Conceptualizing transgender experiences in psychology: Do we have a 'true' gender?

Psychological research has acknowledged that the commonly accepted definitions of 'transgender', 'sex' and 'gender' within psychological research have resulted in limitations in accounting for the lived realities of transgender individuals. Such limitations include, but are not limited to, the continued pathologization of transgender experiences through idealizing sex and gender congruence and incapacity to account for non-normative and non-binary transition pathways. This paper provides a review of these limitations to first demonstrate how the incongruence definition of 'transgender' is reliant on the idea of a 'true' gender, and next suggest that problematising the idea of a 'true' gender allows new conceptions of transgender experiences to be advanced. To undertake this problematization, the work of Judith Butler and Sara Ahmed is used to consider how gender could be conceptualized otherwise in psychology and then applied to transgender experiences. In all, this paper theorizes transgender experiences without a reliance on the assertion of a true gender, to suggest instead a focus on contextualized transgender experiences. Last, the limitations and implications of this definition of transgender are briefly discussed. Overall, transgender experiences are conceptualized as those experiences that run counter to the dominant (re)production of binary sexed gender.

A retrospective study of sexual minority women's gendered sexuality: Butch and femme sex at the turn of the 21st century

This study is a retrospective examination of how sexual minority women have experienced their sexuality. The analysis examined a national archival dataset that was collected online in the US and Canada to examine the relationship between gender and sexuality in 1084 sexual minority women in 2003, with a focus on butch and femme identities. It provided an understanding of how gender and sexuality interacted at the turn of the last century when the gender identity landscape differed from that of today. While this study collected data from butch and femme women approximately 20-years ago, the results have implications for how we develop situated understandings of the relationship between gender and sexuality. Findings indicated gendered patterns in sexual preferences and attraction that can shed light on how gender and sexuality have evolved in connection. At the same time, there were no differences in sexual satisfaction, which suggests that the enactment of gendered sexuality (in which attraction is structured by a gender dynamic) was experienced as empowering rather than oppressive. We examine our findings in relation to current scholarship on gendered sexuality to consider how sexuality is constructed and reconstructed across time. The findings support a view of gendered sexuality as a source of pleasure, affirmation, and positive embodiment. We theorize gendered sexuality as functioning to enhance experiences of authenticity and resist heteronormativity. The study holds implications for research on the interaction of gender and sexuality.

A Retrospective Study of Sexual Minority Women's Gendered Sexuality: Butch and Femme Sex at the Turn of the 21st Century

This study is a retrospective examination of how sexual minority women have experienced their sexuality. The analysis examined a national archival dataset that was collected online in the US and Canada to examine the relationship between gender and sexuality in 1084 sexual minority women in 2003, with a focus on butch and femme identities. It provided an understanding of how gender and sexuality interacted at the turn of the last century when the gender identity landscape differed from that of today. While this study collected data from butch and femme women approximately 20-years ago, the results have implications for how we develop situated understandings of the relationship between gender and sexuality. Findings indicated gendered patterns in sexual preferences and attraction that can shed light on how gender and sexuality have evolved in connection. At the same time, there were no differences in sexual satisfaction, which suggests that the enactment of gendered sexuality (in which attraction is structured by a gender dynamic) was experienced as empowering rather than oppressive. We examine our findings in relation to current scholarship on gendered sexuality to consider how sexuality is constructed and reconstructed across time. The findings support a view of gendered sexuality as a source of pleasure, affirmation, and positive embodiment. We theorize gendered sexuality as functioning to enhance experiences of authenticity and resist heteronormativity. The study holds implications for research on the interaction of gender and sexuality.

