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Transgender People of Color: The New Shade of Bigotry
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation (Electronic Copy Not Available)
Keywords
African American transgender people--Public opinion; Transphobia;
Abstract
Negative attitudes and discrimination toward racial minorities in the U.S. have been well-documented (Korous et al., 2017); however, there is a lack of research focusing on transgender persons (Norton & Herek, 2013), particularly transgender persons of color (POC). Transgender women of color are one of the most targeted groups within the LGBTQ+ community (NCAVP, 2017), which suggests that people with multiple stigmatized identities experience increased prejudice. The current study examined levels of discrimination against transgender (male/female) and racially diverse (White/Black) persons by measuring how much money participants were willing to donate to a crowdfunding profile. 372 community participants and 116 college students were randomly assigned to one of six GoFundMe-like webpages in which a pictured target who described an attack on his/her car and asked for money for repairs. Participants then completed measures of symbolic racism, empathy, attitudes toward transgender people, right wing authoritarianism (RWA), Protestant work ethic (PWE), and a demographics questionnaire. Participants donated significantly more money to both transgender POC compared to the White cisgender female. Higher levels of dispositional empathy, an understanding of sex vs. gender, and lower levels of RWA related to more positive attitudes toward transgender persons. These results suggest that, in some situations, having a “double stigma” may lead to more sympathy from others, rather than less. They also suggest that personality may help explain differences in attitudes toward transgender persons more generally.
Start Date
3-4-2018 11:00 AM
End Date
3-4-2018 1:30 PM
Faculty Advisor
Helen Harton
Department
Department of Psychology
Copyright
©2018 Emma Welch, Hailey Hatch, and Christina Fortuna
Embargo Date
3-30-2018
Transgender People of Color: The New Shade of Bigotry
Negative attitudes and discrimination toward racial minorities in the U.S. have been well-documented (Korous et al., 2017); however, there is a lack of research focusing on transgender persons (Norton & Herek, 2013), particularly transgender persons of color (POC). Transgender women of color are one of the most targeted groups within the LGBTQ+ community (NCAVP, 2017), which suggests that people with multiple stigmatized identities experience increased prejudice. The current study examined levels of discrimination against transgender (male/female) and racially diverse (White/Black) persons by measuring how much money participants were willing to donate to a crowdfunding profile. 372 community participants and 116 college students were randomly assigned to one of six GoFundMe-like webpages in which a pictured target who described an attack on his/her car and asked for money for repairs. Participants then completed measures of symbolic racism, empathy, attitudes toward transgender people, right wing authoritarianism (RWA), Protestant work ethic (PWE), and a demographics questionnaire. Participants donated significantly more money to both transgender POC compared to the White cisgender female. Higher levels of dispositional empathy, an understanding of sex vs. gender, and lower levels of RWA related to more positive attitudes toward transgender persons. These results suggest that, in some situations, having a “double stigma” may lead to more sympathy from others, rather than less. They also suggest that personality may help explain differences in attitudes toward transgender persons more generally.
