Low-socioeconomic status (SES) women are often portrayed as being sexually available or promiscuous, more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior, and more prone to experiencing adolescent pregnancies. These sexualized stereotypes are likely to inform attitudes in many domains, notably the types of assistance people report providing to low-SES women. This research examines how these stereotypes influence support for policies grounded in benevolent and paternalistic attitudes, providing “education” or supervision to correct supposed inadequacies, as well as more hostile measures aimed at reducing the fertility of low-SES women. We draw on a multi-country dataset (Study 1, N = 4,173) followed by a series of experimental studies in which we confirm the influence of sexualized stereotypes on the perceived abuse of public assistance programs and support for classist social policies (Studies 2a–c, N = 610). Overall, results indicate that sexually based stereotypes of low-SES women trigger support for paternalistic and hostile classist social policies via the perception that low-SES women seek to abuse the welfare system. Across studies, we found a strong effect of perceived promiscuity on abuse intentions and support for compulsory interventions to reduce fertility. We consider the implications that support for eugenic policies has for safeguarding the human rights of economically marginalized women.
Some transgender adults may choose to conceal their transgender identity to reject their assigned sex at birth and assert their true gender (Rood et al., 2017). Although past research has suggested that concealing a transgender identity may lead to negative mental health outcomes, it is possible that the links between concealment and mental health may depend on how a transgender individual identifies. While some binary transgender adults may view their binary gender (i.e., woman, man) as more central to who they are, others may feel a stronger identification with their identity as transgender. The current study contributes to existing literature on whether concealing a transgender identity is linked to mental health. Further, the current study tested whether the link between concealment and mental health may depend on relative centrality, or the importance individuals place on their binary gender relative to their transgender identity. In a U.S. sample of binary transgender adults (N = 200; 92
Low sexual desire is a common concern reported by women in committed relationships with men. Low desire is often perceived as a biological issue within women’s bodies; however, the heteronormativity theory of low sexual desire in women partnered with men proposes that it stems from how gender norms shape sexual and romantic relationships. In line with this theory, the current study examined associations between sexual coercion (i.e., using psychological or physical pressure or threats to obtain sex) and desire among a sample of 174 cisgender and gender/sex minority women partnered with men. Using cross-sectional survey data, we tested whether frequency of sexual coercion from a partner and/or the types of sexual coercion used predicted general and recent (across the past four weeks) sexual desire, examining relationship length as a moderator. Generally, results showed that greater sexual coercion frequency was associated with significantly lower general and recent desire, and the strength of this association increased with relationship length. For sexual coercion types, experiencing sexual coercion that used emotional threats, but not physical threats or drug/alcohol-related coercion, was associated with significantly lower general and recent desire. Normative sexual pressure (i.e., flirtatious or ambiguous forms of sexual pressure that may be normalized within relationships) was associated with the maintenance of sexual desire across relationship lengths, with some caveats. Overall, findings provided preliminary evidence that sexual coercion may contribute to lower sexual desire among women, highlighting a need for more research on coercion-desire dynamics within relationships.
Although there are many available measures of gender role beliefs, no existing scale allows researchers to measure prescriptive beliefs about men’s and women’s home and work roles separately and on a comparable metric. We present two newly-developed scales—one pertaining to men and one to women—with items that are identical in content and differ only in whether they mention men or women. Results from confirmatory factor analysis indicate that these newly developed scales have acceptable model fit as well as evidence of convergent, discriminant, concurrent, and incremental validity. Furthermore, the scales show scalar invariance between men and women which allows researchers to have greater confidence that observed differences in gender role beliefs are due to differences in the underlying construct rather than an alternate way of interacting with or interpreting the scale items. In sum, these scales provide researchers with a psychometrically-sound measure of prescriptive gender role beliefs of men and women on a common metric thereby allowing theory to develop unconstrained by measurement procedures that confound views toward women with views toward men, and also views of work with views of home.
Transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) adults broadly face elevated risk of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors in comparison to their cisgender peers, and even higher risk among those with experiences of gender dysphoria. Prior research has largely focused on transgender populations, with limited attention to nonbinary individuals, particularly in states with hostile policy contexts and increasingly restricted gender affirming care. A cross-sectional survey was administered at 36 LGBTQ+ Pride events across North Carolina. The analytic sample included 1,109 TGNB respondents (30.7
Research identifies an organization’s climate toward sexual harassment as the strongest predictor of sexual harassment prevalence. Yet how employees come to perceive their organization’s climate toward sexual harassment has not been explored. Drawing on data from 35 interviews with restaurant workers in Madison, Wisconsin, we show that workers overwhelmingly draw from their experiences and interactions in the workplace, rather than written organizational policies, to make sense of the organization’s climate toward sexual harassment. Workers who perceived their organization to be intolerant of unwanted sexual or sexist behavior described witnessing disrespectful or harassing behaviors being preempted, interrupted, or addressed. However, workers who did experience unwanted sexual or sexist behaviors rarely concluded that their organization was broadly tolerant of sexual harassment. Instead, they often drew boundaries, perceiving their organization as more tolerant of such behavior from high-status members of the organization than from others (particularly customers and Latino employees). This variation indicates that perceptions of organizational climate are not necessarily uniform. These findings suggest that organizations can meaningfully deter sexual harassment by fostering climates in which disrespectful behavior – of any kind, and from any source – is clearly and reliably addressed.
Many women are the targets of sexual violence, and while the psychological distress and physical pain experienced by people who have been sexually assaulted are well-documented, less research has used experimental designs to evaluate factors in how perceivers understand the pain and hardship of women who have experienced sexual assault. Furthermore, the labels commonly used for targets of sexual violence (i.e., “victim” and “survivor”) carry differing connotations that could have important implications for how the pain of women who have been sexually assaulted is perceived. We experimentally assessed the influence of labeling in sexual assault and two other crimes (i.e., mugging and identity theft) on perceptions of psychological pain, hardship, and support needed. Interaction effects of crime type and label were observed for hardship, current psychological pain, and sensitivity to psychological pain, indicating that the effects of labels (survivor, victim, person who experienced) on perception vary by crime type. Sexual assault victims were perceived to have experienced more pain and hardship than several other label and crime combinations. Our results underscore the need for more research to better contextualize how these labels operate in affecting perceptions of pain and hardship, and also suggest that policy makers, activists, healthcare providers, and the targets of sexual violence themselves might consider the implications of label choice for ensuring that women who experience sexual assault receive empathetic care.
Although pornography use has risen globally, research on its psychological and relational correlates remains centered in Western contexts. This exploratory study examines how pornography use relates to sexual beliefs and behaviors among Mexican young adults, expanding prior research into a Latin American context. Utilizing sexual script theory, which highlights the pathways of sexual learning, often highly gendered in nature, we examined whether frequency of pornography use predicted reliance on pornography for arousal, incorporation of pornography into partnered sex, enjoyment of sexual intimacy, and sexual satisfaction. Results indicated that greater pornography use was associated with increased reliance on pornography for arousal, more frequent incorporation into partnered sexual activity, and lower sexual satisfaction, but was not related to enjoyment of sexual intimacy. Due to measurement invariance, analyses were estimated separately for men and women; however, the direction and statistical significance of the structural associations were consistent across gender-specific models. These findings largely mirror the results of prior research utilizing earlier versions of this survey, particularly in the United States, suggesting similarities across cultures while revealing gender-specific differences in participant responses. This study contributes to a growing body of literature on the global impact of pornography, highlighting both gendered expressions of sexuality and shared underlying patterns in how pornography relates to sexual functioning and well-being. These findings may support professionals in considering cultural and gendered contexts when discussing pornography, sexual expectations, and intimacy with young adults.
