Gender expression varies within diverse gender identities and sexual orientations

Psychological scientists typically consider gender using limited categorical identities that erase meaningful variance. Much like taking a median split is discouraged for methodological reasons, we must adopt valid and accurate assessments of key constructs to avoid reification of convenient heuristics. These categories do not capture human experience. Even within a social gender category, gender expression varies continuously as assessed by any common psychological instrument or behavioral proxy. Yet, the extent to which gender expression differs in magnitude (i.e., means) and spread (i.e., variance) across an inclusive set of gender identities has not been tested. This study examines patterns of variation in dimensional measures of gender expression within and between diverse gender identity categories. Using a convenience sample of adults oversampled for diverse gender identities and sexual orientations (N=1,409), our results revealed variance in gender expression within categorical gender identities and overlap in gender expression between categories, with less pronounced differences between sexual orientation categories. These results illustrate the importance of recognizing gender as complex spectra to better represent diverse personal experiences. In contrast to notions of identity conformity within certain social groups, we find that individuals holding similar identities are just as likely to differ from one another in their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, regardless of the identity.