Gender Polarization and Sociodemographic Axes in Canada
Although quantitative social scientists have examined how self-perceptions of masculinity and femininity vary by sociodemographic axes, gender polarization has rarely been studied. This concept captures gender subjectivities in ways that reflect how many individuals understand themselves as having a...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Socius |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231251355660 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849320365827817472 |
|---|---|
| author | Tony Silva Sophia Dimitrakopoulos Emily Huddart |
| author_facet | Tony Silva Sophia Dimitrakopoulos Emily Huddart |
| author_sort | Tony Silva |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although quantitative social scientists have examined how self-perceptions of masculinity and femininity vary by sociodemographic axes, gender polarization has rarely been studied. This concept captures gender subjectivities in ways that reflect how many individuals understand themselves as having a mixture of masculine and feminine characteristics, helping align survey measures with how gender theorists and qualitative scholars have examined gender. It is measured as the absolute value of the difference between self-rated masculinity and femininity. For example, if someone rated themselves as a 4 of 7 on masculinity and a 7 of 7 on femininity, their gender polarization value would be 3. In contrast, if someone rated themselves as a 1 of 7 on masculinity (the lowest value) and a 7 of 7 on femininity, their value would be 6. The authors examine this metric in a probability sample of Canadians. Gender polarization differed by political ideology, sexual identity, and age cohort for both women and men. For men only, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, and rural or urban location were related to gender polarization. These results highlight how social and structural contexts both shape and constrain how individuals perceive themselves in gendered ways. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9a2dfc1fe2af447c884a594ef1e8dbfd |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2378-0231 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Socius |
| spelling | doaj-art-9a2dfc1fe2af447c884a594ef1e8dbfd2025-08-20T03:50:07ZengSAGE PublishingSocius2378-02312025-07-011110.1177/23780231251355660Gender Polarization and Sociodemographic Axes in CanadaTony Silva0Sophia Dimitrakopoulos1Emily Huddart2University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, CanadaUniversity of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, CanadaUniversity of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, CanadaAlthough quantitative social scientists have examined how self-perceptions of masculinity and femininity vary by sociodemographic axes, gender polarization has rarely been studied. This concept captures gender subjectivities in ways that reflect how many individuals understand themselves as having a mixture of masculine and feminine characteristics, helping align survey measures with how gender theorists and qualitative scholars have examined gender. It is measured as the absolute value of the difference between self-rated masculinity and femininity. For example, if someone rated themselves as a 4 of 7 on masculinity and a 7 of 7 on femininity, their gender polarization value would be 3. In contrast, if someone rated themselves as a 1 of 7 on masculinity (the lowest value) and a 7 of 7 on femininity, their value would be 6. The authors examine this metric in a probability sample of Canadians. Gender polarization differed by political ideology, sexual identity, and age cohort for both women and men. For men only, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, and rural or urban location were related to gender polarization. These results highlight how social and structural contexts both shape and constrain how individuals perceive themselves in gendered ways.https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231251355660 |
| spellingShingle | Tony Silva Sophia Dimitrakopoulos Emily Huddart Gender Polarization and Sociodemographic Axes in Canada Socius |
| title | Gender Polarization and Sociodemographic Axes in Canada |
| title_full | Gender Polarization and Sociodemographic Axes in Canada |
| title_fullStr | Gender Polarization and Sociodemographic Axes in Canada |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gender Polarization and Sociodemographic Axes in Canada |
| title_short | Gender Polarization and Sociodemographic Axes in Canada |
| title_sort | gender polarization and sociodemographic axes in canada |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231251355660 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tonysilva genderpolarizationandsociodemographicaxesincanada AT sophiadimitrakopoulos genderpolarizationandsociodemographicaxesincanada AT emilyhuddart genderpolarizationandsociodemographicaxesincanada |