"Does Gender Ideology Arm Left-Wing Authoritarian Psychology?"

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Our new HHS report—"Where the Clinic Meets the Movement: Does Gender Ideology Arm Left-Wing Authoritarian Psychology?"—is out!

For decades, psychological research has looked at opposition to transgender ideology through a lens of prejudice and right-wing authoritarianism. We asked the conspicuously neglected flipside question:

What psychological traits characterize those who most strongly endorse gender-affirming norms?

In a preregistered study of 1,208 U.S. adults, we developed a Clinical Gender Affirmation Scale (CGAS) using positions drawn directly from guidance issued by the APA, American Psychiatric Association, WPATH, and American Academy of Pediatrics.

Our results shocked us. Endorsement of mainstream principles of "gender-affirmation" was strongly associated with left-wing authoritarianism (LWA) and support of political violence. Both LWA and endorsement of gender-affirming clinical norms were associated with greater justification for killing Charlie Kirk, Donald Trump, and Brian Thompson, as well as arson against ICE buildings, destruction of wealthy people's property, and violence against police. These relationships remained significant even after controlling for political identity.

Acceptance gender ideology appears to augment authoritarian attitudes in support for political violence. From our report: "Together, these findings support the paper's core claim: gender ideology may function as an ideological accelerant, telling left-wing authoritarian psychology who the enemy is, why the situation is urgent, and—in those already disposed toward force—that violence is legitimate."

We believe institutionalized gender ideology may function as a kind of ideological "content package" for people already disposed toward left-wing authoritarianism. It assists in identifying oppressors, creates moral urgency, and provides justification for taking coercive action against opposition. This is only the first of a series of @HHSGov reports we're working on as a collaboration of researchers at @ncri_io, @RutgersU,
and @ManhattanInst

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