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The Importance of Gender Policing

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Understanding gender policing, the impact of gender policing, challenging gender policing.

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Gender Inclusive Policing: Challenges and Achievements Tim Prenzler (ed.) (2023), New York and London: Routledge. ISBN: 978-1-032-25454-8; 971-1-032-25158-5 (pbk); 978-1-003-28326 (ebk). 162 p.

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Dorothy Moses Schulz, Gender Inclusive Policing: Challenges and Achievements Tim Prenzler (ed.) (2023), New York and London: Routledge. ISBN: 978-1-032-25454-8; 971-1-032-25158-5 (pbk); 978-1-003-28326 (ebk). 162 p., Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice , Volume 18, 2024, paad105, https://doi.org/10.1093/police/paad105

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Gender Inclusive Policing: Challenges and Achievements includes 13 short essays that review the challenges facing and the achievements of women’s integration into policing in a number of countries in different contexts, including recruitment and retention efforts, jurisdictional achievements, and women in leadership positions. It is an outgrowth of articles that appeared in a themed issue of Policing Practice and Research: An International Journal, although the number of articles has more than doubled from the original six. Generally, each article describes countries’ or departments’ efforts to attract more women in policing, primarily by increasing the percentages and numbers of women through affirmative action or other hiring schemes. In Chapter 14 [Learning the Lessons], editors Tim Prenzler and Jacqueline M. Drew summarize the collection and provide nine recommendations for improving gender (really sex, but no one seems to use that word any longer) integration in policing.

The collection, part of the Advances in Police Theory and Practice Series, spans the globe, covering, among others, Great Britain, the USA, the Scandinavian countries, Australia, New Zealand, Kenya, and South Africa. Since the essays are not arranged topically or geographically, it is something of a treasure hunt to find information on, for instance, women in leadership; female/male performance comparisons in ethics or peacebuilding; women in international police deployments; indigenous women; women’s police stations; affirmative action in recruitment, deployment, and promotion, and inevitably, obstacles to equity.

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5.10: Policing of Gender in the United States

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• Susan Rahman with Nathan Bowman, Dahmitra Jackson, Lushtak, Remi Newman, & Prateek Sunder
• California Consortium for Equitable Change in Hispanic Serving Institutions Open Educational Resources (CC ECHO)

Sociologists who study gender are often interested in the factors that shape people’s  performance of gender based on social cues. As mentioned earlier, sociologists West and Zimmermman (1987) theorized this concept of  “doing gender.” “Doing gender” per the sexual scripts means that we fall into two distinct categories, and our behaviors must reflect what the culture defines as gender appropriate behavior. When the script is not followed, we are reminded that we are not staying in our gendered lane, and are sanctioned in some type of way. Gender policing is the enforcement of heteronormative gender ideals that force the gender binary onto people. “Masculinity” and “femininity” are often rewarded by people who reject the idea that gender is a social construct which lies on a spectrum. As a result, performances that differ from normative cis-gendered stereotypes are generally rejected from patriarchal, heteronormative society.

The ways that gender is ‘policed’ can range from microaggressions to macro-aggressions. Boys are policed at a young age for expressing stereotypical feminine traits. While young boys are generally policed more visibly than young girls early on, girls are asked to perform gender in ways that may be less visible, but are no less impactful. Being taught that their physical appearance is a basis for validation, or to defer to others' feelings,  or take up less physical space, or be nice to people even when they don’t feel like it teaches young girls to accept unwanted treatment or behavior. Repercussions of this type of role expectation can lead to young girls putting up with harassment or abuse, or being hypercritical of their bodies and starving themselves to fit into cultural standards of beauty because they have been socialized to put their wants and feelings aside to make others happy. 

Gender policing into two distinct categories means that we learn very different cultural scripts (again, most policing takes place within the false binary so this is where we focus attention). As a result the definition of sexuality gets filtered through a gendered lens. Looking back to the author’s own research on sex education and gender, we saw that parents have two very different expectations of their children sexuality, depending on their gender. When many of these humans come together in sexual or relational partnerships, they enter in with a completely different narrative of sexuality, consent,  and communication. Right off the bat, this means in order to make things work, there is a lot of unlearning to do about sex and relationships.

