THE SEPARATE AND JOINT EFFECTS OF APPEARANCE AND BEHAVIOUR ON EVALUATIONS OF GENDER NONCONFORMITY

Abstract

Research has shown that both appearance and behavioural cues affect perceptions of gender nonconformity. However, little research has compared the influence of appearance and behavioural cues on perceptions of gender nonconformity in Asian countries. This thesis, thus, attempts to investigate the relationship between appearance, behaviour, and gender nonconformity. Using Deaux’s and Lewis’ (1984) model, this paper predicts that appearance cues would have a greater influence on perceptions of gender nonconformity than behavioural cues. Additionally, this paper hypothesizes that women would use more behavioural cues than men in perceiving gender nonconformity. A total of 195 participants looked at a photograph and read an excerpt of a target male before giving masculinity and femininity ratings of him. The results showed that appearance cues had a greater influence on perceptions of gender nonconformity than behavioural cues. The results also showed that neither gender preferentially used appearance or behavioural cues in judging gender nonconformity. These results expand the current literature on the inter-component relationships of male gender stereotypes and provide new insights into improving the mental health of gender nonconforming men that are victims of bullying.