Gender, socio-political cleavages and the co-constitution of gender identities: a multidimensional analysis of self-assessed masculine and feminine characteristics

Abstract

This study offers a multidimensional analysis of individuals’ self-assessments of their masculine and feminine characteristics to better understand variation from more to less binary gender identities. Through gender’s co-constitution along with various social localities, we expect that a number of socio-political factors differentiate individuals’ gender identities through self-assessments of their masculine and feminine characteristics. Using data from a 2013 Swedish survey, our results show that men and women tend towards traditionally polarised gender identities and that social location is a particularly influential correlate of men’s claims of feminine characteristics and women’s of masculine characteristics. Individuals from younger generations and individuals who are more educated are consistently more likely to ascribe to less binary feminine and masculine characteristics. This suggests that generational replacement and higher education may increase the tendency of populations to ascribe to less binary gender identities.