"Us big boys gotta find a way that works": A qualitative study of casual sexual experiences among larger-bodied, White and Latino sexual minority men

Compared to their heterosexual counterparts, sexual minority men (SMM) are more likely to report that their own body image negatively impacts their sex lives, are more vulnerable to weight stigma, and more frequently experience size-based discrimination. Additionally, in comparison to heterosexual men, SMM report higher levels of anti-fat bias, both directed at themselves and intimate partners. Given this literature, we qualitatively examined how nine larger-bodied SMM (Mage = 37.89, SD = 12.42) experience and navigate weight stigma when seeking out casual sex. Our analytic process revealed four primary themes: Building a Gate, Letting Partners Past the Gate, Joy Inside the Gate, and When the Gate Fails. The gate refers to the protection that participants employed to avoid negative, unsafe, or fatphobic sexual encounters. Participants shared that they were aware of weight stigma within their own community, and many assumed (or were explicitly told) that their bodies were undesirable to potential partners. Further, participants readily delineated between fat attraction and fat fetishization, whereby the latter was universally framed as negative and degrading. These findings highlight the complex experience of engaging in casual sex for larger-bodied SMM and identify strategies these men use to protect themselves from body shame and weight stigma.

Network Analysis of Depressive Symptoms in Chinese Sexual Minority Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Intra-Group Perspective

The prevalence of depression among sexual minority women is a significant concern, yet no prior research has conducted a network analysis of depressive symptoms in this population. This is the first study to address this gap by examining the network structure of depressive symptoms in Chinese sexual minority women during the COVID-19 pandemic, considering both sexual orientation and gender expression as part of an intra-group perspective. 1420 Chinese sexual minority women completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depressive Symptoms (CES-D). Network analysis was employed to calculate edge and centrality measures, and the network structures of lesbians and bisexual women were compared based on sexual orientation and of femme, androgyny, and butch based on gender expression. Network analysis revealed that the core depressive symptoms of Chinese sexual minority women are "Felt depressed," "Fatigue," "Sad," and "Failure." Although no significant differences were found in the network structure and global strength of depressive symptoms between different sexual orientations and gender expressions, there were significant differences in the core symptoms. This study suggests the unique associations between depressive symptoms and social and historical contexts among sexual minority women and emphasizes the importance of considering these differences when providing targeted mental health interventions.

Sexual Norms Across Pornography Use, Sexual Fantasy, and In-Person Sexuality

Sexual norms define perceptions of who is acceptable to partner with, how many partners are appropriate, and what sexual behaviors are acceptable to engage in. This shapes, in part, who has access to sexual pleasure and who is minoritized based on their sexuality. Though well theorized and researched for "in-person" sexuality, much less is known about sexual norms in other contexts/modalities, such as porn use and sexual fantasy, or how norms connect across these contexts. In the present study, we investigated sexual norms in porn, fantasy, and in-person sexuality, and similarities or differences between these. In an online study, gender/sex and sexually diverse participants (N = 706) manipulated digital circles representing porn use, sexual fantasy, and in-person sexuality. They used circle overlap to represent branchedness (i.e., distinction) and coincidence (i.e., similarity) in norm content, and circle size to indicate perceived norm strength. We found evidence that norm content was perceived to be more branched (i.e., distinct) than coincident (similar) and that norm strength for each context was high. This provides evidence that when people engage in each of these sexual contexts, they tend to do so through distinct normative lenses, rather than a singular lens that represents a universal set of norms applying across all sexual situations. This has implications for how we understand the associations between porn use, fantasy, and in-person sexuality, and highlights the importance of attending to sexuality in context.

Personal pronouns and person perception - Do paired and nonbinary pronouns evoke a normative gender bias?

