Transgender theory, queer measurements, cis gender : gender perception discordance and marital quality amongst cisgender couples

Conventionally, surveys measure gender by asking respondents to select whether they identify as a man or woman. While researchers once considered this unproblematic, recent insights from queer theory and transgender studies exemplify that: 1.) binary measurements are insufficient because they obscure variation within groups, and 2.) single measurements are incomplete because how one sees themselves may not align with how others see them. To interrogate the transgender/cisgender binary that undergirds these differential practices, I analyze survey data from 458 cisgender married same-sex and different-sex couples in which actors place themselves and their spouse on a gender typicality scale. First, I critically explore the differences between self-determined and spouse-determined gender, investigating the demographic characteristics that correlate with placement on the gender-typicality scale. Next, I examine whether disagreements in perceptions of gender-typicality between spouses are related to marital quality, with implications for health. I find that higher levels of discordance in gender perceptions correlate with lower levels of marital quality. Results suggest the need to measure gender beyond the binary to capture intimate relationship dynamics.Sociolog