Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

Trans people are people who do not conform to traditional gender roles due to presenting themselves as a gender not assigned from birth. Transprejudice refers to negative attitudes toward trans people. The intersectionality perspective proposes that individuals have multiple identities (such as sexual orientation, gender, and race) that influence the amount of power society gives them (Worthen, 2013). Attitudes toward hypothetical trans persons were examined in a sample of 713 undergraduates. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions where trans person gender and race were manipulated. After reading a vignette, participants were asked to evaluate the character on several measures and complete self-report measures. Consistent with previous research, cisgender heterosexual men held more negative views toward sexual minorities than heterosexual women (Norton & Herek, 2013). Individuals with higher levels of religiosity reported more transprejudice than those with lower levels of religiosity (Claman, 2007). Contrary to our hypothesis, African Americans did not express greater levels of transprejudice than Caucasian participants (Woodford, 2012). We also examined the effects of participant race and gender and trans person race and gender on ratings of the trans person for women only because of a lack of Black men. The results showed an interaction between trans persons race and trans persons gender, as well as main effects for participant gender, trans persons gender, participant race, and trans persons race on varying scales examining attitudes. Finally, sexual orientation was a significant factor with non-heterosexual participants reporting less transprejudice than heterosexual participants. This research will contribute to knowledge of factors associated with transprejudice. Additionally, the results suggest the intersectionality theory is a useful in understanding the factors that interact to affect attitudes toward trans persons. Finally, awareness of factors affecting transprejudice can lead to more effective strategies to reduce transprejudice and increase awareness regarding stigma.

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