Non-normative Sexuality Studies

Sexual non-normativity in the early-21st-century social sciences not only describes the cultural, social, and political needs, interests, experiences, and struggles of nonheterosexual desires and representations, but it also includes an array of identity formations. What does it mean to be “non-normative”? Ideally speaking, this connotation structures around a political claiming, a subversive metaphor that does not adhere to the standard gender(ed) expressions. That said, these gender traits challenge the cultural norms, or the dominant languages as historically coined within the medical dictionary. In order to address this, the politics further renders a non-foundationalist approach to gender, as making an attempt to de-objectify any sort of typification of classification. In addition, the diversity and fluidity of it aims to install de-pathologization of identity category, and further, to pacify the rigid gender traits that could potentially make gender more discrete. Thus, its very fluidity establishes an unsettling position of gender and sexual choices, as further to establish anti-imperial, non-hegemonic claim in the US-centric gender positions and theorizations. In lines to this argument, non-normative sexuality studies are an attempt to collate interdisciplinary and non–Euro-American modes of texts, theories, and approaches from the domains of culture, desire, beauty, aging, legalities, medicine, and health, complemented with several dimensions of these disciplines to create a bibliographical space addressing the several bodies, identities, and experiences of these representations. Furthermore, it maps the various changes in the lives, personal experiences, forms of discrimination faced in the past or present, needs, interests, and perspectives of these individuals in varied geopolitics, contexts, and cultures—modeling approaches that might be seen as alternatives to the dominant queer studies. My heartfelt thanks to Professor Raewyn Connell for introducing me to the Oxford Bibliographies series, Ms. Neha Pande as my research assistant who enabled me to complete this important piece of work, and Ms. Jennifer Pierce from Oxford University Press.

Does transition to parenthood affect gender traits? The effect of pregnancy on perceived female and male traits

How stable is gender identity when facing important gendered life events? In the study of gender identity, little research has focused on adulthood experiences that might modify or reinforce self-perceptions of gender traits. This article uses pregnancy and early parenthood to study stability and change in self-perceived female and male traits. We make use of data from a large-scale citizen panel in Sweden that tracks respondents who eventually become pregnant. The overall conclusion is that self-perceptions of gender traits are mostly stable throughout pregnancy and early parenthood in the comparatively gender-equal context of Sweden.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>We study the effect of a gendered life event on changes in gender identity during adulthood.</li><br /><li>Pregnant women and partners of pregnant women are followed over time, with pre- and post-test measures of gender identity.</li><br /><li>While pregnancy and childbirth are often seen as reinforcing feminine identity, we expect only small changes in a gender-equal society like Sweden.</li><br /><li>Results show that gender identity is stable during pregnancy and around childbirth for Swedish women and men.</li></ul>

Gender traits in relation to work versus career salience

Orientation: The concepts of work- and career-role salience are used interchangeably, yet work focuses on the short-term aspect and career on the long-term aspect.Research purpose: We utilised gender traits, that is, masculinity, femininity and psychological androgyny, to find greater nuances in the salience of work versus career roles. We also set out to confirm the adapted factor structure of the revised Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI).Motivation for the study: Generally, self-reported sex is used to determine differences in role salience between men and women, as opposed to considering the gender roles people associate with.Research approach/design and method: A sample of 395 South African employees was used. Structural equation modelling and t-tests were applied.Main findings: We confirmed work- and career-role salience as distinct constructs. The factor structure of the revised BSRI holds for this study. With regard to gender traits, femininity decreased work-role salience, while psychological androgyny increased work-role salience. Masculinity had a direct effect on work-role salience while indirectly influencing career-role salience through work-role salience. Women were found to be significantly more feminine and psychologically androgynous than men.Practical/managerial implications: Utilising gender traits may have greater career guidance relevance for individuals than traditional approaches utilising differences between the sexes.Contribution/value-add: This study confirmed that work and career roles are to be viewed as separate constructs and that people may view the importance placed on work- and career-role salience differently. The study further contributes by including gender traits as a significant contributor to role salience.

