The Impact of Gender Norms and Traditional Masculinity on Gay Men’s Attitudes Toward Transgender Individuals

Dirks, Elena (2024) The Impact of Gender Norms and Traditional Masculinity on Gay Men’s Attitudes Toward Transgender Individuals. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

The present thesis examines the effects of the endorsement of traditional masculinity and a perceived feminization of men in society on gay men’s attitudes toward transgender people. Previous research has found both endorsement of traditional masculinity and men’s perceived feminization to be related to heterosexual men’s negative attitudes toward homosexuality. The variables underlying attitudes toward transgender people, particularly in non-heterosexual samples, are less understood. Our sample consisted of 144 cisgender gay men from the United States; cisgender describes a person whose gender identity corresponds with their sex assigned at birth. Participants first rated their agreement with traditional masculinity norms. Then, each participant was randomly presented with either an article suggesting a feminization of men or stability of masculinity over time. Lastly, they filled out a questionnaire about their transgender attitudes and beliefs. Higher endorsement of masculinity was found to be significantly related to more negative attitudes toward transgender people. This aligns with research on straight men’s attitudes toward sexual minorities. However, no significant difference between participants in the feminization condition and the stability condition was found. Further, there was no significant interaction effect of the two independent variables. Gay men in this sample overall had rather positive attitudes toward transgender individuals that did not seem to be impacted significantly by our manipulation. This indicates that more research is needed to clarify the underlying process of gay men’s attitudes toward transgender people. Keywords: gender norms, transgender, attitudes, masculinity, gay men

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor)
Supervisor name:	Borinca, I.
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route:	None [Bachelor Psychology]
Date Deposited:	16 Jan 2024 15:45
Last Modified:	16 Jan 2024 15:45
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/2985

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