Unpacking Backlash: Social Costs of Gender Non-Conformity for Women and Men
Unpacking Backlash: Social Costs of Gender Non-Conformity for Women and Men

Summary/Abstract: Individuals deviating from gender-expected behavior experience negative social repercussions known as “backlash”. Backlash is commonly exhibited as decreased ratings of likability and competence toward the gender-incongruent individual. Few researchers have compared gender-incongruent women and men within the same study, nor whether job-incongruence or trait-incongruence has a more potent effect on backlash. We aimed to determine whether and to what extent trait-incongruence and job-incongruence affected ratings of likability and competence for both female and male targets in an online experiment. Participants were 296 Australian adult volunteers (64% female; mean age = 35.87). Participants were presented with point-light walkers visually conveying the target’s gender (female/male) together with a brief vignette describing the target’s occupation (feminine vs. masculine) and personal trait (feminine vs masculine). Participants rated each target on likability and competence. We observed a classic backlash effect on likability and competence for trait-incongruent and job-incongruent female targets, with backlash greater for trait-incongruence than job-incongruence. In contrast, male targets exhibiting a stereotypically feminine trait elicited higher ratings on likability and competence than trait-congruent males: A reverse backlash effect. These findings could indicate a change in expectations and values; for example, they may reflect a negative response to the idea of “toxic masculinity”.

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