Addressing the Gender Continuum: A Concept Analysis

Scientific authorship by gender: trends before and during a global pandemic

Many fields of science are still dominated by men. COVID-19 has dramatically changed the nature of work, including for scientists, such as lack of access to key resources and transition to online teaching. Further, scientists face the pandemic-related stressors common to other professions (e.g., childcare, eldercare). As many of these activities fall more heavily on women, the pandemic may have exacerbated gender disparities in science. We analyzed self-identified gender of corresponding author for 119,592 manuscripts from 151 countries submitted January 2019 to July 2021 to the Institute of Physics (IOP) portfolio of 57 academic journals, with disciplines of astronomy and astrophysics, bioscience, environmental science, materials, mathematics, physics, and interdisciplinary research. We consider differences by country, journal, and pre-pandemic versus pandemic periods. Gender was self-identified by corresponding author for 82.9% of manuscripts (N = 99,114 for subset of submissions with gender). Of these manuscripts, authors were 82.1% male, 17.8% female, and 0.08% non-binary. Most authors were male for all countries (country-specific values: range 0.0-100.0%, median 86.1%) and every journal (journal-specific values range 63.7-91.5%, median 83.7%). The contribution of female authors was slightly higher in the pandemic (18.7%) compared to pre-pandemic (16.5%). However, prior to the pandemic, the percent of submissions from women had been increasing, and this value slowed during the pandemic. Contrary to our hypothesis, we did not find that manuscript submissions from women decreased during the pandemic, although the rate of increased submissions evident prior to the pandemic slowed. In both pre-pandemic and pandemic periods, authorship was overwhelmingly male for all journals, countries, and fields. Further research is needed on impacts of the pandemic on other measures of scientific productivity (e.g., accepted manuscripts, teaching), scientific position (e.g., junior vs. senior scholars), as well as the underlying gender imbalance that persisted before and during the pandemic.

From Necropraxis to Necroresistance: Transgender Experiences in Latin America

Latin America is one of the deadliest regions for trans communities. Scientific research generated in the region has reported that trans people live through a complicated panorama shaped by multiple forms of oppression, extreme violence, and micro-aggressions. Although necropolitics, as a theoretical approach, has been useful to understand how State policies negatively affect trans individuals, it does not fully account for informal dynamics within groups and among individuals that are potentially lethal for this population in Latin America. To account for this gap, the author proposes two novel concepts: necropraxis (a pattern that manifest itself in everyday social interactions, through which gradual small doses of death are delivered to eliminate, symbolically and/or literally, trans people); and necroresistance (the ways in which trans people defy the threats imposed by necropraxis through "ordinary" acts manifested in their everyday life). The main objective of this article is to put forth definitions for these two concepts and identify how they apply in the context of trans communities in three countries of the region: Guatemala, Argentina, and Chile. To achieve the latter, the author relies on her ethnographic work in these contexts. Data were gathered through parcipant observation, in-depth interviews with trans persons (N = 11) and informal conversations with individuals during the site visits. A deductive qualitative analysis was conducted. Results evidence how the manifestation of necropraxis and necroresistance were highly influenced by the historical, political, economic and sociocultural context of each country. This study provides valuable information to help both policymakers and other stakeholders understand the problem's magnitude in the region and the ways necropraxis is experienced in everyday relations between trans individuals and others. Similarly, through the understanding of what constitutes necroresistance and its value, the proposed framework could help them outline prevention and management strategies to strengthen trans communities in different countries.

The Erasure of Intersex, Transgender, Nonbinary, and Agender Experiences Through Misuse of Sex and Gender in Health Research

Conflation of the terms and concepts of "sex" and "gender" continues to perpetuate the invisibility of sex and gender minorities and obscure information about the ways in which biological sex and gender affect health. The misuse of sex and gender terms and the sex and gender binaries can yield inaccurate results but also, more importantly, contributes to the erasure of intersex, transgender, nonbinary, and agender health experiences. In this article, we discuss ways in which public health researchers can use sex and gender terms correctly and center the health experiences of intersex, transgender, nonbinary, and agender individuals. This includes promoting sensitivity in approaching sex and gender minority communities, improving survey questions, and collaborating with GSM communities to improve research quality and participant experiences. Improving our standards for the quality of sex and gender term usage and centering sex and gender minorities in public health research are imperative to addressing the health inequalities faced by sex and gender minorities.

Health impacts of climate change on gender diverse populations: A scoping review

PURPOSE

To determine what is known about climate change health effects for gender diverse (GD) populations, and identify gaps in research, practice, education, and policy.

DESIGN/METHODS

A scoping review was conducted.

FINDINGS

Twenty-seven information sources met inclusion criteria. Natural disasters and inadequate disaster relief responses were identified as an overarching health threat for GD populations. Within this theme, four sub-themes emerged. No other climate-related health impacts for GD populations were mentioned in the sources reviewed.

CONCLUSIONS

There are major gaps in knowledge about health implications of climate change for GD populations. Gender-sensitive data must be collected in order to better understand these threats and detect disparities. Currently most practice and policy recommendations focus on disaster relief. More research on the broad effects of climate change on GD populations is urgently needed to inform practice and policy.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Climate change amplifies existing risks of adverse health outcomes. Because of discrimination, stigma, and violence, gender diverse individuals are particularly vulnerable.

Daily gender expression is associated with psychological adjustment for some people, but mainly men

To what extent does gender expression vary day-to-day? Are daily changes related to psychological adjustment in the same way for all individuals? A person-specific approach was used to answer these questions in a 75-day intensive longitudinal study. Fifty-seven cisgender adults (27 women) provided over 4000 reports of daily masculinity and femininity and of three indices of internalizing problems. Results revealed: (a) substantial daily fluctuations in gender expression, especially in women; (b) sample-level links between daily increases in femininity or reductions in masculinity and heightened anxiety, depression, and self-reproach for men, but no apparent links for women; and (c) person-specific links between gender expression and psychological adjustment, such that some women reported internalizing problems with reduced masculinity (average male pattern) and some men reported problems with heightened masculinity (opposite the average male pattern). Findings highlight how intensive longitudinal research can illuminate the uniqueness of gender-related daily experiences, and their implications for the wellbeing of individuals.