The Politics of Being “Cait”: Caitlyn Jenner, Transphobia, and Parasocial Contact Effects on Transgender-Related Political Attitudes

Abstract

Celebrities saturate American culture and often become relevant in politics, yet political science has largely left unstudied how celebrities affect mass political behavior. We focus on the 2015 story of Caitlyn Jenner revealing her transgender identity. Using an original nationally representative survey from that summer, we examine whether following the Jenner story and evaluations of its social significance affected attitudes toward transgender rights policies. Specifically, we examine how age and transphobia interacted with engagement with the Jenner story to shape attitudes toward transgender rights. We find, counterintuitively, that older respondents who were more transphobic were less likely to see her story as representing negative social trends if they followed it in the media. Furthermore, more transphobic older respondents were more likely to support pro-transgender policies if they viewed Jenner’s story less negatively. We then discuss the implications of our findings for research on celebrity effects on politics and transgender rights.

Gender, traditional gender ideology, gender essentialist beliefs, and masculinity threat as determinants of attitudes toward trans and gender diverse people in a U.K. sample.

“…The Parasocial Contact Hypothesis (PCH) (Schiappa et al, 2005) claims that contact can be experienced through positive portrayals of the minority group via mass media in both real and fictional observations and can be effective in improving attitudes when an affinity between the character and the group in question. Research has shown that parasocial contact with TGD characters reduces negative attitudes, providing empirical support for the PCH (Chen & Zhang, 2022; Massey et al, 2021; McDermott et al, 2018; Miller et al, 2020). For example, Massey et al (2021) found that observing a fictional trans character was associated with a reduced desire to distance themselves from TGD people, as observing this character increased feelings of empathy and reduced intergroup anxiety.…”

Gender: A Postmodern Idea Developed in Association with the Modern Concept of Sex in Considering the Implications for Evolving Sexuality

“…When the sexual act could now result in detrimental consequences as a result of increasingly prevalent STDs [114] and the knowledge of current sexual practices as presented in pornographic sites is expected by partners, deciding on one's gender demands dedication. If, for example, one's gender is counter to the sex with which a person was born, the person-in valuing their gender-is expected and even encouraged by celebrities who have undergone such procedures [150] to use the health system to medically change their sex to correspond to their gender [151].…”

Can Exposure to Celebrities Reduce Prejudice? The Effect of Mohamed Salah on Islamophobic Behaviors and Attitudes

“…Numerous observational and experimental laboratory studies document support for the parasocial contact hypothesis. While much of this literature has focused on the role of negative media coverage in exacerbating prejudice (Ramasubramanian 2013), exposure to fictional television characters and celebrities has also been shown to reduce racial prejudice, religious prejudice, prejudice based on gender or sexual orientation, and prejudice against individuals with disabilities and mental health disorders (Abrams, McGaughey, and Haghighat 2018;Bond 2020;Miller et al 2020;Park 2012;Wong, Lookadoo, and Nisbett 2017).…”