Explanations for differences in political preferences between men and women continue to be debated, generating more heat than light in attempts to locate their source and potential influence. The reason for this confusion rests on the lack of conceptual clarity concerning the difference between sex, typically referring to biological differences, and gender, assumed to result from socialization, and the difference these constructs might elicit in political outcomes. Utilizing two gender scales, the authors find gender identity exerts an impact on voter preferences above and beyond sex. They also find that individual differences in gender identity are not found to result from social influences but largely derive from unique experiences and innate disposition. The results have substantial implications for social scientists who theorize about and investigate sex and gender in studies of political attitudes and behaviors.
AbdelalR.HerreraY.JohnstonA.McDermottR.2006. Identity as a variable. Perspectives on Politics4:695-711.
2.
BaileyM. J.DunneM. P.MartinN. G.2000. Genetic and environmental influences on sexual orientation and its correlates. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology78:524-36.
3.
Ballard-ReischD.EltonM.1992. Gender orientation and the Bem Sex Role Inventory: A psychological construct revisited. Sex Roles27:291-306.
4.
BartlettA.1998. Sexuality discrimination bill 1996, second reading. Australian Senate Hansard, May28.
5.
BemS.L.1974. The measure of psychological androgyny. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42(2):155-162.
6.
BemS.1981. Gender schema theory: A cognitive account of sex typing. Psychological Review88:354-64.
7.
BerelsonB.LazarsfeldP.McPheeW.1954. Voting: A study of opinion formation in a presidential campaign. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
8.
BlanchardR.FreundK.1983. Measuring masculine gender identity in females. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology51:205-14.
9.
BlanchardR.McConkeyJ. G.RoperV.SteinerB. W.1983. Measuring physical aggressiveness in heterosexual, homosexual, and transsexual males. Archives of Sexual Behavior12:511-24.
10.
BocklandtS.VilainE.2007. Sex differences in brain and behavior: Hormones versus genes. Advances in Genetics59:245-66.
11.
BrewerM.LuiL.1989. Primacy of age and sex in the structure of person categories. Social Cognition7:262-74.
12.
BrowneJ.2007. Introduction. In The future of gender, ed. BrowneJ., 1-14. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
13.
ButlerJ.1990. Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity. New York: Routledge.
14.
CampbellA.ConverseP. E.MillerW. E.StokesD. E.1960. The American voter. New York: John Wiley.
15.
ColapintoJ.2000. As nature made him: The boy who was raised as a girl. New York: HarperCollins.
16.
CraigI. W.HarperE.LoatC.2004. The genetic basis for sex differences in human behavior: Role of the sex chromosomes. Annals of Human Genetics68:269-84.
17.
DeBeauvoirS.1953/1993. The second sex. New York: Everyman’s Library.
18.
DempsterE. L.BurcescuI.WiggK.KissEnikoBajiIldikoGadorosJuliaTamasZsuzsannaKennedyJames L.VetroAgnesKovacsMariaBarrCathy L.2007. Evidence of an association between the vasopressin V1b receptor gene (AVPR1B) and childhood-onset mood disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry64:1189-95.
19.
DevorH.1989. Gender blending: Confronting the limits of duality. Bloomington: University of Indiana Press.
20.
DiamondM.SigmundsonH. K.1997. Sex reassignment at birth: Long term review and clinical implications. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine151: 298-304.
21.
DunneM. P.BaileyJ. M.KirkK. M.MartinN. G.2000. The subtlety of sex-atypicality. Archives of Sexual Behavior29:594-65.
22.
DunneM. P.MartinN. G.BaileyJ. M.HeathA. C.BucholzK. K.MaddenP. A.StathamD. J.1997. Participation bias in a sexuality survey: Psychological and behavioral characteristics of responders and nonresponders. International Journal of Epidemiology26:844-54.
23.
EaglyA. H.SteffenV. J.1986. Gender and aggressive behavior: A meta-analytic review of the social psychological literature. Psychological Bulletin100:309-30.
24.
FinnS. E.1987. The structure of femininity self ratings. Austin: University of Texas at Austin.
25.
FoxR.LawlessJ.2004. Entering the arena? Gender and the decision to run for office. American Journal of Political Science48:264-80.
26.
FrankovicK. A.1981. Public opinion trends. In The election of 1980: Reports and interpretations, ed. PomperMarlene, 97-118. Chatham, NJ: Chatham House.
27.
