Gendering Gender: Introducing Gender Image as a Way to Assess Variation in Gender Expression in Survey Research

Claudia Geist , University of Utah
Kari J. Dockendorff, University of Utah

We seek to bridge the research between "traditional" gender inequality scholars and those who focus on the disadvantages experienced by trans* and gender non-conforming individuals. We build on the pioneering research that has changed the way we think about how to measure gender in survey research. We argue that assessing how individuals see themselves and how they think others see them with respect to femininity, masculinity, and androgyny can give us an additional way to examine how gender structures opportunities and disadvantages in contemporary societies beyond gender identity and sexuality categories. The present paper focuses on introducing the concept and demonstrates overlap and disparities between the way individuals see themselves and believe others see them.

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 Presented in Session 9. Marriage, Family, Households, & Unions; Gender, Race, & Ethnicity