Traditional gender differences in mate preferences suggest that men tend to prioritize traits reflecting women’s reproductive potential and domestic skills, whereas women emphasize men’s socio-economic status. With the rise in women’s socio-economic status and escalating living costs, some research has investigated whether men are placing greater value on women's economic potential, whereas less attention has been given to whether women are placing greater value on men's domestic skills and willingness to share household responsibilities. This study employs a vignette survey experiment to investigate Chinese women’s preferences for considerate and family-oriented men in mate selection and how these preferences vary by women's residence of living and their educational attainment. Results revealed that urban Chinese women have dual expectations for ideal partners: they should be breadwinners and therefore capable of sharing the household's financial burden, but also homemakers who are considerate, family-oriented, and willing to share household chores and childcare responsibilities. Notably, the importance of being considerate and family-oriented was particularly pronounced among women living in more modernized large cities and those with higher levels of education. These findings demonstrate that in contexts where gender equality progresses unevenly across work and family domains, women increasingly prioritize men's domestic abilities and family involvement in mate selection.
Transgender and non-binary (TNB) people experience high rates of discrimination and are at greater risk of poor mental health compared to the general population. However, lacking is experimental evidence pertaining to factors that predict discrimination against TNB people, and the mechanisms underlying these effects. Across two experimental employment evaluation studies (N = 940), we tested whether TNB job applicants would be rated more negatively than cisgender applicants, and whether these effects were mediated by anticipated liking. We also tested both political conservatism and religiosity as potential moderators. In Study 1 (N = 375, Mage = 37.55 years), those who were more politically conservative viewed applicants as less competent and were less likely to recommend hiring the person when the applicant was TNB rather than cisgender. In Study 2 (N = 565, Mage = 38.84 years), political conservatism (but not religiosity) again moderated the effects of applicant gender status on ratings of competence and hiring recommendation. In both studies, these effects were mediated by low anticipated liking. Results suggest that, compared with cisgender job applicants, conservatives view TNB applicants as less competent and less worthy of hiring because they like TNB people less than their cisgender counterparts. Further research is needed to investigate factors that might reduce prejudice against TNB people, particularly among those who are more politically conservative.
Research has confirmed that adults’ hostile sexism and benevolent sexism harm adult women and men. Yet, men’s and women’s sexist attitudes also shape parenting behavior, and children agree with hostile and benevolent sexism at a young age. Our research connects these emerging insights to test the intergenerational links between parents’ and children’s sexism in 175 family triads: mothers, fathers, and their 8-year-old child (51
Feminist scholars link anti-fatness to sexist body ideals and a relentless drive toward thinness enabled by patriarchal beauty norms (Gordon, 2020; Saguy, 2012). Fat activists, fat liberation writers, and feminist psychologists have long asserted that fatness is a feminist issue, including the highly impactful 2012 Sex Roles issue that interrogated the relationship between fatness and feminism (Chrisler, 2012; Fikkan Rothblum, 2012; Saguy, 2012; Simic, 2016). Researchers have argued that fatness connects to cultural ideologies about bodies, power, patriarchy, and sexism. That said, qualitative researchers have not asked fat women to narrate their beliefs about links between fatness and political frameworks, a gap this study sought to fill. This study drew from semi-structured interviews with 20 fat women from a diverse community sample (Mage = 40.4, SD = 11.83, 40
Black women in the United States continue to face disproportionate gender-based sexual violence, often compounded by stereotypes that portray them as sexually promiscuous. This study examines how perceptions of entitativity—the belief that Black women form a cohesive, interchangeable group—shape negative reactions toward a Black woman who reports workplace sexual harassment by a White supervisor. Using a sample of White American adults (N = 197), participants completed measures of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), perceived Black women’s entitativity, promiscuity attributions, and two forms of “counter-allyship”: blaming the complainant and expressing sympathy toward the perpetrator (“himpathy”). Results showed that perceiving Black women as a highly unified group predicted stronger promiscuity attributions, which, in turn, increased counter-allyship among participants high (but not low) in RWA. These findings reveal how group-based stereotyping processes and authoritarian attitudes intersect to undermine empathy for Black women survivors of workplace harassment. Understanding these mechanisms can inform diversity training, organizational response policies, and therapist interventions that address bias in perceptions of sexual violence complaints.
