If given the choice, would you choose to be a man or a woman?
Publication: The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality
Volume 25, Number 2
Abstract
Recent research in North America has failed to find evidence of sexist attitudes on measures of explicit sexual attitudes. This suggests that social desirability may affect self-reports of gender-related attitudes. This study used an indirect means to assess gender-related attitudes—individual's interest in experiencing being the other gender. Participants were 209 individuals (107 men, 102 women) who completed an online survey. Participants indicated whether they would choose to be reincarnated as a man or a woman and whether they would choose to experience being the other gender on a temporary basis. They also provided the reason for their choices. We found that 30% indicated that they would choose to be the other gender if reincarnated, 56% for a week, 67% for a day, and 65% for an hour. There were no significant gender differences. Content analysis of responses indicated three primary reasons for choosing to experience being the other gender: wanting a new experience or perspective; the perceived positives of being the other gender; and, the perceived negatives of being their current gender. It also yielded three primary reasons for choosing not to experience being the other gender: desire to maintain the status quo; the perceived positives of their current gender; and, the perceived negatives of the other gender. Many participants also identified the temporary nature of the change as important to their decisions regarding a time-limited experience of being the other gender. The results are discussed in terms of the insights they provide on implicit gender-related attitudes.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Anthis, K.S. (2002). The role of sexist discrimination in adult women's identity development. Sex Roles, 47(9/10), 477–484. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021604611766
Bastian, B., & Haslam, N. (2006). Psychological essentialism ad stereotype endorsement. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 42(2), 228–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2005.03.003
Bem, S.L. (1981). Gender schema theory: A cognitive account of sex typing. Psychological Review, 88(4), 354–364. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.88.4.354
Bem, S.L. (1993). The lenses of gender: Transforming the debate on sexual inequality. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press
Calogero, R.M., & Jost, J.T. (2011). Self-subjugation among women: Exposure to sexist ideology, self-objectification, and the protective function of the need to avoid closure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(2), 211–228.https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021864 Medline:21186932
Capodilupa, C.M., Nadal, K.L., Corman, L., Hamlit, S., Lyons, O.B., & Weinberg, A. (2010). The manifestation of gender microaggressions. In D.W. Sue (Ed.), Microaggressions and marginality: Manifestation, dynamics, and impact (pp. 193–216). New York, NY: Wiley & Sons
Connelly, B.S., Ones, D.S., Davies, S.E., & Birkland, A. (2014). Opening up openness: A theoretical sort following critical incidents methodology and a meta-analytic investigation of the trait family measures. Journal of Personality Assessment, 96(1), 17–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2013.809355 Medline:23819531
Costa, P.T., Jr., & McCrae, R.R. (1992). Revised NEO personality inventory and NEO five factor inventory: Professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources
Cuddy, A.J., Wolf, E.B., Glick, P., Crotty, S., Chong, J., & Norton, M.I. (2015). Men as cultural ideals: Cultural values moderate gender stereotype content. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 109(4), 622–635. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000027 Medline:26414843
de Oliveira Laux, S.H., Ksenofontov, I., & Becker, J.C. (2015). Explicit but not implicit sexist beliefs predict benevolent and hostile sexist behavior. European Journal of Social Psychology, 45(6), 702–715. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2128
DeYoung, C.G. (2014). Openness/Intellect: A dimension of personality reflecting cognitive exploration. In M.L. Cooper & R.J. Larsen (Eds.), APA handbook of personality and social psychology: Personality processes and individual differences (Vol. 4, pp. 369–399). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association
Glick, P. (2004). The other side of the coin: Ambivalence toward men and gender inequality. Social Psychological Review, 6, 89–92
Glick, P., Fiske, S.T., Mladinic, A., Saiz, J.L., Abrams, D., Masser, B., …, & López López, W. (2000). Beyond prejudice as simple antipathy: Hostile and benevolent sexism across cultures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(5), 763–775.https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.79.5.763 Medline:11079240
Grossman, A.H., & D'Augelli, A.R. (2006). Transgender youth: Invisible and vulnerable. Journal of Homosexuality, 51(1), 111–128.https://doi.org/10.1300/J082v51n01_06 Medline:16893828
Hartman, P.L., & Judd, E.L. (1978). Sexism and TESOL materials. TESOL Quarterly, 12(4), 383–393. https://doi.org/10.2307/3586137
Haslam, N., Rothschild, L., & Ernst, D. (2000). Essentialist beliefs about social categories. British Journal of Social Psychology, 39(Pt 1), 113–127. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466600164363 Medline:10774531
Hoffman, R.M. (2001). The measurement of masculinity and femininity: Historical perspective and implications for counseling. Journal of Counseling and Development, 79(4), 472–485. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.2001.tb01995.x
