Gender Role Violations and Identity Misclassification: The Roles of Audience and Actor Variables

Abstract

When people violate certain social role norms, they risk false categorization into a stigmatized group. For example, heterosexual men who perform female stereotypic behaviors are often misclassified as gay. This identity misclassification is aversive because it threatens fundamental psychological needs. Findings presented here reveal that expectations of identity misclassification fuel heterosexual actors' (N=216) discomfort during imagined gender role violations and that audience variables that increase the likelihood of misclassification also increase role violators' discomfort. Moreover, expectations of misclassification strongly predict people's discomfort during gender role violations regardless of their standing along relevant actor dimensions (e.g., attitudes and self-views). These findings suggest that people's-and particularly heterosexual men's-expectations of identity misclassification are powerful mechanisms that underlie adherence to traditional gender role norms.

What Accounts for Heterosexual Women’s Negative Emotional Responses to Lesbians?: Examination of Traditional Gender Role Beliefs and Sexual Prejudice

“…A source of this social pressure may be found in the perceived threat that one will be mislabeled as homosexual (Bosson et al 2005). Indeed, prior research has shown that the anticipation of being misclassified as lesbian was positively associated with heterosexual women's selfreport of negative affect during gender role violations (Bosson et al 2006). While it is recognized that this effect may be more pronounced in men relative to women, our data indicate that the consequences of this effect in women cannot be disregarded.…”

“…As a result, the anticipation of being mistakenly classified as homosexual leads to an aversive state when exposed to relevant gender role violations. Recent research supports this hypothesis in both men and women (Bosson et al 2006). Indeed, the experience of negative affect may be the "emotional foundation" for subsequent feelings of anger and anxiety (Berkowitz 1990).…”

“…In short, sexual prejudice serves a social-expressive function that differentiates an individual's heterosexual ingroup from the homosexual out-group (Herek 1986). This effect is thought to be especially pronounced among heterosexual men, because gender norms are more rigidly prescribed for, and adhered to by, men than women (Bosson et al 2006;Herek 1986;Hort et al 1990). Indeed, theorists agree that heterosexual men's repudiation of feminine attributes in other men (e.g., holding negative attitudes toward gay men) functions largely to affirm heterosexual masculine identity (Franklin 1998;Hamner 1990;Kimmel 1997;Kite and Whitley 1998).…”

Adolescent Susceptibility to Deviant Peer Pressure: Does Gender Matter?

“…The increasing salience of gender role stereotypes during adolescent development juxtaposed against socialization pressures from peers can heighten adolescents' awareness about the consequences of deviating from masculine and feminine norms for males and females, respectively. For instance, studies have shown that early adolescents perceive social status and risky, defiant behaviors to be more closely associated with male popularity and peer approval (Closson 2009;Iwamoto and Smiler 2013;Mahalik et al 2007;Rienzi et al 1996;Schulte et al 2009), and males who deviate from gender-congruent expectations experience negative social consequences, such as peer rejection (Bosson et al 2006;Mora 2012). As a result, males may feel socialization pressures to assert traditionally masculine behaviors such as rule-breaking and defiance.…”

The Psychological Benefits and Costs of Positive and Negative Intergroup Contact

“…Specifically, while they display more negativity toward lesbian women than gay men, this difference is much less noticeable than the difference between heterosexual men' attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women. This finding is mainly assumed to be due to the fact that heterosexual men are more sensitive to gender-role violations than heterosexual women (Bosson et al, 2005;Bosson, Taylor, Prewitt-Freilino, 2006;Louderback & Whitley, 1997). For instance, heterosexual men perceive sexually prejudiced slurs such as 'faggot' and 'sissy' to be more contemptuous and insulting than heterosexual women consider the equivalent, such as 'dyke' (Burn, 2000;Preston & Stanley, 1987).…”