Differential Reactions to Men and Women’s Gender Role Transgressions: Perceptions of Social Status, Sexual Orientation, and Value Dissimilarity

This study examined the influence of gender role transgressions on perceptions of men and women’’s social status, homosexual orientation, and value dissimilarity. Because past research has shown that men who transgress gender role norms are punished more harshly than women, it was hypothesized that male transgressors would be perceived more negatively than female transgressors in each of these domains. Participants read vignettes of two hypothetical gender role transgressors, one described using gender role personality traits and another described using gender role behaviors. The trait-based male gender role transgressor was perceived to be lower in social status and was considered more likely to be homosexual than the female transgressor. The behavioral-based male gender role transgressor was perceived to be lower in social status, and was perceived to be more value-dissimilar than the female gender role transgressor.