Hoffman, R.M. (2006). Gender self-definition and gender self-acceptance in women: Intersections with feminist, womanist, and ethnic identities. Journal of Counseling and Development, 84(3), 358–372. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6678.2006.tb00415.x
Hoffman, R.M., Borders, L.D., & Hattie, J.A. (2000). Reconceptualizing femininity and masculinity: From gender roles to gender self-confidence. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 15, 475–503
Hoffman, R.M., Hattie, J.A., & Borders, L.D. (2005). Personal definitions of masculinity and femininity as an aspect of gender self-concept. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education and Development, 44(1), 66–83. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2164-490X.2005.tb00057.x
Hong, I., & Rust, J. (1989). Androgyny and openness to experience in a Chinese population. Social Behavior and Personality, 17(2), 215–218. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.1989.17.2.215
Kozee, H.B., Tylka, T., & Bauerband, L.A. (2012). Measuring transgender individuals' comfort with gender identity and appearance: Development and validation of the Transgender Congruence Scale. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 36(2), 179–196. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684312442161
Krueger, J.I., Hasman, J.F., Acevedo, M., & Villano, P. (2003). Perceptions of trait typicality in gender stereotypes: Examining the role of attribution and categorization processes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29(1), 108–116. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167202238376 Medline:15272964
Lombardi, E.L., Wilchins, R.A., Priesing, D., & Malouf, D. (2002). Gender violence: Transgender experiences with violence and discrimination. Journal of Homosexuality, 42(1), 89–101. https://doi.org/10.1300/J082v42n01_05 Medline:11991568
Martin, C.L., & Halverson, C.F., Jr. (1983). The effects of sex-typing schemas on young children's memory. Child Development, 54(3), 563–574. https://doi.org/10.2307/1130043
Martin, C.L., & Halverson, C.F. (1987). The roles of cognition in sex role acquisition. In D.B. Carter (Ed.), Current conceptions of sex roles and sex typing: Theory and research (pp. 123–137). New York, NY: Praeger Publishers
McDermott, R.C., & Schwartz, J.P. (2013). Toward a better understanding of emerging adult men's gender role journeys: Differences in age, education, race, relationship status, and sexual orientation. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 14(2), 202–210. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028538
Neuendorf, K.A. (2002). The content analysis guidebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Nielsen, L.B. (2002). Subtle, pervasive, harmful: Racist and sexist remarks as hate speech. Journal of Social Issues, 58(2), 265–280. https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-4560.00260
Ramos, M.R., Barreto, M., Ellemers, N., Moya, M., Ferreira, L., & Calanchini, J. (2015). Exposure to sexism can decrease implicit gender stereotype bias. European Journal of Social Psychology, 84, 348–362
Ruble, D.N., Martin, C., & Berenbaum, S. (2006). Gender development. In N. Eisenberg (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3. Social, emotional, and personality development (6th ed., pp. 858–932). New York, NY: Wiley
Rudman, L.A., & Kilianski, S.E. (2000). Implicit and explicit attitudes toward female authority. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26(11), 1315–1328. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167200263001
Swami, V., & Voracek, M. (2013). Associations among men's sexist attitudes, objectification of women, and their own drive for muscularity. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 14(2), 168–174. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028437
Swim, J.K., & Cohen, L.L. (1997). Overt, covert, and subtle sexism: A comparison between the attitudes toward women and modern sexism scales. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21(1), 103–118. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00103.x
Tougas, F., Brown, R., Beaton, A.M., & Joly, S. (1995). Neo-sexism: Plus ça change, plus c'est pareil. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21(8), 842–849. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167295218007
Walch, S.E., Ngamake, S.T., Francisco, J., Stitt, R.L., & Shingler, K.A. (2012). The attitudes toward transgendered individuals scale: Psychometric properties. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41(5), 1283–1291. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-9995-6 Medline:22810996
Wessler, S.L., & De Andrade, L.L. (2006). Slurs, stereotypes, and student interventions: Examining the dynamics, impact, and prevention of harassment in middle and high school. Journal of Social Issues, 62(3), 511–532. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2006.00471.x
Zucker, K.J., & Lawrence, A.A. (2009). Epidemiology of gender identity disorder: Recommendations for the standards of care of the world professional association for transgender health. International Journal of Transgenderism, 11(1), 8–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/15532730902799946
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality
Volume 25 • Number 2 • August 2016
Pages: 148 - 157
Copyright
© 2016 by the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada.
History
Published online: 6 June 2016
Published in print: August 2016
Key Words:
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Related Content
Citations
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.
Download article citation data for:
The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality 2016 25:2, 148-157
The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality 2016 25:2, 148-157