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Gender Type and Comfort with Cross-Dressers

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Abstract

The Bem Sex Role Inventory was used to classify university participants into the gender types: masculine, feminine, and androgynous. Two men who cross-dress were invited to attend and interact with the participants during regular classroom periods. Pre- and posttests were administered to measure the participants' comfort level with the phenomenon of cross-dressing. Feminine-gender-typed participants were initially the most comfortable with the concept of cross-dressing and experienced the least pre- and posttest mean change following the interaction. The masculine-gender-typed participants were the least comfortable, but experienced the greatest pre- and posttest mean change. Androgynous participants' differences for pre- and posttest scores were greater than the feminine-gender-typed participants' differences, but less than those of the masculine-gender-typed participants.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Development, Consumer and Family Sciences, South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota

    Cindi M. Penor Ceglian

  2. Department of Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design, South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota

    Nancy N. Lyons

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  1. Cindi M. Penor Ceglian
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  2. Nancy N. Lyons
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Correspondence to Cindi M. Penor Ceglian.

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Ceglian, C.M.P., Lyons, N.N. Gender Type and Comfort with Cross-Dressers. Sex Roles 50, 539–546 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SERS.0000023073.99146.2d

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SERS.0000023073.99146.2d

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