Evaluating Implicit Biases and Hostile Behaviors Against Gender Nonconforming Individuals
Date
2019-04
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Florida Southern College
Abstract
Gender nonconformity is characterized by individuals who express characteristics outside of the gender binary in which they are expected to conform, such as men expressing feminine traits and women expressing masculine traits (Rieger, Linsenmeier, Gygax, & Bailey, 2008). Gender nonconformity is common amongst members of the LGBT community, but transgender individuals are the most subject to hostile treatment for presenting as a gender opposed to the one assigned at birth (Miller & Grollman, 2015). Most people wish to believe themselves free of discriminatory tendencies, but the fact remains that everyone holds stereotypes about groups to which they do not belong (Dovidio, Gaertner, & Validzic, 1998). These stereotypes manifest in the form of implicit biases, or discriminatory behaviors that an individual may be unaware he or she is displaying (Greenwald & Krieger, 2006). The purpose of the current study to was to observe the role of both explicit and implicit biases in regards to discriminatory behaviors directed at gender nonconforming individuals in a cooperative task setting. Results indicated that participants tended to react more positively to gender nonconforming females and more negatively to gender nonconforming males when providing a partner evaluation, especially when explicit biases were expressed. The implications of these findings indicate that transgender and gender nonconforming individuals may be at higher risk of discriminatory treatment within task-oriented environments (e.g. the workplace).
Description
Honors thesis Spring 2019
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Keywords
Gender nonconformity, Sexual minorities, Homophobia, Discrimination