Hetero-cis–normativity and the gendering of transphobia

TLDR

Past research shows a gendered cisnormative bias: heterosexual men are far less supportive of transgender people than heterosexual women across multiple countries. The study proposes that transphobia and homophobia are linked through hetero‑cis‑normativity, which normalizes heterosexual cisgender identity and marginalizes nonheterosexual and noncisgender people. The authors surveyed 775 southern U.S. college students to examine how hetero‑cis‑normativity shapes gendered attitudes toward trans people, testing (1) gender differences in views of male‑to‑female and female‑to‑male trans individuals, (2) the role of feminist identity and LGBTQ+ support in mitigating negative attitudes, and (3) how nonheterosexuals’ perspectives further clarify the gender‑attitude link.

Abstract

A persistent finding in past research reifies a “gendered” cisnormative bias whereby heterosexual men (compared to heterosexual women) have been found to be overwhelmingly less supportive of transgender individuals in quantitative studies conducted in the United States and in Canada, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Poland, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. I suggest that this finding reflects a synergistic relationship between “transphobia” and “homophobia” or, put another way, an overarching presence of hetero-cis–normativity whereby it is “normal” to be both heterosexual and cisgender and it is not normal (and therefore acceptable to be prejudiced toward) nonheterosexual and noncisgender individuals. Using this hetero-cisnormative framework in the current study, I utilize quantitative survey data from college-age students (N = 775; average age, 22; 78% White) at a university in the southern United States to investigate attitudes toward transgender individuals in three ways. First, I explore how hetero-cis–normative assumptions lead to gender differences in attitudes toward male-to-female and female-to-male transgender individuals. Next, I examine perspectives in opposition to hetero-cis–normativity—namely feminist identity and supportive attitudes toward lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals—to explain why men (compared to women) have more negative attitudes toward transgender individuals. Finally, I explore how nonheterosexuals' attitudes may further elucidate the relationship between gender and attitudes toward transgender individuals. Overall results provide support for using a hetero-cis–normative framework to understand transphobia.