Sociologists also note that gender policing exists at all periods of a person’s life, and shows itself at the intersection between race and class. Intersectionality , allows for an understanding of how a person’s social and political identities combine to create different modes of discrimination and privilege. The ways in which all of our different aspects of self-interact with our gender can affect the type, degree and severity of gender policing. An intersectional approach is important when looking at the impact of gender policing.

Sidebar 5.6: Doing Gender and Body Image

From a very early age I remember knowing that thin was good, fat was bad. My parents were immersed in society’s idea that we were supposed to be thin and not take up too much space. Be thin. Look fit.  My mom said to me once that when she was pregnant her doctor told her that she should only gain 20 lbs. So, she only gained 20lbs. Thinness wasn’t about health, it was about acceptance.  When I was a young child I never thought about how my body looked. It was just the vessel I used to run, play, go on adventures.  When I was 11 I started to grow a lot. I became much taller than my friends. Soon after I began my period.  I had no idea what to do or how to accept this. There was so much shame.  We didn’t talk about what menstruation was or why we go through it.  It was just shameful.  I remember a conversation with my friend one day when she recognized that I had grown so much. “How much do you weigh”, she said. I didn’t think anything about it. It was arbitrary, at least that’s what I thought. “I weigh 80lbs”.  She was surprised. "I only weigh 50lbs”.  That was the first moment that I felt ashamed of my size. I was the big girl.

As my body continued to change into my teens, my hips grew, my boobs grew.  I was being transformed into a sexual being.  It was the most confusing time. As I was being told to remain a good girl, the world was treating me like a prize up for grabs.  It was totally normal for people to comment on how your body looked.  My body was no longer mine. It belonged to society, my parents, my boyfriend, random people.  It’s hard enough to embrace your body as it changes throughout your life, the last thing a person needs is scrutiny from others.

Thank God for my fifties.  I no longer have to be sexy.  I am no longer in a position to get pregnant.  I don’t need a partner. At first letting go was a challenge, but the more I let go the better I feel. I can love my body as it is. I can respect it for what it has given me and done for me. I love my soft saggy belly and my flappy “Hi Helen” arms. And I am very grateful for all the things I still get to do that bring me joy.

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Why the Gender Gap in Policing is a Public Safety Crisis

With the recent resignations of Chief Erika Shields in Atlanta, Chief Jami Resch from Portland and Chief Carmen Best in Seattle, U.S. policing has lost three top women leaders at a time when we need them the most.

Female representation in the nation’s approximately 18,000 law enforcement agencies has remained stuck around 12 percent for more than 25 years. Women only make up roughly three percent of police executive leadership,  according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics .

The problem isn’t just gender equality. The gender gap in policing represents a public safety crisis. As cities, states and the federal government debate the proper role of policing, there is strong reason to believe that women make for safer and less violent law enforcement officers.

Research shows that women are less likely to use excessive force or to be accused of excessive force .

A 2017 report by the Pew Research Center found that women are less likely to pull their weapons and are less likely to view aggressive tactics as necessary. And a National Center for Women & Policing study also found that women police officers were less likely to be named in a lawsuit or a citizen complaint.

The benefits of women officers go beyond preventing unnecessary police force or improving police-community relations.

A 2017 study from the University of Illinois at Chicago found that adding more women to law enforcement agencies results in greater organizational agility — improving departments’ ability to adapt, change and renew.

This organizational skill is critical to successfully heeding calls for reform in policing culture. Too many departments remain stuck in the past. More women can help them catch up with policing best practices.

Clearly the nation knows that something is wrong.

With the growing call for policing reforms, I have been seeing more media highlighting the rare “phenomenon” of women in policing and women in policing top brass leadership positions.

North Carolina made headlines for having six black women leading police departments. Los Angeles County has boasted seven female police chiefs . Philadelphia’s police commissioner is a black woman.

We celebrate these “firsts” as well-earned accomplishments, but I remain perplexed as to why these sorts of headlines still create excitement. After all, it is 2020. The gender gap in law enforcement should be met not with excitement, but with frustration, annoyance and scrutiny — followed by a demand for change.

