What It Means to Be a Man, What It Means to Be a Woman: An Exploration of Adult Gender Identity and Attitudes

While there is a significant body of research on the topic of gender identity and gender attitudes, the existing literature contains a number of competing theories and leaves several gaps open for exploration. Namely, there is a lack of research on adult subjects, a lack of research into the benefits of using implicit measures of gender attitudes, and more room for exploration of the potentially complex interactions between gender identity variables, gender attitudes, and adjustment. This study investigated the relationships between a number of variables that have been suggested to make up a multidimensional model of gender identity, as well as an implicit measure of gender attitudes, an explicit stereotype endorsement measure, and a measure of well-being. The study took place online and participation was open to any U.S. resident over the age of 18. The expected relationships between gender identity and gender attitude variables were not found, but a number of intriguing correlations in the data are discussed