Andrew R. Flores

Attitudes toward transgender rights: perceived knowledge and secondary interpersonal contact

Transgender people face an uncertain legal climate, and efforts to include gender identity in policies have been met with both successes and failures. These policies are often developed in the legislative process, which directly involve public opinion. To date, there is only one study analyzing American public attitudes toward transgender people. This research gap makes it unclear whether people in general understand what transgender means and whether public support for transgender rights depends on understanding and knowing transgender people. Since the population of transgender people is estimated to be smaller than that of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, examining whether and how having a friend or family member who is lesbian or gay relates to transgender rights is important to understand political coalitions and attitude change. This study examines public attitudes about transgender rights in the USA. It finds that as respondents report being more informed about transgender people they tend to have more supportive attitudes. Interpersonal contact with someone who is lesbian or gay also leads to a secondary transfer of positive attitudes. About half of the secondary transfer effect operates through a mechanism of attitude generalization: contact positively affects the opinions people have on gay rights that then broaden to affect attitudes on transgender rights. Demographic characteristics also indicate that predictors of transgender attitudes are similar to previous studies regarding attitudes toward lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals. Further survey efforts need to consider inquiring about transgender rights and attitudes, as this remains a research gap in need of scholarly understanding.

Backlash, Consensus, Legitimacy, or Polarization The Effect of Same-Sex Marriage Policy on Mass Attitudes

What are the effects of judicial action and policy implementation on attitude change? The previous literature indicates that attitudes may change, but there is some debate about its direction. According to some theories, legislation or litigation should strike a backlash, resulting in greater disapproval of the issue. Other perspectives contend that these acts reflect consensus, legitimate, or polarize the issue. We analyze panel data on attitudes toward same-sex marriage and feelings toward lesbians and gay men. In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court made historic decisions on same-sex marriage, and residents in some states had same-sex marriage legalized. Given this variation, we decompose the multiple pathways attitudes change among residents in different policy contexts over time. We find that residents of states that had same-sex marriage policy introduced had the greatest reduction of anti-gay attitudes. We consider consensus and legitimacy as most applicable and provide minimal indication of backlash or polarization.

Transgender politics as body politics: effects of disgust sensitivity and authoritarianism on transgender rights attitudes

ABSTRACT Transgender identity inherently involves body politics, specifically how transgender people may physically represent gender in ways that do not match their assigned sex at birth and how some may alter their bodies. Yet, political behavior research on transgender rights attitudes leaves unaddressed the role of transgender bodies in shaping those attitudes. Using an original, representative national survey of American adults, we analyze how authoritarianism and disgust sensitivity affect transgender rights attitudes. These two predispositions often reflect social norms and morality about bodies, especially those of stigmatized minority groups. First, we show that attitudes about transgender rights are multidimensional, forming civil rights and body-centric dimensions. Second, we demonstrate that disgust sensitivity and authoritarianism both positively predict opposition to transgender rights, and that they moderate each other’s effects such that the greatest opposition is among those jointly scoring higher on both predictors. Finally, we show that disgust sensitivity and authoritarianism predict greater than average opposition to body-centric transgender rights policies.

Incarceration Rates and Traits of Sexual Minorities in the United States: National Inmate Survey, 2011–2012

OBJECTIVES To report characteristics of sexual minority US inmates. METHODS We drew our data from the National Inmate Survey, 2011-2012, a probability sample of inmates in US prisons and jails. We determined weighted proportions and odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals to estimate differences between sexual minority and heterosexual inmates. RESULTS Sexual minorities (those who self-identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual or report a same-sex sexual experience before arrival at the facility) were disproportionately incarcerated: 9.3% of men in prison, 6.2% of men in jail, 42.1% of women in prison, and 35.7% of women in jail were sexual minorities. The incarceration rate of self-identified lesbian, gay, or bisexual persons was 1882 per 100 000, more than 3 times that of the US adult population. Compared with straight inmates, sexual minorities were more likely to have been sexually victimized as children, to have been sexually victimized while incarcerated, to have experienced solitary confinement and other sanctions, and to report current psychological distress. CONCLUSIONS There is disproportionate incarceration, mistreatment, harsh punishment, and sexual victimization of sexual minority inmates, which calls for special public policy and health interventions.

Disproportionality and Disparities among Sexual Minority Youth in Custody

Research indicates that sexual minority youth are disproportionately criminalized in the U.S. and subjected to abusive treatment while in correctional facilities. However, the scope and extent of disparities based on sexual orientation remains largely overlooked in the juvenile justice literature. This study, based on a nationally representative federal agency survey conducted in 2012 (N = 8785; 9.9% girls), reveals that 39.4% of girls and 3.2% of boys in juvenile correctional facilities identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. These youth, particularly gay and bisexual boys, report higher rates of sexual victimization compared to their heterosexual peers. Sexual minority youth, defined as both lesbian, gay, and bisexual identified youth as well as youth who identified as straight and reported some same-sex attraction, were also 2–3 times more likely than heterosexual youth to report prior episodes of detention lasting a year or more. Implications for future research and public policy are discussed.