Research on gender-fair language aims to identify language inclusive to a multitude of individuals, for example, increasing the visibility of women by using paired pronouns (he/she) instead of generic masculine forms (he). However, binary presentations like he/she might come with unwanted side effects and evoke what we label as normative gender bias. A normative gender bias is defined as when words lead to stronger associations with individuals with normative gender expressions than with individuals with non-normative gender expressions, thus contributing to making non-normative individuals invisible. In three experiments, we compared the extent to which the paired pronoun he/she (Swedish and English), the neo-pronouns hen (Swedish), ze (English), and the generic pronoun singular they (English) evoked a normative gender bias. Swedish- (N = 219 and 268) and English- (N = 837, from the UK) speaking participants read about individuals referred to with the paired pronoun he/she or with hen, ze, or they. In Experiment 1 (Swedish), there was no main effect of condition on a normative bias, but in Experiment 2 (Swedish), the paired pronouns he/she evoked normative gender bias while hen did not. In Experiment 3 (English), both ze and singular they evoked normative gender bias, although normative associations were lower in these conditions compared to he/she. Furthermore, the normative bias was lower among participants who had knowledge about the use of ze as a nonbinary pronoun. Finally, neither ze nor they evoked a normative gender bias when their use was explicitly stated to be nonbinary. A potential explanation for why singular they did not generally result in less normative associations, despite almost all participants knowing about it, may include its more common use as a generic pronoun. Taken together, our results suggest that neo-pronouns, but not paired pronouns, have the potential to evoke less normative associations, but that they must be both (1) actively created new words and (2) well-known to language users as nonbinary pronouns.

Beyond minority stress: Toward a multidimensional psychology of trans/nonbinary gender

Although research that documents minority stress caused to LGBTQ + people supports needed advocacy, it can concomitantly cause harm to communities by portraying them as depleted and powerless. This review article assesses if and how researchers who study minority stress also center interpersonal functions of gender expression that are agentic for trans/nonbinary (TNB) people. These functions were coded in the qualitative research related to minority stress for TNB people over the last five years. Findings revealed that while most interpersonal functions of gender were described rarely, especially those associated with TNB communities of color, damage-centered perspectives were common. Damage-centered perspectives were common. We charge the field to expand its scope of inquiry, center functionalist and agency-focused research, and to develop a multidimensional psychology of gender.

Gender self-concept and hazardous drinking among sexual minority women: Results from the Chicago health and life experiences of women (CHLEW) study

OBJECTIVE

Sexual minority women (SMW; e.g., lesbian, bisexual) report substantially higher rates of hazardous drinking (HD) than heterosexual women.Yet, few studies have examined sub-group differences. In this study, we investigated the relationship between gender self-concept and HD among SMW. Research consistently shows a link between heavier drinking and masculinity. SMW are more likely than heterosexual women to be gender nonconforming, and masculinity among SMW is associated with increased minority stress, a key HD risk factor.

METHODS

We used Wave 3 data from the Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women study, a longitudinal study of SMW (N = 598), which assessed participants' self-perceived levels of masculinity and femininity and their perception of how masculine/feminine others viewed them. Using multivariable logistic regression, we examined the association between gender self-concept and past 12-month heavy episodic drinking (HED), drinking-related problems, and alcohol dependence.

RESULTS

Controlling for demographics and minority stress, greater masculinity (both self-perceived and perceptions by others) was associated with higher odds of HED and alcohol dependence. Masculinity as perceived by others was associated with higher odds of drinking-related problems. Neither femininity measure was associated with HD. Additionally, minority stress (i.e., discrimination, stigma, internalized stigma) did not account for the relationship between gender self-concept and HD.

CONCLUSIONS/IMPORTANCE

In this sample, masculinity, particularly SMW's beliefs that others viewed them as masculine, was associated with HD. This association was not attributable to differences in minority stress and may be related to differences in gendered drinking norms, which could be targeted in intervention studies.

Sex and gender terminology: a glossary for gender-inclusive epidemiology

There is increased interest in inclusion, diversity and representativeness in epidemiological and community health research. Despite this progress, misunderstanding and conflation of sex and gender have precluded both the accurate description of sex and gender as sample demographics and their inclusion in scientific enquiry aiming to distinguish health disparities due to biological systems, gendered experiences or their social and environmental interactions. The present glossary aims to define and improve understanding of current sex-related and gender-related terminology as an important step to gender-inclusive epidemiological research. Effectively, a proper understanding of sex, gender and their subtleties as well as acknowledgement and inclusion of diverse gender identities and modalities can make epidemiology not only more equitable, but also more scientifically accurate and representative. In turn, this can improve public health efforts aimed at promoting the well-being of all communities and reducing health inequities.

