The Genderqueer Identity (GQI) Scale: Measurement and validation of four distinct subscales with trans and LGBQ clinical and community samples in two countries

Key takeaways

content: "@mcguireGenderqueerIdentityGQI2019" -file:@mcguireGenderqueerIdentityGQI2019

Reading notes

Imported on 2025-04-27 17:42

⭐ Important

• & Gender has historically been dominated by a social binary in both theory and measurement (Bauer et al., 2009). (p. 289)
• & we seek to re-center the latent concept and measurement of gender identity around a genderqueer norm, with domains representing the multiple embodied, social, political, and temporal contributors. (p. 289)
• & Ourgoalistounderstandandmeasuregenderinaway that captures gender role as well as gender expression, (p. 289)
• & We begin with some fundamental assumptions about gender and measurement, move to a theoretical overview that guided the development of a new measure of genderqueer identity, and collection of data which validates the new measure across samples from several population groups. (p. 289)
• & Queer theory provides a foundational perspective for this work (Nagoshi, Brzuzy, & Terrell, 2012; Serano, 2007). Fundamentally, gender identity is viewed as a latent construct rather than a single manifest variable (male, female, genderqueer). Genderqueer is at the center of the construct, and multiple factors contribute to levels of genderqueer identification. (p. 290)
• & The re-centering of a long-time binary on a spectrum shifts the overall concept of gender from an either/or to relative levels of different contributors. (p. 290)
• & Some features of queer theory that are specifically relevant in this work include the active construction of the self, embodiment of identity, and transgression of social norms as an element of selfconstruction (Butler, 1990; Wilchins, 2004). (p. 290)
• & People are socialized to enact gendered behavior in accordance with binary gender norms (Butler, 1990; Johnson, 2016; West & Zimmerman, 1987). (p. 291)
• & For decades, the nature of gender as a social construct has dominated academic and political discourse about gender roles, gender performance, gender and power and human rights (Butler, 1990; Nagoshi & Brzuzy, 2010; Wilchins, 2004). (p. 291)
• & Tensions about the nature of sex, gender identity, and gender expression are often reduced to dialectics, with one camp arguing for a socially constructed view of gender and the other arguing these characteristics are largely biologically driven (Nagoshi & Brzuzy, 2010; Nagoshi et al., 2012). (p. 291)
• & For example, scholars have successfully argued that gender identity is learned through socialization (West & (p. 291)
• & Embodiment of identity is another essential aspect of queer theory that informs our work. Embodiment is the concept that our physical selves represent our political or social identity that we mark ourselves in some way (Butler, 1988). Active embodiment of gender includes the altering of one’s body and dress to meet political or social goals, and the awareness of one’s body as a political statement of identity; “the personal is political” (Butler, 1988; Stryker, 2008). (p. 291)
• & Fluidity differs significantly from nonbinary identity in that fluidity is about the frequency of shifting back and forth in gender expression, identity, and experience. Fluidity is not primarily concerned with the one-time process of transition in a migrationlike pattern (Diamond et al., 2011), rather more of an oscillation or boundary negation where there is an intention of blurring the boundary or moving back and forth across the boundaries between gender identities (Diamond & Butterworth, 2008). (p. 291)
• & Since 1990, the Recalled Gender Identity Scale (RCGI) has been commonly used, with cross validation in a variety of populations (Zucker et al., 2006). (p. 292)
• & Three different samples were used for the pilot exploratory factor analysis (EFA), two European samples, one from a Dutch gender clinic and one from Dutch lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) community groups. (p. 293)
• & Note: Dropped indicates the item failed to load or loaded poorly and was dropped on subsequent versions (p. 295)
• & Appropriate cutoff values were assessed according to Hu and Bentler’s(1999) recommendations for good and adequate fit. Based on Hu and Bentler’s(1999) recommendations, the expected values for a good model data fit is possible when the comparative fit index (CFI) index is above .95, Root Mean Square Error Approximation (RMSEA) index is below .06, and Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) index is below .08. (p. 296)

⛔ Weaknesses and caveats

• ! Zimmerman, 1987) and enacted through performance and social interaction (Butler, 1990). However, to conceptualize gender as only socially constructed negates aspects of gender that are felt deeply and internally and endured despite socialization efforts to eradicate such behaviors (Serano, 2007). (p. 291)