Gender Identification Beyond the Binary and Its Consequences for Social Well-Being

Abstract

Recent societal initiatives (e.g., gender-neutral toilets, clothing, and language) highlight the ongoing shift of gender away from binary categories: “man” and “woman.” We identified and investigated two reasons for this shift: that many people may not identify with strictly binary categories and that this may have negative social consequences. Employing a multiple-identification model, we measured intergroup self-categorization with both men and women (Studies 1 and 2), as well as with a “third gender” (Study 3) and investigated how multiple identifications are related to social well-being (Studies 2 and 3). In Study 1 (N = 182, mean age = 32.74, 121 women), we found that a binary model was not the best fit for our gender identification data. In Study 2 (N = 482, mean age = 30.98, 240 AFABs), we found four clusters of gender identification, replicating previous research. Furthermore, we found that gender non-conforming participants reported being less able to be their authentic selves than binary participants. We also found that participants who identified lowly with both binary genders reported lower well-being in general (belongingness, self-esteem, life satisfaction, positive affect). In Study 3 (N = 280, mean age = 36.97, 140 AFABs), we found that asking about a third gender seemed to change how much participants reported identifying with men and women. We also found that gender non-conforming participants reported lower authenticity, belongingness, and self-esteem. We conclude that moving away from binary categories of gender may be beneficial to many non-conforming people of different nationalities, including cisgender, heterosexual people.

Describing Non-Binary People’s Encounters with the Healthcare System: A Qualitative Study in Catalonia (Spain)

“…It emphasizes the adverse effects of misinformation and inadequate training among healthcare providers concerning emerging social realities, corroborating Gonzales and Henning-Smith’s ( 2017 ) findings. Notably, sexuality education for healthcare professionals is insufficient and varies widely across university curricula (Ballering et al, 2023 ; Dalfó-Pibernat et al, 2015 ; Wickham et al, 2023 ), leading to discomfort and deficits in social skills when addressing patient issues and hindering the provision of holistic care (Doyle & Barreto, 2023 ; Klaeson et al, 2017 ; Leyva-Moral et al, 2021 ; Verrastro et al, 2020 ). This inadequacy is especially evident in training related to LGBTIQ+ groups (Nowaskie & Patel, 2020 ; Pichardo Galán & Puche Cabezas, 2019 ).…”

“…Institutional policies constrain their access to healthcare and may act as a kind of structural stigma, which strengthens the idea of gender binarism (McCann et al, 2021 ). A recent qualitative scoping review addressing TGD people’s experiences receiving healthcare attention not only found that most of their experiences and needs were related to challenges, including financial and insurance barriers, but also notably emphasized the lack of the providers’ knowledge and sensibility (understood as lack of competency, stigma, hostile treatment settings, among others) (Teti et al, 2021 ; Wickham et al, 2023 ). In some cases, healthcare was denied to them due to their gender identity (Kearns et al, 2021 ).…”

“…In the past five years, research has documented differences in health outcomes and rates of gender-affirming interventions among TGD individuals, although the findings remain inconclusive (Ballering et al, 2023 ; Cheung et al, 2020 ; Jones et al, 2019 ; Wickham et al, 2023 ). Further research is needed to better understand the experiences and needs of specific groups of TGD when accessing health services (McCann et al, 2021 ; Teti et al, 2021 ), specially focusing on the views, needs, and experiences of non-binary people (Cheung et al, 2020 ).…”

Mapping gender stereotypes: a network analysis approach

“…Finally, we built our research from a binary perspective (female vs. male) as a general starting point. However, addressing gender as a more fluid construct rather than a categorical one could provide additional insights into the nature of gender stereotypes as recent research highlights the ongoing shift in gender conceptualization away from binary categories to a broader spectrum (Abed et al, 2019 ; Wickham et al, 2023 ).…”