‘I Can Construct it in My Own Way’: A Critical Qualitative Examination of Gender Self-Categorisation Processes

Gender self-categorisation is used to communicate a gender group membership in daily life and is recognised across research as an important facet of an individual’s identity. However, understandings of the psychological processes associated with gender self-categorisation have, historically, been restricted by binary, cisgender assumptions. This study qualitatively examined the processes associated with gender self-categorisation in a sample of transgender (binary and nonbinary, n = 15) individuals alongside a negative case analysis of one cisgender woman. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to construct a map of components which interacted to inform participants’ gender self-categorisation. Participants reported that their self-categorisation was reciprocally informed by their internal sense of gendered self, their gendered attributes and by other people’s perceptions. Further, participants’ knowledge and understanding of gender in the world more broadly provided context for this reciprocal process. The process of gender self-categorisation mapped in this study has important implications for researchers regarding theory and methods, for educators and parents regarding how children might be taught about gender and for clinicians regarding how to talk with clients about gender outside of a diagnostic framework.

The Effects of Gender Trouble: An Integrative Theoretical Framework of the Perpetuation and Disruption of the Gender/Sex Binary

In the Western world, gender has traditionally been viewed as binary and as following directly from biological sex. This view is slowly changing among both experts and the general public, a change that has been met with strong opposition. In this article, we explore the psychological processes underlying these dynamics. Drawing on previous work on gender performativity as well as gender as a performance, we develop a psychological framework of the perpetuation and disruption of the gender/sex binary on a stage that facilitates and foregrounds binary gender/sex performance. Whenever character, costume, and script are not aligned the gender/sex binary is disrupted and gender trouble ensues. We integrate various strands of the psychological literature into this framework and explain the processes underlying these reactions. We propose that gender trouble can elicit threat-personal threat, group-based and identity threat, and system threat-which in turn leads to efforts to alleviate this threat through the reinforcement of the gender/sex binary. Our framework challenges the way psychologists have traditionally treated gender/sex in theory and empirical work and proposes new avenues and implications for future research.

Body checking behaviors and eating disorder pathology among nonbinary individuals with androgynous appearance ideals

BACKGROUND

Internalized sociocultural standards of attractiveness are a risk factor repeatedly linked to eating disorders; however, many nonbinary individuals do not conform to these standards.

PURPOSE

This study investigated the body checking behaviors and eating disorder pathology among nonbinary individuals with androgynous appearance ideals.

METHODS

Participants (n = 194) completed an online survey assessing body checking behaviors, body appreciation, gender congruence, and eating disorder pathology RESULTS: Body checking predicted eating disorder pathology, and body image significantly improved the model. Gender congruence did not additional variance in predicting eating pathology CONCLUSION: Though gender congruence was not a significant predictor of eating pathology, content analysis revealed unique body behaviors specific to nonbinary individuals' gender identity and gender expression. Clinical implications include expanding perceptions of eating disorder presentation when working with nonbinary individuals with androgynous appearance ideals.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level V, cross-sectional descriptive study.

Open Science and Feminist Ethics: Promises and Challenges of Open Access

Open science advocates argue that making data sets, studies, methodologies, and other aspects of research free from publication fees and available to scholars will increase collaborations, access, and dissemination of knowledge. In this article, I argue that open access policies and practices raise both feminist and ethical issues. I reflect on the five themes of feminist ethics identified 20 years ago by a task force of the Society for the Psychology of Women. I update the themes with recent scholarship of feminist philosophers and ethicists, and I use the themes to raise questions about the promises and challenges of open access. Throughout, I offer suggestions for all who seek to make knowledge of human psychology more complete and more accessible to more people. I conclude by offering recommendations informed by feminist ethics to those building the policies and practices of open access. Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/03616843211030926

Toward an Intersectional Psychological Science of Reproductive Norms: Generating Research Across the Natalism Spectrum

