M. J. (1997). Overall job satisfaction: How good are single-item measures? Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 247–252. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.82.2.247.
Warriner, K., Nagoshi, C. T., & Nagoshi, J. L. (2013). Correlates of homophobia, transphobia, and internalized homophobia in gay or lesbian and heterosexual samples. Journal of Homosexuality, 60, 1297–1314. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2013.806177.
Whitley Jr., B. E. (1999). Right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, and prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 126–134. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.77.1.126.
Whitley Jr., B. E., & Lee, S. E. (2000). The relationship of authoritarianism and related constructs to attitudes toward homosexuality. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30, 144–170. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2000.tb02309.x.
Worthen, M. G. (2012). Understanding college student attitudes toward LGBT individuals. Sociological Focus, 45, 285–305. https://doi.org/10.1080/00380237.2012.712857.
Worthen, M. G. (2013). An argument for separate analyses of attitudes toward lesbian, gay, bisexual men, bisexual women, MtF and FtM transgender individuals. Sex Roles, 68, 703–723. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-012-0155-1.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Research Involving Human Participants and/or Animals
This research did not involve human participants.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
ESM 1
(DOCX 19 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Prusaczyk, E., Hodson, G. The Roles of Political Conservatism and Binary Gender Beliefs in Predicting Prejudices Toward Gay Men and People Who Are Transgender. Sex Roles 82, 438–446 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-019-01069-1
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-019-01069-1