Not Only for the (Tom) boys: Gender Variables as Predictors for Playing Motivations, Passion, and Addiction for MMORPGs

Background. Research on playing motivation and passion for MMORPGs and gender has so far mainly focused on biological sex and neglected variables related to social gender such as masculinity and femininity. As some playing motivations and obsessive passion are assumed to be related to problematic game play, problematic game play is still considered a male phenomenon, often based on mainly male samples and disregarding underlying causes in problematic tendencies that could explain or extent findings on biological sex difference. Method. This survey based quantitative study investigated the impact of masculine and feminine personality on game play motivations, passion, and problematic game play. Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) players ( N = 375, 44.3% female) were recruited via Facebook and online games. Feminine and masculine personality traits were assessed along with game play motivations, passion, and problematic game play. Results. Stepwise regression analyses revealed that gender traits add significant value for almost all variables of interest. Negative masculine traits were positive predictors for achievement as game play motivation while positive feminine traits predicted social interaction. Harmonious passion was predicted by positive masculine traits. Negative feminine traits were found to predict immersion as well as obsessive passion and were also important for problematic game play. Conclusion. Gender traits add valuable information to mere biological sex concerning different game related concepts such as motivation, passion, and problematic game play. Despite the idea that problematic game play is a male phenomenon, negative feminine traits seem to be linked to problematic tendencies. We suggest including gender and personality variables for future games and/or media studies.

Moving beyond Categorical Gender in Studies of Risk Aversion and Anxiety

Concepts such as risk aversion and anxiety have received renewed attention in various strands of gender and politics research. Most contemporary scholars suggest that gender gaps in this area are related to social norms and stem from social learning rather than from inherent gender traits. Very few, however, elaborate on the gender variable to reach a fuller understanding of the dynamics at work. In this study, we examined gender gaps in levels of anxiety, an area closely related to risk aversion, and we applied a combination of categorical measures of gender distinguishing between “woman, “man,” and “other” and scales capturing grades of femininity and masculinity in individuals. We label this approachfuzzy gender, and we suggest that it can be used to advance research in our field. The key finding is an interaction effect between categorical measures of gender and fuzzy gender: The more female characteristics in women, the higher the levels of anxiety. Moreover, there is no difference in levels of anxiety between men and women with few female characteristics. The data used draw from a large-scale survey among Swedish citizens in 2013.

Gender and leadership stereotypes theory: is it reaching the boundaries?

PurposeThis paper aims to answer whether the notion of the gender and leadership stereotypes theory has already reached its boundaries.Design/methodology/approachTo accomplish such a goal, it relies on the extant literature looking for more robust findings, problems, disruptions and pathways toward building a better understanding of this problematic.FindingsThe evidence gleaned throughout this paper suggests that the interplay between gender and leadership stereotypes theory has reached its boundaries. Moreover, the traditional sex stereotype or gender traits approach within companies seems to be highly limited taking into account that it tends to nurture rivalry and prejudice among people of different genders. Rather than focusing on leader sex approach or egalitarian quotas, in terms of leadership role and despite the fair argument of diversity, the author proposes that it is wiser to concentrate on a meritocratic view.Practical implicationsIt suggests that an androgyny leadership style appears to be welcomed in organizations, yet some shift about this understanding may be occurring. At present, however, female aspirants of leadership roles should work increasingly toward adapting themselves to this profile. In doing so, it is likely that they may be benefited from organizational evaluations in which the merit issue constitutes an imperative.Originality/valueOverall, it is expected to contribute to theory by arguing that the traditional understanding of gender and leadership stereotypes theory is not suitable anymore to deal with the uncertainties and complexities that shape today’s business arenas. On the contrary, it argues that such approach tends only to encourage gender bias and to nurture a somewhat sex war game in detriment of organizations efficiency and productivity.

Balancing Gender and Power: How Disney’s Hercules Fails to Go the Distance

Disney’s Hercules (1997) includes multiple examples of gender tropes throughout the film that provide a hodgepodge of portrayals of traditional conceptions of masculinity and femininity. Hercules’ phenomenal strength and idealized masculine body, coupled with his decision to relinquish power at the end of the film, may have resulted in a character lacking resonance because of a hybridization of stereotypically male and female traits. The film pivots from hypermasculinity to a noncohesive male identity that valorizes the traditionally-feminine trait of selflessness. This incongruous mixture of traits that comprise masculinity and femininity conflicts with stereotypical gender traits that characterize most Disney princes and princesses. As a result of the mixed messages pertaining to gender, Hercules does not appear to have spurred more progressive portrayals of masculinity in subsequent Disney movies, showing the complexity underlying gender stereotypes.