The Fragile Male: An Experimental Study of Transgender Classification and the Durability of Gender Categories

Author:

Khanna Katharine1ORCID,Meadow Tey1ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Columbia University, USA

Abstract

Is maleness as durable a social classification as femaleness? Theories of gender suggest that men’s dominance in the gender hierarchy affords them greater privileges than women, whereas theories of status predict that men would be subject to greater scrutiny precisely because they occupy a higher-status position. We interrogate the nature of gender categories themselves by examining which theories hold in the context of gender nonconformity. Using a nationally representative survey experiment, we examine how a child’s sex assigned at birth affects their likelihood of being reclassified as transgender for engaging in gender-nonconforming behavior. We find that people are more likely to reclassify boys exhibiting feminine behavior into an alternative identity category (transgender) than girls exhibiting analogous masculine behavior. Thus, membership in the “male” category is more fragile than in the “female” category. These findings suggest that gender nonconformity is itself a gendered process, and that the durability of membership in a social category depends on the status of that social identity. This study provides the first causal evidence of the effect of gender nonconformity on perceptions of both transgender and homosexual identity.

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Subject

Sociology and Political Science,Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous),Gender Studies

Cited by 2 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3