Bringing “T” to the table: understanding individual support of transgender candidates for public office*

ABSTRACT Of central importance to groups is the representation of their interests in government. A direct strategy for representation is to elect officials that identify with the group. The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movement has increasingly been successful in fielding LGB candidates for local, state, and national offices, even though these candidates face barriers. But while many lesbian and gay candidates have achieved electoral success, few transgender candidates have run for office and even fewer have won. Our project examines the hurdles faced by transgender candidates and provides a predictive analysis of a unique 2015 national survey that queried American adult respondents about hypothetical transgender candidates for different political offices. We hypothesize that although transgender candidates are likely to be opposed by potential voters that would also oppose female, African-American, or gay or lesbian candidates, for transgender candidates, there is a stronger influence of respondent disgust sensitivity and gender nonconformity. The findings largely support our arguments. We conclude that transgender candidates are in a similar electoral position to gay and lesbian candidates, with likely supporters fitting a profile that is similar to the Democratic voter base. We discuss the implications of our findings for theories of minority group symbolic representation and democratic citizenship more broadly.

Degrees of Acceptance: Variation in Public Attitudes toward Segments of the LGBT Community:

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community includes a diverse set of groups, including distinct groups based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity, but it is not clear whether the public makes distinctions in their attitudes toward these subgroups. If they do, what factors motivate individuals to evaluate gays and lesbians differently from transgender people? This study analyzes Americans’ attitudes toward these communities, and it evaluates their support for nondiscrimination protections. We find that public attitudes are significantly more negative toward transgender people and policies pertaining to them than they are toward gay men and lesbians and related policies. The analyses reveal that differences in these attitudes are associated with social contact effects, variation in cognitive consistency, elite cues, and the varying magnitudes of key political factors, such as religiosity and partisanship.

Transgender inclusion in state non-discrimination policies: The democratic deficit and political powerlessness

Transgender people—people whose gender identity or expression is different from their assigned sex at birth—and their allies advocate for the inclusion of gender identity or transgender in state non-discrimination policies. These policies generally proscribe discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. Courts and administrative agencies have determined discrimination against transgender people is a violation of existing statutes, but there remain efforts by advocates to seek policies that explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of transgender status, which are often the result of legislation going through the political process. A pluralist understanding of the political process theorizes that a majority coalition of minorities can offer social groups policies they support. This rests on the presumption that a majority coalition of minorities should rule. Any indication to the contrary may suggest a democratic deficit, whereby more than a majority is necessary for policy introduction. We find that there is a substantial democratic deficit regarding the inclusion of gender identity or transgender in employment non-discrimination policies. On average, state support for the policy must be 81% in order for the state to have a policy reflecting such sentiment. This leaves substantial implications for the political powerlessness of transgender people in the political process.

Identifying psychological responses of stigmatized groups to referendums

Significance Voter initiatives and referendums concerning the rights of marginalized groups are utilized in 27 states, but research on the psychosocial consequences of these initiatives is underdeveloped. This research combines official records of televised advertisements from same-sex marriage campaigns with psychological outcomes among a probabilistic sample of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. A novel design assesses advertisement effects on LGBT people unlikely affected by these campaigns in other ways, providing unbiased estimates. Greater ad exposure was associated with more stress among LGBT respondents; negative ads evoked sadness, whereas positive ads evoked enjoyment and happiness. No associations were observed among non-LGBT respondents. Voter referendums thus represent a source of minority stress and resilience for marginalized groups. Public votes and referendums on the rights of marginalized communities are utilized in 27 states and occur with some regularity. However, research has only recently begun to examine the psychological consequences of these voter referendums for members of stigmatized groups, and a number of important questions remain regarding the internal validity and generalizability of the existing evidence. The current study advances this literature by combining survey data from a large probability-based sample conducted in 2012 [lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender (LGBT) n = 939; non-LGBT n = 31,067] with media market ad-buy data in states where marriage equality was on the ballot. Television media markets cross state boundaries, ensuring that there was an unintended group of people in 12 states who were exposed to the same-sex marriage discourse but who did not live in states with the voter referendum (“media market spillovers”). We take advantage of this unique data structure by comparing LGBT people in the media market spillovers to those residing in the same state but in nonspillover markets with no ad exposure. LGBT people are emotionally affected by these campaigns, and non-LGBT people are unaffected. LGBT people in markets with a cumulative total of 400 ads have a 34.0% greater probability of reporting stress than LGBT people not exposed to ads. Additionally, while the negative ads evoked sadness, positive ads evoked enjoyment and happiness. Thus, public votes on minority rights represent both a source of minority stress and resilience.

Transgender prejudice reduction and opinions on transgender rights: Results from a mediation analysis on experimental data

Fears, phobias, and dislikes about minorities should be strong determinants of whether Americans support policies protecting such minorities. Studies suggest that discussions and information about transgender people can reduce transphobia. However, these studies also indicate that experimental treatments do not necessarily affect individual attitudes on policies concerning transgender rights. Scholars contend that durably reducing prejudice should increase public support for minority rights. In this study, we examine this causal mechanism utilizing an experiment. We find that reducing transphobia is a reliable mechanism to increase public support for transgender rights. These results are robust to causal identification assumptions, suggesting that this mechanism provides a clear avenue for stigmatized groups to increase public support of rights for those groups.