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Articles

Experiences with Misgendering: Identity Misclassification of Transgender Spectrum Individuals

Pages 51-74
Received 06 Dec 2013
Accepted 28 Jul 2014
Published online: 21 Aug 2014
 
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Relatively little is known about identity misclassification from the perspective of low-status, stigmatized groups. However, there are compelling reasons to examine misclassification from this perspective. This article reports data from two online studies that explore the affective and psychological correlates associated with gender misclassification of transgender spectrum individuals, referred to as misgendering. Study 1 (N = 115) demonstrates that misgendering is associated with more negative affect, less authenticity, lower appearance, but higher social self-esteem, less identity strength and coherence, but more identity importance and more transgender felt stigma. Study 2 (N = 134) largely replicated these results, while also demonstrating that misgendering is associated with verification and enhancement striving, and self- and other evaluations.

Additional information

Funding

The author received no financial support for the research and/or the authorship of this article and declares no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or the publication of this article.

I thank Jodie Lisenbee and Erin Freeborn for their assistance with data collection and the LGBT organizations that advertised this research. I also thank the Attitudes and Group Influence (AGI) Laboratory at University of California, Davis, for their helpful feedback on this research, and Gregory Herek, Rick Hoyle, Charlotte “Chuck” Tate, and an anonymous reviewer for their helpful comments on this article.

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