VERY IMPORTANT GENDER NON-CONFORMATY MEASURES!

Development of this measure was motivated by the recognition that systemic discrimination is often rooted in unfair treatment of an individual based on instantaneous visual cues without any prior knowledge of that individual’s background or self-identity. Jones and colleagues examined socially assigned race and health status in the BRFSS and found that being perceived as White was linked with better health outcomes in individuals who self-identified as a racial/ethnic minority (Jones et al. 2008). Given that perceived gender nonconformity, like socially assigned race, is an external cue used to judge an individual, it follows that socially assigned gender expression could be similarly linked to health disparities. The effects of discrimination and victimization based on socially assigned gender nonconformity can be severe and long-lasting. Verbal abuse towards children perceived as gender nonconforming can begin by age 6 years, if not earlier, while studies from the U.S. and the United Kingdom have found that victims report enduring psychological distress, suicidality, posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and physical health symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, or vomiting (Carbone 2008; D’Augelli et al. 2006; Fitzpatrick et al. 2005; Gruber and Fineran 2008; Hughes et al. 2007; Rivers 2004; Rosario et al. 2009). While studies with adults (Lippa 2002; Skidmore et al. 2006) and youth (Blashill and Powlishta 2009; D’Augelli et al. 2005) have found lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) populations to be more gender nonconforming than heterosexuals, harassment and discrimination targeting nonconforming gender expression are not restricted to people with a minority sexual orientation. Heterosexuals may also be targets for bullying and verbal or physical abuse based on their gender expression (Horn 2007). Gender expression has been associated with acceptance by parents, peers, and society independent of sexual orientation, especially after middle school when standards of gender conforming behavior decrease in flexibility (Alfieri and Ruble 1996; Ma’Ayan 2003). In one study in which U.S. high school students rated the acceptability of hypothetical peers displaying a range of sexual orientations and gendered behaviors, gender nonconforming students were ranked as less acceptable than conforming individuals regardless of sexual orientation (Horn 2007). Elevated rates of victimization in LGB populations may be attributable in part to higher levels of gender nonconforming behavior compared to heterosexuals (Corliss et al. 2002; Rivers and Cowie 2006; Saewyc et al. 2006), although there may be important differences in the ways that sexual minority



Wylie, S. A., Corliss, H. L., Boulanger, V., Prokop, L. A., & Austin, S. B. (2010). Socially assigned gender nonconformity: A brief measure for use in surveillance and investigation of health disparities. Sex roles, 63(3-4), 264-276.

Gay Stereotypes: The Use of Sexual Orientation as a Cue for Gender-Related Attributes

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-009-9684-7/fulltext.html

"In addition to these two major hypotheses, analyses will also test for participant gender effects. However, given previous research showing that gay stereotypes (unlike attitudes toward homosexuality) do not vary as a function of participant gender, significant effects are not anticipated.

Finally, supplemental exploratory analyses will be conducted to examine whether the tendency to view homosexual targets as gender atypical is more pronounced for gay males vs. lesbians."

Liben, L. S., & Bigler, R. S. (2002). The developmental course of gender differentiation: Conceptualizing, measuring, and evaluating constructs and pathways. Monographs of the Society for Research in Childhood Development, 67(2), 1–147.