Physical attractiveness of girls with gender identity disorder

Abstract

University students, masked to group status, judged the physical attractiveness of girls with gender identity disorder and clinical and normal control girls, whose photographs were taken at the time of assessment (mean age, 6.6 years). Each student made ratings for all girls for five traits: attractive, beautiful, cute, pretty, and ugly. A multivariate analysis of variance showed a significant group effect. Multiple comparisons of the significant univariate effects showed that the girls with gender identity disorder had significantly less attractive ratings than the normal control girls for the traits attractive, beautiful, and pretty who, in turn, had less attractive ratings than the clinical control girls. Girls with gender identity disorder and the normal controls also had less attractive ratings than the clinical controls for the trait cute. Correlational analyses showed that age was substantially negatively related to the attractiveness ratings in the group of girls with gender identity disorder, but was considerably less so in the two control groups. The extent to which the group differences in attractiveness were due to objective, structural differences in facial attractiveness vs. socially created, or subjective, processes is discussed.

Accessibility of Gender Stereotype Domains: Developmental and Gender Differences in Children

“…The present results are also consistent with research demonstrating relations between physical appearance and status for girls (Graham et al 1998) and attractiveness and femininity in children with gender identity disorder (Fridell et al 1996; McDermid et al 1998; Zucker et al 1993). For instance, college students rated boys with gender identity disorder as more attractive (Zucker et al 1993) and girls with gender identity disorder as less attractive (Fridell et al 1996) compared to the ratings for the same-gender control groups.…”

“…For instance, college students rated boys with gender identity disorder as more attractive (Zucker et al 1993) and girls with gender identity disorder as less attractive (Fridell et al 1996) compared to the ratings for the same-gender control groups. The results of these studies suggest that attractiveness is positively associated with femininity regardless of the target’s gender.…”

Sex Typicality and Attractiveness in Childhood and Adulthood: Assessing their Relationships from Videos

“…One prediction, then, is that for children of both sexes, perceptions of their attractiveness will relate to perceptions of their femininity. In fact, studies that include children with gender identity disorder suggest that both boys and girls who are more feminine are considered more attractive (Fridell, Zucker, Bradley, & Maing, 1996;Zucker, Wild, Bradley, & Lowry, 1993).…”

Commentary on Langer and Martin’s (2004) “How Dresses Can Make You Mentally Ill: Examining Gender Identity Disorder in Children”

“…example, about 50% of girls with GID demand that their hair be cut extremely short so, along with their clothing preferences, often are perceived by naive others as boys (Fridell, Zucker, Bradley, & Maing, 1996;McDermid, Zucker, Bradley, & Maing, 1998). Thus, the preference for masculine clothing and the rejection of feminine clothing is often one of the most salient and emotionally charged surface indicators of gender dysphoria in young girls.…”