Black, Latina, Multiracial, and Indigenous Women in the United States experience disproportionate adverse reproductive health outcomes. Discrimination, stigma, and resulting stress are potent contributors to these disparities. We investigated gendered racism, anticipated pregnancy-specific gendered racism, anticipated pregnancy-specific stress, everyday discrimination, birth control-related mistrust, feelings about pregnancy, and desire to have children among a geographically diverse online sample of 872 non-pregnant, nulliparous (i.e., individuals who have never given birth) Women in the United States who identified as Black, Latina, Multiracial (including Black and/or Latina), and/or white. Results confirmed that Black, Latina, and Multiracial Women experienced and anticipated greater gendered racism and less desire to have children than did white Women. As hypothesized, gendered racism experiences were associated with greater anticipated pregnancy-specific stress, and this association was mediated by greater anticipated pregnancy-specific gendered racism. Among only Black, Latina, and Multiracial Women (n = 315), birth control-related mistrust—a consequence of historical and contemporary gendered racism—was indirectly associated with greater anticipated pregnancy-specific stress through greater anticipated pregnancy-specific gendered racism. Using a life course perspective, the results demonstrate that gendered racism shapes expectations about pregnancy before it occurs, potentially elevating stress during pregnancy and thereby heightening the risk for adverse birth outcomes among Women of Color. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of considering Women of Color’s experiences across the lifespan, not just during pregnancy, to inform social justice and health interventions.
Although prior literature consistently reports associations between gendered racial microaggressions (GRM) and psychological symptoms, less is known about potential mediating and moderating mechanisms related to this association. We posit identity shifting—or self-adjustment to avoid stereotyping— as a potential factor. Additionally, we sought to clarify the moderating role of racial identity as it relates to identity shifting and GRM. Findings supported our hypothesis that GRM is indirectly associated with worse mental health outcomes through identity shifting. This hypothesized model was not contingent upon racial identity, despite significant associations between racial identity and identity shifting. Further, microaggressions intended to silence and/or objectify women had the strongest association with identity shifting. Overall, identity shifting may help to explain the association between gendered racial microaggressions and mental health. Further research using rigorous statistical and study design methods is required to validate this model. These findings may inform clinical practice and add to the literature on how systemic oppression impacts Black women.
Many gender minorities conceal their identity to escape structural and social stigma and protect their own mental health, yet their concealment strategies remain poorly understood. We argue that gender identity concealment and assigned sex concealment represent discrete concealment pathways with distinct mechanisms and consequences. A convenience sample of 185 transgender and gender diverse Australian adults completed an online survey exploring gender identity concealment and assigned sex concealment. Scores representing active concealment and disclosure were calculated for each concealment pathway. Score distributions and discriminant validity statistics confirmed that gender identity concealment and assigned sex concealment were neither interchangeable nor mutually exclusive. gender identity concealment was associated with decreased social support and assigned sex concealment with increased discrimination. Only gender identity concealment was related to depression—participants who did not attempt to conceal their gender identity at all were significantly less depressed than those who did. Assigned sex concealment was not associated with psychological well-being and was thus preferable as an alternative coping mechanism. Gender identity concealment and assigned sex concealment did not share a correlation on any of the tested variables, suggesting that they produce dissimilar psychological outcomes and that results published in studies conflating the two have been skewed. In the long term, eliminating social stigma against gender minorities may disincentivise gender identity concealment and combat mental health disparities in the trans community. Meanwhile, barriers to assigned sex concealment (e.g., unequal access to gender-affirming healthcare interventions) must be addressed.
