The present study explored the relations between self-reported aspects of gender identity and sexual orientation in an online sample of 4756 cisgender English-speaking participants (1129 men) using the Multi-Gender Identity Questionnaire and a sexual orientation questionnaire. Participants also labeled their sexual orientation. We found a wide range of gender experiences in the sample, with 38% of the participants feeling also as the “other” gender, 39% wishing they were the “other” gender, and 35% wishing they had the body of the “other” sex. Variability in these measures was very weakly related to sexual orientation, and these relations were gender-specific, being mostly U shaped (or inverted-U shaped) in men and mostly linear asymptotic in women. Thus, in women, feeling-as-a-woman was highest in the exclusively heterosexual group, somewhat lower in the mostly heterosexual group, and lowest in the bisexual, mostly homosexual, and exclusively homosexual groups, which did not differ, and the reverse was true for feeling-as-a-man (i.e., lowest in the exclusively heterosexual group and highest in the bisexual, mostly homosexual, and exclusively homosexual groups). In men, feeling-as-a-man was highest at both ends of the sexual orientation continuum and lowest at its center, and the reverse was true for feeling-as-a-woman. Similar relations were evident also for the other aspects of gender identity. This study adds to a growing body of literature that questions dichotomous conventions within the science of gender and sexuality. Moreover, our results undermine the tight link assumed to exist between sexual and gender identities, and instead posit them as weakly correlated constructs.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s10508-018-1239-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The relations between self-reported aspects of gender identity and sexuality were studied in an online sample of cisgender (n = 4,954), transgender (n = 406), and gender-diverse (n = 744) groups. Aspects of gender identity and sexual fantasies, attraction, behavior, and romantic relations were assessed using the Multi-gender Identity Questionnaire (Multi-GIQ) and a sexuality questionnaire. Results show a wide spectrum of gender experiences and sexual attractions within each group, an overlap among the groups, and very weak relations between atypical gender identity and atypical sexuality. At the group level, aspects of gender identity and sexuality were mainly predicted by gender and sex-gender configuration, with little contribution of sex assigned at birth. A principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that measures of gender identity and of sexuality were independent, the structure of sexuality was mostly related to gender, whereas the structure of gender identity was mostly related to sex-gender configuration. The results of both approaches suggest that measures of gender identity could roughly be divided into three classes: one including feeling as a man and feeling as a woman; a second including measures of nonbinary and "trans" feelings; and a third including feeling as a "real" woman and feeling as a "real" man. Our study adds to current scientific data that challenge dichotomous conventions within gender identity and sexuality research. Possible social and clinical implications are discussed.The idea that biological sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation are directly linked has long prevailed in scientific research (for review, see Rees-Turyn, Doyle, Holland, & Root, 2008). According to this view, each of two biological sexes (male/ female) is associated with a typical, coherent gender identity (boy/man, girl/woman) and sexual attraction toward the "other" 1 sex (Diamond & Butterworth, 2008;Richardson, 2007). Relatedly, it is often assumed that atypical development of one construct (biological sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation) leads to atypical development of the other constructs (for a critical review of this assumption, see Jordan-Young & Rumiati, 2012;Ponse, 1978;Richardson, 2007).The existence and experiences of bisexual individuals and individuals with nonbinary gender identities challenge the binary conceptualization of sexual orientation and gender identity, respectively. Indeed, studies of sexual orientation have revealed that it is a multidimensional construct (Vrangalova & Savin-Williams, 2012) that is better defined as a spectrum rather than categorically (reviewed in Savin-Williams, 2016). Similarly, narratives of transgender individuals (i.e., individuals whose self-labeling is different from their birth-assigned category) reveal that while some may identify with the "other" biological sex unequivocally (Bockting & Coleman, 2007;Girchick, 2008;Wilson, 2002), others may embrace identities that reject the gender binary by incorporating both male and female

Gender non-conforming behavior and a homosexual sexual orientation have both been linked to higher levels of anxiety. This study examined the independent and interactive effects of gender atypicality and sexual orientation on levels of state anxiety immediately following a stressful social interaction task among a sample of homosexual and heterosexual Israeli men (n = 36). Gender atypicality was measured via both self-report and observer ratings. State anxiety was measured via both self-report immediately subsequent to the stressful social interaction task and pre- to post task changes in salivary cortisol. Results showed that self-reported gender atypicality and heterosexual sexual orientation predicted higher levels of self-reported social interaction anxiety, but not changes in cortisol. There were no sexual orientation by gender behavior interactions and there were no significant effects for observer rated gender atypicality. These findings suggest that gender atypicality, not homosexuality, place individuals at risk for increased anxiety.

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