US cisgender women's psychological responses to physical femininity threats: Increased anxiety, reduced self-esteem

Abstract

Research has suggested that women, unlike men, do not experience increased anxiety in response to gender stereotypicality threats. That research, however, has not considered the domain of gender stereotypes in which women might be most invested: physical appearance. The present work examines US cisgender women's responses to (bogus) feedback about the femininity of their appearance, which allegedly came from an algorithmic analysis of a photograph or video of their face. Across four experiments (N = 2494), women experienced more anxiety (Studies 1a, 1c, and 2) and lower self-esteem (Studies 1c and 2) in response to feedback indicating that their appearance was less feminine than average (i.e., threats) than feedback indicating that their appearance was more feminine than average (i.e., affirmations). Feedback on the femininity of women's appearance, but not personality (Study 2), had an effect on anxiety and self-esteem even when physical attractiveness was affirmed (in the case of anxiety; Study 1a) and when controlling for self-perceived physical attractiveness (in the case of anxiety and self-esteem; Studies 1a, 1c, and 2). Cisgender men, unlike women, experienced increased anxiety—but not reduced self-esteem—in response to masculinity threats across the domains of appearance and personality, though this effect was stronger for appearance (Study 2). A discrepancy between the bogus feedback one received and beliefs about oneself mediated the effects of feedback on anxiety and self-esteem, for women, and on anxiety, for men (Study 2). These results highlight the need to center physical appearance in research on gender stereotyping and its consequences.