Pronatalism is the belief system that encourages parenthood and reproduction, supporting the notion that a woman’s value is rooted in her ability to give birth to and parent children. Pronatalist expectations are disproportionately applied to high-status women in the United States, prescribing not only that women are supposed to reproduce, but which women are supposed to reproduce. Those who deviate from this hegemonic idea of a prototypical mother may disproportionately encounter antinatalist norms that prescribe that they should not bear or parent children. In the present article, I advocate for an intersectional psychological study of reproductive norms across the natalism spectrum, grounded in interdisciplinary insights and an understanding of systems of power and oppression. I discuss three common areas of interdisciplinary research related to reproductive norms: (a) pronatalism as a limit to women’s freedom, (b) racism and the control of Black women’s reproduction, and (c) queer perspectives on reproduction. Informed by intersectionality and stigma frameworks, I propose a generative model and six research questions that serve as a research agenda for the psychological study of reproductive norms across the natalism spectrum.

Making intelligible the controversies over femme identities: A functionalist approach to conceptualizing the subversive meanings of femme genders

Quite a number of heated arguments have been put forth in the controversy about the meanings and appropriate uses of femme identities. In this article, the authors apply a functionalist theoretical framework, developed to explicate the links between gender and gender identities, to reframe the disputes about femme gender. They position two femme identities as responding to distinctive forms of oppression-one that centralizes the affirmation of gender diversity in the face of cisgenderism, and one that centralizes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) femininity to counter femmephobia. They consider the subversive functions of the two identities in terms of unmet needs across four domains. These needs include the need for authenticity in identity (psychological domain); for the prizing of socially devalued characteristics (cultural domain); for security and affiliation (interpersonal domain); and for aesthetic desirability rather than shame (sexual domain). Instead of seeing the two femme identities as at odds, they see them as serving some shared functions, but also distinctive functions in resisting stigma of varied forms. The framework can be applied to other forms of femme-inity (and other genders) to distinguish the varied meanings inherent in gender identities and facilitate research that advances gender theory.

Why femme stories matter: Constructing femme theory through historical femme life writing

We argue that historical femme life writing forms a rich resource for femme theory that contributes to, challenges, and extends contemporary academic femme literature. We focus on the experiences of femmes during the second-wave feminist movement, specifically within the context of 1970s and 1980s U.S. lesbian feminism. The texts we examine include My Dangerous Desires by Amber Hollibaugh (2000), A Restricted Country by Joan Nestle (1987), Minnie Bruce Pratt's (1995) S/he, and selections from The Persistent Desire: A Femme-Butch Reader, edited by Nestle (1992). Informed by Clare Hemmings' (2011) and Victoria Hesford's (2013) critiques that past feminisms are often retold using reductive narratives, we (re)read this femme life writing to foreground the ways in which femmes have historically troubled and resisted monolithic accounts of lesbian feminism, lesbian identities, femininity, and sexuality. By centering queer feminine voices from this period to highlight major themes of this life writing, and drawing on Andi Schwartz's (2018) positioning of femme cultural production as a basis for theory, we argue that earlier iterations of queer femininities are relevant to and important for contemporary femme theory. Ultimately, we analyze what historical femme life writing reveals about the place of femininity within the lesbian and feminist communities of their time, how these dynamics inform current perceptions of queer and femme politics, and how femmes resist their cultural and critical marginalization.

What If Psychology Took Intersectionality Seriously? Changing How Psychologists Think About Participants

Using intersectionality to change how psychologists think about the demographic profile of their participants is one readily available change that psychologists across the discipline can implement to improve psychological science. In this article, we aim to provide a guide for psychologists who are not already engaged with feminist practices and/or are unsure of how an intersectional approach to participants applies to their research. We argue that by engaging with four perspective shifts of intersectional thinking: multidimensionality, dynamic construction, structural power, and outcomes of systemic disadvantage and advantage, psychologists can more accurately represent the “person” that psychology, as a discipline, seeks to understand. We suggest changes at the researcher, journal, and grant-making agency levels to support an intersectional reconceptualization of participants. As psychology continues to change, in order to foster reproducible science practices and research with relevance to real-world problems, there is opportunity to promote discipline-level change that would take intersectionality seriously.