The subjective meaning of gender: how survey designs affect perceptions of femininity and masculinity

Abstract

The rationale for this study is that self-categorising rating scales are becoming increasingly popular in large-scale survey research moving beyond binary ways of measuring gender. We are referring here to the use of rating scales that are similar to graded scales capturing left–right or liberal–conservative political ideology, that is, scales that do not include predefinitions of the core concepts (femininity/masculinity, as compared to left/right or liberal/conservative). Yet, previous studies including such non-binary gender measures have paid little attention to potential effects of survey designs. Using an experimental set-up, we are able to show that sequencing of gender measurements influences the answers received. Men were especially affected by our treatments and rated themselves as significantly ‘less masculine’ when prompted to reason about the meaning of gender prior to self-categorisation on scales measuring degrees of femininity and masculinity. Moreover, self-categorising seems to trigger more biological understandings of gender than anticipated in theory.<br /><br />Key messages<ul><li>Sequencing of gender measurements influences answers received in a survey.</li><li>Men rate themselves as ‘less masculine’ when prompted to reason about gender prior to answering gender scales.</li><li>Self-categorising gender scales trigger more biological understandings of gender than anticipated in theory.</li></ul>

Differences in how women and men in a Swedish population-based sample think about sick leave: A cross-sectional vignette study

“…The theoretical assumption of this study is that gendered thoughts, at least partly, may be driven by adherence to sociocultural norms for masculinity [ 3, 9, 10 ]. This assumption is supported by a recent study on perceptions of typical ‘masculine’ versus ‘feminine’ traits in Sweden which showed that masculinity, even in the Swedish context of gender equity, was linked to being agentic (decisive, competitive, focused) whereas femininity was linked to being communal (caring, relationship-oriented) [ 11 ]. A recent meta-analysis of US public opinion polls, covering more than 30,000 individuals, showed similar results and demonstrated that while some gender stereotypes changed over time –such as beliefs about individuals’ competence –beliefs about men as ambitious and courageous and women as affectionate and emotional were remarkably stable [ 12 ].…”

“…Markstedt et al [ 11 ] showed that men and women in Sweden view themselves as having a mix of feminine and masculine characteristics. At the same time, more men than women scored high (many masculine traits) on a subjective masculinity scale and, vice versa, more women than men scored high (many feminine traits) on a subjective femininity scale.…”

“…In this study, we test the effect of respondents’ gender on attitudes towards sick leave and depression. Based on the reasoning in Markstedt et al [ 11 ] and Möller-Leimkühler [ 5 ] we hypothesise that:…”

The Prevalence and Implications of Gender Blindness in Quantitative Political Science Research

“…Indeed, in recent years, there has been growing critique of the binary approach to measuring gender (Bittner and Goodyear-Grant 2017; Hatemi et al 2012). Surveys using measures of sexual orientation and gender identity have recently come into use, but there is no consensus yet on how to introduce a nonbinary approach to quantitative methods (Markstedt et al 2021; Westbrook and Saperstein 2015).…”

How gender and low mental health literacy are related to unmet need for mental healthcare: a cross-sectional population-based study in Sweden

“…Men’s higher likelihood of unmet need may be explained by gender norms in the society defining individuals’ possible actions and their consequences [ 17 – 19 ]. Dominant masculinity norms encourage men to be self-reliant, competitive, and decisive, and discourage feminine traits such as being weak, emotional, or shy [ 18 , 20 , 21 ]. This can lead to denial of symptoms and reluctance to seek healthcare, especially for depression and anxiety disorders that are traditionally connected to being feminine [ 18 , 19 , 22 ].…”