Abstract
Empirical data from studies with both heterosexual and homosexual individuals have consistently indicated different tendencies in mating behavior. However, transgenders’ data are often overlooked. This exploratory study compared levels of sociosexuality and self-esteem between transgenders and non-transgender (cisgender) individuals. The aim was to verify whether either sexual genotype or gender self-perception had more influence on the examined variables in transgenders. Correlations between self-esteem and sociosexuality levels were also investigated. The sample consisted of 120 Brazilian individuals (51 transgenders) from both sexes. Sociosexuality scores indicated mostly sex-typical patterns for transgenders of both sexes across the construct’s three dimensions (behavior, attitude, and desire), except for female-to-male transgenders’ behavioral sociosexuality. Unique associations between the dimensions of sociosexuality were found for transgender participants. No differences in self-esteem were observed and no correlations between self-esteem and sociosexuality were found. The results suggest that transgenders’ sociosexuality is largely influenced by their sexual genotype despite their incongruent gender self-perception and that the relationships between behavior, attitude, and sociosexual desire are different from those observed in cisgenders.
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We thank the transgender participants for participating in the study.
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This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior–Brasil (CAPES)–Finance Code 001; the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)–Code 310515/2018–1; and by the Graduate Program in Psychobiology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN).
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation and data collection were performed by Rodrigo de Menezes Gomes, analysis was performed by Felipe Nalon Castro. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Rodrigo de Menezes Gomes and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Approval was obtained from the ethics committee of Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, certificate of presentation of ethical appreciation code 80013317.8.0000.5537 (evaluation: 2.454.211). The procedures used in this study adhere to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.
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de Menezes Gomes, R., de Araújo Lopes, F. & Castro, F.N. Influence of Sexual Genotype and Gender Self-Perception on Sociosexuality and Self-Esteem among Transgender People. Hum Nat 31, 483–496 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-020-09381-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-020-09381-6