Reducing Cisgender People’s Prejudice Toward Gender/Sex Minorities With Sexual Configurations Theory

Abstract

A promising method of reducing cisgender people’s antitrans prejudice is encouraging critical self-reflection on how one’s own gender and/or sex (gender/sex) is situated within gender/sex diversity more broadly. We developed an intervention using sexual configurations theory (SCT; van Anders, 2015) to improve cisgender people’s attitudes about gender/sex minorities and promote gender/sex diversity affirming beliefs by having them map their own gender/sex identities on its three-dimensional diagrams. Participants (N =573) in an online study were randomly assigned to watch a 12-min instructional video on how to use SCT diagrams to map their own gender/sexes and then to do so (diagrams condition) or participate in one of two control conditions (video only and neutral), followed by measures of feelings toward gender/sex minorities and gender/sex diversity beliefs. Participants in the diagrams condition had significantly more positive feelings toward gender/sex minorities than those in the video-only control condition and significantly higher gender/ sex diversity affirming beliefs than those in the neutral control condition. Participants’ feelings toward gender/sex minorities and gender/sex diversity beliefs were reassessed 4 weeks later to analyze whether effects endured over time, but none did. Future research should examine conditions under which antitrans prejudice reduction achieved with self-reflection via SCT can be durable over time.