Emotion through a Biased Lens: Misgendering and Negativity In Judgments of Transgender Individuals

We tested whether negativity or misgendering biases shape perceptions of transgender people’s emotions. Participants rated emotional faces labeled transgender or cisgender. Misgendering emerged for happiness and fear, whereas negativity emerged among those high in essentialism and transphobia. Ongoing data collection examines whether these biases operate through automatic vs. controlled systems.