Temporal variations in gender identity: an ecological momentary assessment of the influences of context

Gender identity is contextually dependent yet is often studied as a static trait. This study used ecological momentary assessment to examine daily variations in multiple dimensions of gender identity (gender salience, gender typicality, gender discontentedness, felt pressure to conform to gender stereotypes) and their associations with gender proportion and location. Participants (<i>N</i> = 138; M_age = 19.31; 67 men) completed 4 to 5 reports a day on gender identity and social contexts for 7 days, resulting in 4,409 reports. All gender identity components showed half as much within-person variance as between-person variance. When the other-gender proportion in the surrounding increased, participants scored higher in gender salience, and men felt more pressure to conform to gender stereotypes than women. When at home (versus other locations), participants scored lower in gender salience, gender typicality, and felt pressure, and men, in particular, reported higher gender discontentedness. The findings support the social constructivist view that gender identity is dynamic. The findings are discussed in relation to developmental intergroup and distinctiveness theories and social role and reinforcement processes. <b>What is already known about this topic:</b>Social constructivist theories propose that gender identity varies across situations but most studies have treated gender identity as static.Existing research on the contextual variations of gender identity is limited in number and in the choice of gender identity constructs and contexts.Prior research examined how gender identity, defined as masculinity and femininity, changed with different gender composition contexts and locations.<b>What this topic adds:</b>This study investigated daily temporal variations in multiple dimensions of gender identity i.e., gender salience, gender typicality, gender discontentedness, and felt pressure to conform to gender stereotypes using ecological momentary assessment (EMA).Variations in gender proportion were associated with gender salience and felt pressure, while location (home vs. other locations) was related to differences in gender salience, gender typicality, gender discontentedness, and felt pressure.Our findings substantiate the social constructivist theory of gender by shedding light on the fluid and dynamic characteristics of gender identity. Our study also helps to further the study of gender using nontraditional methodology. <b>What is already known about this topic:</b> Social constructivist theories propose that gender identity varies across situations but most studies have treated gender identity as static. Existing research on the contextual variations of gender identity is limited in number and in the choice of gender identity constructs and contexts. Prior research examined how gender identity, defined as masculinity and femininity, changed with different gender composition contexts and locations. <b>What this topic adds:</b> This study investigated daily temporal variations in multiple dimensions of gender identity i.e., gender salience, gender typicality, gender discontentedness, and felt pressure to conform to gender stereotypes using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Variations in gender proportion were associated with gender salience and felt pressure, while location (home vs. other locations) was related to differences in gender salience, gender typicality, gender discontentedness, and felt pressure. Our findings substantiate the social constructivist theory of gender by shedding light on the fluid and dynamic characteristics of gender identity. Our study also helps to further the study of gender using nontraditional methodology.