Drawing on data from interviews with 65 masculine-to-feminine transgenderists, the authors examine the coming-out experiences of transgendered individuals. Drawing on the literature that shows gender to be an inherent component of the social infrastructure that at an individual level is accomplished in interaction with others, they demonstrate that interactional challenges to gender are insufficient to challenge the system of gender. Whereas many transgenderists believe that their actions and identities are radical challenges to the binary system of gender, in fact, the majority of such individuals reinforce and reify the system they hope to change.
Recent accounts of the contact hypothesis have stressed the cognitive aspects of the phenomenon. On the basis of this call for reformulation, we propose the existence of the advisor hypothesis, i.e., the idea that third parties can use their influence to inhibit stereotyping about in-group and out-group members. We conducted an examination of this construct, with reference to gender stereotypes, using an archival data set of 38 years of the "Playboy Advisor" column. Evidence from both qualitative and quantitative analyses indicated that the Playboy Advisor carried out several actions to inhibit misogyny and discourage the application of stereotypes to both men and women. Implications and limitations of the present research are discussed.
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