Yet, despite the documented benefits and friendly headlines, the number of women in law enforcement remains low.

The problem stems from the disproportionate barriers to recruitment, retention and promotion experienced by women officers. The domination of gender stereotypes within departments works to ostracize and marginalize women from the beginning of their careers. The lack of mentoring programs creates unsupportive work environments. And even departments’ haircut policies can be unfriendly to women.

Women also face the problem of tokenism — the feeling that they’re being selectively recruited or promoted as a mere symbolic effort.

In fact, a 2008 study involving face-to-face interviews with women police officers found many were strongly encouraged by their male supervisors to participate in the promotion process, but that this special attention actually dissuaded them from taking those steps.

This experience shows how efforts to grow the number of women in law enforcement must be done intentionally, earnestly and thoroughly. The bare minimum of meeting quotas won’t cut it.

Merely increasing sheer numbers isn’t enough either. Departments also have to ensure that women have equitable opportunities to get to the top and the power to impact policy. It is time to recognize the proven benefits to having women in law enforcement, and that women have the potential to make policing better for agencies and also the communities that they serve.

The idea of women in law enforcement leadership must be treated as real and routine — not something worthy of surprising headlines.

See also: Why Are America’s Women Police Chiefs Resigning? By Dorothy Schulz, The Crime Report, Aug.13, 2020 .

Smith-Kea is a criminal justice manager at Arnold Ventures, a Houston-based philanthropy. Previously she served as a Law Enforcement Project Manager at the Council of State Governments Justice Center, where she provided technical assistance to the Bureau of Justice Assistance. She welcomes comments from readers.

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Silent strength: my time as a prisoner’s wife turned advocate, reclaimed identity: keith jesperson’s sixth murder, mississippi regularly fails to investigate rampant abuses by sheriff’s and their departments.

And, once again, it appears the author is subtlety suggesting that police organizations are the reason for the lack of women.

The female chiefs who have resigned did so because their mayors were inept dweebs who made their lives difficult. They were unable to lead their departments, thus they did the right thing by resigning.

Women must want to be coppers. Many do not for a whole host of reasons. Let’s remember that.

Perhaps gender parity in policing could have saved the life of Tyree Nichols. You have five feral male cops show up and pounce on the young man in a toxic display of masculinity, uttering obscenities commonly heard in locker rooms and fraternities. It’s fair to say the scene would have been very different had two or even three out of the five been female officers. As stated by the other of this article has cited a PEW Research study; female cops are a) less likely to draw their weapon out of fear/anger and b) are less likely to use forceful tactics. Gender parity, along with abolishing police distortions of non-whites, especially black folks, need to be baked into police reform more than ever before. A note to every citizen on this planet: police reform is worth advocating and fighting for.

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The Ethics of Policing and Imprisonment pp 63–86 Cite as

The Ethics of Policing: A Feminist Proposal

• Julinna Oxley 4  
• First Online: 28 September 2018

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Ethics and Public Policy ((PASEPP))

This chapter uses a feminist lens to articulate the central problems facing policing today: (a) a decayed sense of trust in law enforcement, (b) the cultural influence of toxic or hegemonic masculinity, and (c) policing practices that perpetuate racial, gender, and social oppression. A normative model of feminist policing based in care ethics, called the community protector model, is proposed as the solution to these problems. Feminist care ethical policing values actions of caring justice—not just law and order—and identifies care and concern for others as the most rational basis for law enforcement. Finally, this model is applied to the issues in policing today, and the chapter shows how it can be used to create new protocols, change cultural gender norms, improve communication, replace authoritarian structures with community-based, interactive and educational ones, decrease discriminatory policing practices, and build soft power in law enforcement as a resource for engaging with citizens.

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Oxley, J. (2018). The Ethics of Policing: A Feminist Proposal. In: Gardner, M., Weber, M. (eds) The Ethics of Policing and Imprisonment. Palgrave Studies in Ethics and Public Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97770-6_5

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Leaders discuss best practices for gender-responsive policing at Copenhagen conference

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“Gender-based violence continues to be a pervasive threat to the safety and dignity of – first and foremost – women and girls all over the world, including in the Nordic countries.”