Whether men who have sex with men see themselves as sexy is influenced by their gender expression – that is, by their performance of masculinity and femininity. Generally, while masculine men attract others’ sexual interest, feminine men are relegated to the sexual margins. Hegemonic masculinity underpins the disproportionate value gay communities place in masculinity over femininity. Yet norms of gender expression and sexual desirability also vary between gay subcultures. Here, we tested the relationships between sexually desirability, masculinity, and femininity, and whether these relationships were moderated by participants’ membership in a gay subculture. Using dynamic structural equation modelling, we analyzed experience sampling data from 234 Grindr users (T = 12,162) collected in May 2022. We found that masculinity, but not femininity, was associated with how sexually desirable Grindr users felt, but only limited evidence that these relationships differed between subcultures. When participants felt more masculine (β = .09) they felt more sexually desirable, and vice versa (β = .16). Our data suggest anti-effeminacy may act via masculinity and not femininity to affect whether men who have sex with men feel sexually desirable. The pressure to be sexy may lead men who have sex with men to invest in masculinity. In doing so, they may risk perpetuating anti-effeminacy, among other forms of discrimination.
This article examines how neoliberal subjectivity has been established in young women who are activists in feminist spaces and social reproduction struggles in Barcelona. Based on interviews with 19 white, cisgender, non-mother women—highly educated but living in precarious conditions—who actively participate in these movements, the study explores how neoliberal logic shapes their perceptions of motherhood. Neoliberal subjectivity, understood as a cost-benefit calculation prioritizing self-optimization, pressures women to balance motherhood and careers as individual responsibilities without state support. This logic often influences middle- or upper-class women aligned with neoliberal feminism. However, our findings reveal that participants frequently reject traditional maternity or consider remaining childless rather than adopting the neoliberal multifaceted woman model. Three factors limit neoliberal subjectivity’s influence: precarious living conditions in a familistic culture raise doubts about meeting socially accepted reproductive standards; feminist ideology no longer views motherhood as essential, enabling resistance to conservative, family-centered state norms; and the everyday forms of resistance that challenge dominant neoliberal and patriarchal norms. This study adds to Foucauldian perspectives by integrating materialist feminist insights and contributes to understanding Spain's low fertility rates. The findings imply rethinking therapeutic approaches, structural policies, feminist discourses, and methodologies for understanding contemporary reproductive decisions shaped by socioeconomic conditions rather than individual preferences alone.
Sexual exploitation is an umbrella term encompassing sexual experiences where one is taken advantage of by another. Sexual exploitation experiences are common during adolescence and emerging adulthood. As sexual exploitation involves having one’s body sexually objectified, it is unsurprising that sexual exploitation is associated with negative body-related outcomes. However, no research has evaluated the association of sexual exploitation with dysmorphic appearance concern, defined as a preoccupation with perceived flaws in one’s appearance. The current study addressed this gap by evaluating sexual exploitation history as a predictor of dysmorphic appearance concern among a sample of emerging adult women (ages 19–25) with sexual exploitation histories (N = 330). Overall, survivors reported high levels of dysmorphic appearance concern, with 28.5
This research examined why prescriptive beauty norms (PBN)—the belief that women should invest time, effort, and resources into their appearance—remain so powerful in contemporary societies. Across two studies conducted in Türkiye, we investigated whether these norms are anchored in traditional masculinity ideology and hierarchy-enhancing motives. In Study 1 (N = 381), traditional masculinity ideology predicted stronger endorsement of PBN, even after controlling for hostile and benevolent sexism and other components of the beauty myth. In Study 2 (N = 239), a gender-atypical feedback manipulation successfully elicited discomfort among men, consistent with precarious manhood theory, but did not change their endorsement of social dominance orientation (SDO), power values, or PBN. Together, these findings suggest that while masculinity-related beliefs and hierarchy-enhancing values may be associated with the endorsement of prescriptive beauty expectations, situational threats to masculinity do not necessarily produce immediate shifts in these beliefs. In the second study, power values emerged as a modest predictor of PBN, whereas the experimental manipulation itself did not influence these attitudes. These results suggest that men’s endorsement of prescriptive beauty expectations may be associated with broader gender-role expectations and status-related motives, while also appearing relatively resistant to change following a brief situational manipulation. Understanding beauty norms may inform the work of therapists, educators, activists, and policymakers seeking to reduce appearance-related pressures and promote more equitable gender relations.