FreundK.LangevinR.SatterbergJ.SteinerB.1977. Extension of the Gender Identity Scale for males. Archives of Sexual Behavior6:507-19.
28.
Garcia-FalguerasA.SwaabD. F.2010. Sexual hormones and the brain: An essential alliance for sexual identity and sexual orientation. Pediatric Neuroendocrinology17: 22-35.
29.
GorskiR. A.2002. Hypothalamic imprinting by gonadal steroid hormones. Advances in Experimental and Medicine and Biology511:57-70.
30.
GrellertE. A.NewcombM. D.BentlerP. M.1982. Childhood play activities of male and female homosexuals and heterosexuals. Archives of Sexual Behavior11: 451-78.
31.
JenningsM. K.2006. The gender gap in attitudes and beliefs about the place of women in American political life: A longitudinal, cross-generational analysis. Politics & Gender2: 193-219.
32.
KesslerS.McKennaW.1978. Gender: An ethnomethodological approach. New York: John Wiley.
33.
KurzbanR.ToobyJ.CosmidesL.2001. Can race be erased? Coalitional computation and social categorization. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences98: 15387-92.
34.
LippaR. A.2005. Gender, nature, and nurture. 2nd ed.Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
35.
LippaR. A.2006. Childhood gender nonconformity and adult personality. Paper presented at the Gender Development Conference, San Francisco.
36.
MansbridgeJane. 2007. “The Cutting Edge of Women and Politics Research: Leading Women and Politics Scholars Identify the Most Exciting Questions”Women/Politics17(1): 1-21.
37.
MedlandS. E.HatemiP. K.2009. Political science, behavior genetics and twin studies: A methodological primer. Political Analysis17:191-214.
38.
MillerS.KottkeJ.1993. Scaling the construct androgyny: Reply to Willemsen. Psychological Reports73:623-26.
39.
MitchellJ.ZuckerK. J.1992. The Recalled Childhood Gender Behaviors Questionnaire: Psychometric properties. Barrie, Canada: International Academy of Sex Research.
40.
MoneyJ.EhrhardtA. A.1972. Man & woman, boy & girl: Differentiation and dimorphism of gender identity from conception to maturity. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
41.
NorranderB.1999. The evolution of the gender gap. Public Opinion Quarterly63:566-76.
42.
RiegerG.LinsenmeierJ.GygaxL.BaileyJ. M.2009. Childhood gender nonconformity remains a robust and neutral correlate of sexual orientation: Reply to Hegarty. Developmental Psychology45:901-3.
43.
RiegerG.LinsenmeierJ.GygaxL.LopezS.BaileyJ. M.2008. Dissecting gaydar: Accuracy and the role of masculinity–femininity. Archives of Sex Behavior39: 121-40.
44.
RosenthalC.1998. When women lead: Integrative leadership in state legislatures. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
45.
RutterM.CaspiA.MoffittT. E.2003. Using sex differences in psychopathology to study causal mechanisms: Unifying issues and research strategies. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry44:1092-1115.
46.
SanbonmatsuK.DolanK.2007. Gender stereotypes and gender preferences on the 2006 ANES pilot study: A report to the ANES Board of Overseers. American National Election Studies study No. nes011883.
47.
SapiroV.2003. Theorizing gender in political psychology research. In Oxford handbook of political psychology, ed. SearsD. O.HuddyL.JervisR., 601-36. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
48.
ShapiroR. Y.MahajanH.1986. Gender differences in policy preferences: A summary of trends from the 1960s to the 1980s. Public Opinion Quarterly50:42-61.
49.
SwaabD. F.Garcia-FalguerasA.2009. Sexual differentiation of the human brain in relation to gender identity and sexual orientation. Functional Neurology24: 17-28.
50.
SwersM.1998. Are women more likely to vote for women’s issue bills than their male colleagues?Legislative Studies Quarterly3:435-48.
51.
TermanL. M.MilesC. C.1936. Sex and personality: Studies in masculinity and femininity. New York: McGraw-Hill.
52.
XuJ.BurgoyneP. S.ArnoldA. P.2007. Sex differences in sex chromosome gene expression in mouse brain. Human Molecular Genetics11:1409-19.
53.
ZietschB. P.MorleyK. I.ShekarS. N.VerweijK. J. H.KellerM. C.MacgregorS.WrightM. J.BaileyJ. M.MartinN. G.2008. Genetic factors predisposing to homosexuality may increase mating success in heterosexuals. Evolution and Human Behavior29:424-33.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