Those are the words of Karen Ellemann, Secretary-General of the Nordic Council of Ministers, who on 4 December 2023 spoke at a high-level panel discussion hosted by UN Women in partnership with the Nordic Council of Ministers and civil society organizations Danner and Dialog Mod Vold.

“If we are to effectively help the victims, we need to make sure that our law enforcement agencies are attuned to the unique challenges and vulnerabilities faced by those affected”, she continued. “The Nordic countries are committed to counter and prevent gender-based violence – and to promote solutions that work within the justice sector.” 

The event, held as part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign , gathered key regional decision-makers, including senior representatives from the police, civil society, and political sectors to discuss how gender-responsive policing can work to end violence against women and girls.

Held at UN City Copenhagen, the event was complemented by a photography exhibition showcasing UN Women’s work on gender-responsive policing in action in these and other countries.

The Nordic region has been in the forefront of implementing best practice on gender-responsive policing, and countries there have worked to educate police officers on the impact of gender norms and stereotypes on crime and victimization, develop frameworks for dealing with domestic violence cases, and to integrate gender equality principles into recruitment and career development processes. 

Strengthening the justice-sector response to gender-based violence, particularly that of law enforcement, has consistently been cited as one of the most challenging issues when responding to violence against women and girls. Less than 1 in 10 women who seek help after experiencing violence turn to the police, and only a minority of cases of violence are ever formally reported to the police, with even fewer cases resulting in convictions. 

Event panelists spoke about their personal experiences of implementing gender-responsive policing principles and the importance of collaboration, including with survivors’ organizations and other police officers, especially female officers. They also discussed the value of tools like UN Women’s Handbook on Gender-Responsive Police Services for Women and Girls Subject to Violence, developed together with the International Association of Women Police (IAWP) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

“Creating a fully gender-responsive policing service requires not only increasing the number of women, but empowering all officers, both male and female, to be victim/survivor-centred, gender-sensitive, and trauma-informed when responding to all acts of crime and violence,” said Jane Townsley, Executive Director of the IAWP, UN Women Senior Police Consultant, and co-author of the handbook.

“This requires the professional development of law enforcement to be transformative in nature and for officers to be equipped to respond adequately to the diverse security needs of the communities they serve”, she said. “Equally important, a gender-responsive police service requires senior leadership to institutionalize gender-sensitive policies, strategies, and accountability mechanisms that ensure effective operational leadership that is fit for purpose.” 

Launched in 2021 by UN Women, UNODC, and the IAWP, the handbook provides practical guidance to police to enable effective and gender-sensitive responses to violence against women and girls, and to promote police services that balance effectiveness with accountability in their response to violence. But fundamentally, it seeks to inspire behavioural change towards prevention-orientated policing that is gender-responsive, trauma-informed, and perpetrator-focused.

The handbook is currently being rolled out in over a dozen pilot countries across five regions, including Bangladesh, Chile, Kosovo 1 , Viet Nam, and Tanzania. 

“We are seeing positive change in the police handling of gender-based violence cases, especially in relation to the criminalization of psychological violence and stalking, and the work of the specialized GBV teams”, said Mette Marie Yde, Director of Danner, Demark’s largest nongovernmental organization providing shelter and safe accommodation for survivors of violence against women and children.

“ However, we still need to strengthen the rest of judicial chain, to ensure justice for survivors”, she said.

• Access to justice and legal protection
• Anti-violence interventions
• Domestic violence/interpersonal violence
• Ending violence against women and girls

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Women in Policing Overview Essay

It is essential to remember that gender equality is supported in modern society when discussing women’s right to work in law enforcement agencies. My point of view also coincides with the public one. I think there are many advantages to having women working in law enforcement. Cox et al. (2020) consider that for many women, working in law enforcement serves “to wield power in the African American community and to work to alter an organization often viewed as oppressive.” (p.316). For women, this will be a vast field of research on their strengths and talents, which they can show in their work. I consider that women should have the right to work in law enforcement not only because of the gender equality idea but also because women open up new perspectives in solving public issues, they are good at solving problems related to logic and do not lag behind men in their desire to be beneficial to society.

