Beyond binary gender: From perceptions to policy decisions

Abstract

As scientists and as a society, we often describe and conduct research under the assumption that gender is binary and categorical (Martin & Slepian, 2021; van Anders, 2015). However, these categories do not account for the growing number of people identifying outside the binary (Rubin et al., 2020). Drawing from social and cognitive psychology, this dissertation investigates how we think about gender outside a binary framework. First, we explore how people perceive individual faces that vary in gendered appearance using a spectrum measure. Across 6 studies, we find that cisgender participants typically sort faces into two binary categories and show less consensus when sorting faces with intermediate gendered appearances. However, this pattern of categorization can be influenced by long-term lived experience (e.g., being transgender or nonbinary) and short-term experimental manipulations (e.g., learning about novel groups). The second paper builds on previous work (Burke et al., 2023) to examine the perception of nonbinary individuals as a group. Across 4 studies, we find that cisgender people view nonbinary individuals as less socially legitimate, less stable, and less likable than other gender groups (e.g., men and women). Additionally, we find that viewing nonbinary individuals as less real, stable, and likable is negatively associated with endorsement of nonbinary-inclusive policies. Finally, we address a specific context where cisgender perceptions of nonbinary people impact access to gender-affirming medical care for those with binary versus nonbinary identities. Here, cisgender people often prioritize binary trans individuals, believing they are more likely to want surgery than nonbinary individuals or those who came out later in life. As a result, cisgender people risk deprioritizing the needs of nonbinary individuals in crucial policy decisions. In sum, this dissertation demonstrates how people conceptualize those outside the binary default and begins to explore how these conceptualizations have practical implications for nonbinary individuals.