| dc.description.abstract | In recent years, many people have expressed opposition to the increased public representation of trans men and women. This opposition often includes a sentimental longing for a bygone past wherein ‘men were men, and women were women’. Across three studies (N = 860), we investigated the causes and consequences of this longing, herein called Gender Nostalgia. In Study 1, we developed a measure of Gender Nostalgia, and found it to be a uniquely strong predictor of extreme forms of anti-trans bias such as acceptance of anti-trans violence. Critically, Gender Nostalgia predicted acceptance of anti-trans violence above-and-beyond other direct measures of anti-trans bias and relevant demographics. Study 2 replicated Study 1 and investigated predictors of Gender Nostalgia, finding that Gender Nostalgia was strongly predicted by participants’ self-reported gender essentialism (e.g. the belief that men and women are discretely separate social categories). Study 3 experimentally manipulated participants’ perceptions of the degree to which traditional masculinity/femininity has changed over time. Results indicated that among participants high, but not low, in gender essentialism, considering eroding traditional masculinity/femininity increased Gender Nostalgia and acceptance of anti-trans violence. Discussion surrounds the importance of considering Gender Nostalgia when investigating people’s bias against trans men and women. | |