Firstly, female candidates are much less likely to receive complaints about using excessive force. At the same time, women candidates are a tremendous force that can change the world for the better through their efforts (Cox et al., 2020). Despite the low level of support that women working in the police sometimes give to each other, their work has an undeniable impact on the public and changes many people’s views about a uniform women. Since more and more women join the police ranks, the level of trust in it increases. Moreover, due to the police’s increased confidence, there was a decrease in the rate of intimate partner murders (Miller & Segal, 2018). More and more people turn to the police in advance because they believe in its effectiveness.

A sad statistic is the turnover of female staff in various departments, caused by discrimination and pressure from the desire to assert themselves on male employees. Moreover, sometimes women who do not belong to the police force suspect female police officers of their motives for joining the law enforcement agencies. For example, African American female police officers are likely to feel lonely and isolated in a group of white women or black men (Cox et al., 2020). It is important to note that women working in law enforcement agencies are genuinely unique, and the time will only reveal their potential. For the time being, only men are still welcome among the police since masculinity is still considered a necessary quality for working in the police (Cox et al., 2020). That is why women are so rarely recruited into the police force, even though many of them deserve to be accepted into law enforcement officers’ ranks.

In modern society, it is necessary to break down stereotypes properly, and the employment of women in law enforcement agencies is one of the right ways. Due to the stereotypes strengthening, people have believed that working in the police is only a man’s job since a man’s image of fighting crime has been formed because of greater physical strength and aggression. However, strength and aggression are not always necessary skills for police work, but it is always a mental strain, and in this skill, women are not inferior to men. Moreover, sometimes the methods used by women become more effective than those used by their male counterparts (Miller & Segal, 2018). At the same time, Cox et al. (2020) argue that “many male police officers continue to be highly critical of women” (p. 317). However, even though serious measures have been taken in the workplace to ensure safety and justice for employees’ actions, women are often victims of discrimination (Cox et al., 2020). Furthermore, filing a complaint about discrimination is an important issue, as many victims do not do so for reasons of fear of being convicted or fear of retribution.

To sum up, I believe that women should take part in such important work as law enforcement. The community needs to look to the future and strive to improve the life of society. Therefore, women should keep up with men and work for the benefit of the city.

Cox, S. M., Massey, D., Koski, C. M., & Fitch, B. D. (2020). Introduction to policing . Sage Publications, Inc.

Miller, A. R., & Segal, C. (2018). Do female officers improve law enforcement quality? Effects on crime reporting and domestic violence. The Review of Economic Studies, 86 (5), 2220–2247. Web.

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1. IvyPanda . "Women in Policing Overview." June 23, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/women-in-policing-overview/.

Bibliography

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• v.11(3); 2017 May

Gender Policing During Childhood and the Psychological Well-Being of Young Adult Sexual Minority Men in the United States

José a. bauermeister.

1 University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Daniel Connochie

Laura jadwin-cakmak.

2 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

Steven Meanley

3 University of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Hegemonic masculinities (i.e., sets of socially accepted masculine behaviors and beliefs within a given time and culture) may affect the well-being of sexual minority men, yet quantitative relationships between these masculinities and well-being remain largely unexplored. Using data from a national cross-sectional survey of young sexual minority men ( N = 1,484; ages 18-24 years), the current study examined the relationship between parental gender policing during childhood and adolescence and subsequent substance use and psychological distress. Over one third of the sample (37.8%) reported their parent(s) or the person(s) who raised them had policed their gender, including the use of disciplinary actions. Using multivariable regression, this study examined the relationship between parental gender policing and psychological well-being and substance use, after adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, and current student status. Gender policing during childhood and adolescence was associated with recent substance use behaviors and psychological distress in multivariable models. A linear association between substance use behaviors and psychological distress and the number of disciplinary actions experienced during childhood and adolescence was also observed. Parents’ attempts to police their sons’ gender expression were associated with markers of distress among young sexual minority men. The relationship between parental gender policing during childhood and adolescence and distress among young sexual minority men are discussed.

Hegemonic masculinities (i.e., sets of socially accepted masculine behaviors and beliefs within a given time and culture designed to legitimate male domination; Connell, 1982 ; Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005 ) has received increasing attention in the public health literature given its association with numerous risk behaviors across the life course ( Fields et al., 2015 ). Sexual minority men are more likely to be identified as gender nonconforming than heterosexual men ( Bailey & Zucker, 1995 ), and may be more vulnerable to societal messages intended to pressure men to behave in ways that are traditionally masculine. The impact of these societal messages may be especially harmful to young sexual minority men as they explore their sexuality ( Alanko et al., 2009 ; Carragher & Rivers, 2002 ; D’Augelli, 1991 ; D’Augelli, Grossman, & Starks, 2008 ; Van Beusekom, Bos, Kuyper, Overbeek, & Sandfort, 2016 ). As a result, sexual minority men may have greater vulnerability to psychological distress and may be more likely to adopt negative coping behaviors including use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD; Hatzenbuehler, 2011 ; Herek, Gillis, & Cogan, 2009 ; Meyer, 2003 ; Saewyc, 2011 ).

Researchers have increasingly acknowledged that the promotion of hegemonic masculinity norms begins early in the life course. Caregivers may attempt to diminish their sons’ gender nonconforming behaviors and encourage masculine behaviors ( Epstein & Ward, 2011 ; Hill & Menvielle, 2009 ; Kane, 2006 ; Solebello & Elliott, 2011 ). In a study of 528 sexual minority adolescents in New York City (ages 15-19 years), D’Augelli et al. (2008) reported that only 2% of male participants’ mothers and even fewer fathers reacted positively to gender nonconforming behavior. Caregivers may intervene by imposing normative hegemonic masculinity through gender policing (e.g., telling their son to change feminine behavior, restricting activities, forcing counseling or religious interventions, punishing with physical and/or verbal abuse, and forcing enrollment in traditionally masculine activities). This policing is enacted as a means to influence behaviors that are consistent with their own moral ideals or as a way of protecting their child from anticipated societal stigma, regardless of whether their son has disclosed his same-sex attraction ( Bailey & Zucker, 1995 ; D’Augelli et al., 2008 ; Hill & Menvielle, 2009 ; Solebello & Elliott, 2011 ). Qualitative data support these assertions. In a qualitative study of 23 fathers of teenagers between the ages of 13 and 19 years, Solebello and Elliott (2011) reported that fathers encouraged hegemonic masculine behaviors (e.g., girl watching, viewing sexualized images of women) in their sons as a rite of passage that would ensure their son’s masculinity and heterosexuality. Similarly, in a qualitative study by Hill and Menvielle (2009) , parents described how they discourage gender nonconforming behaviors in their sons, including actions such as removal of feminine toys, encouragement of masculine activities, modeling masculine behavior, and encouraging the boy to police his own gender expression and/or behaviors to reduce the discomfort of others. Taken together, these findings underscore the importance of exploring the ways in which caregivers’ negative reactions to gender nonconforming behavior in their sons during childhood and adolescence are related to adverse outcomes in young adult sexual minority men.

Gender policing during childhood and adolescence may have long-lasting effects into adulthood. In a matched pairs analysis of 158 men and 148 women who reported same-sex sexual attractions or behaviors, Alanko et al. (2009) reported that participants who recalled gender atypical behaviors in childhood were more likely to exhibit a greater number of current depression and anxiety symptoms. Moreover, researchers have noted that sexual minority young adult men may rely on ATOD as a coping strategy to offset psychological distress ( Institute of Medicine, 2011 ). Young adult sexual minority men may use ATOD because these behaviors are often seen as highly masculine ( Peralta, 2007 ; Peralta, Stewart, Steele, & Wagner, 2016 ). At present, little is known about the relationship between primary caregiver gender policing and ATOD use among young adult sexual minority men. Therefore, the current study explores whether primary caregivers’ actions to impose hegemonic masculinities in their sons during childhood and adolescence are associated with ATOD use and psychological well-being among young adult sexual minority men.

Using a national sample of young adult sexual minority men (ages 18-24 years), the current study examined the prevalence of parental gender policing during childhood and adolescence. The authors hypothesized that a large proportion of the sample would recall having experienced gender policing by a primary caregiver. Analyses examined whether these recalled experiences of gender policing were associated with ATOD use and depression and anxiety symptoms. The authors hypothesized that participants who reported gender policing would be more likely to report greater ATOD use and psychological distress than those who had not reported gender policing. Finally, the authors tested whether exposure to a greater number of disciplinary actions related to gender policing was associated with ATOD use and psychological distress. Consistent with the literature, the authors hypothesized that a greater number of disciplinary actions would be associated with greater risk behaviors.

Data for this article come from a cross-sectional study examining the HIV risk behaviors of sexual minority men who meet partners online (see Bauermeister, 2015 ). To be eligible for the study, participants had to identify as cisgender, male, be between the ages of 18 and 24 years (inclusive), report being single, and be a resident of the United States (including Puerto Rico). Participants were primarily recruited through advertisements on two popular social networking sites and through participant referrals. Social network advertisements were visible only to men who fit the specified age range and who lived in the United States. Promotional materials included eligibility criteria, a mention of a $10 VISA e-card incentive, and the survey’s website.

Eligible and consenting participants answered a 30-minute online questionnaire that assessed their sociodemographic characteristics, sexual orientation, sexual and substance use behaviors, and psychological well-being. Data were protected with 128-bit SSL encryption and kept within a firewalled server. The principal investigator acquired a Certificate of Confidentiality from the National Institutes of Health to protect participants’ data from being subpoenaed or used in legal proceedings. The authors’ institutional review board approved all study procedures.

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs

Participants indicated whether they had used alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and nine types of hard drugs in the past 2 months using a dichotomous response (yes or no) for each substance. Hard drugs included cocaine, Ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA), crystal meth, ketamine, GHB, poppers, crack, heroin, and hallucinogens (e.g., LSD, mushrooms). Participants who reported at least one type of hard drug use were grouped into a “Any Hard Drug Use” category. The questionnaire also ascertained whether participants had used any pharmaceutical drugs which were not prescribed to them by a physician. Four substance use outcomes were created: any alcohol use, any cigarette use, any hard drug use, and any nonprescribed medication use.

Psychological Distress

The frequency of depressive and anxiety symptoms are used as dependent variables in the analyses. To ascertain depressive symptoms, participants completed a 10-item short form of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale ( Kohout, Berkman, Evans, & Cornoni-Huntley, 1993 ). This short form limits the number of survey items and reduces participant burden. Items (e.g., “I felt that everything I did was an effort”) were scored on a 4-point scale: 1 = rarely or none of the time (less than 1 day); 4 = most or all of the time (5-7 days). The total score was calculated by reverse scoring positively worded items (e.g., “I felt hopeful about the future”) and creating a composite sum score. High scores indicated high depressive symptoms in the past week (Cronbach’s α = .85).

Participants completed the six-item anxiety subscale of the Brief Symptom Inventory ( Derogatis & Spencer, 1982 ) using a 4-point scale ranging from 1 = never to 4 = very often , indicating how often they felt a statement applied to them in the past week. Examples of statements were “feeling fearful,” “spells of terror or panic,” and “feeling so restless you couldn’t sit still.” A composite sum score was computed, where higher scores indicated greater levels of anxiety (Cronbach’s α = .92).

Gender Policing

To assess whether and how participants’ expression of gender was discouraged or punished by parental figures, participants were asked a yes or no question (“Did your parent[s] or the person[s] that raised you ever tell you to stop acting feminine?”). Those who responded “yes” were asked to select what methods were used by their parental figures to attempt to change their behavior. Participants had four answer categories: “Told Me to Change My Behavior,” “Punished Me or Restricted My Activities,” “Sent Me to Counseling,” and “Other.” Participants who selected “Other” were asked to describe their parents’ behavior. The study team thematically coded these entries and created two additional categories based on the frequency of certain responses: “Physical and/or Emotional Abuse” and “Placed in Masculine Activities.”

Demographic Characteristics

Participants reported their age, racial/ethnic group membership, sexual orientation, and highest educational attainment. Participants self-reported their race/ethnicity using the following categories: White/Caucasian, Black/African American, Latino/Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, Native American, and Other. Participants who selected more than one race (e.g., White/Caucasian and Black/African American) were grouped in a Multiracial category. The Middle Eastern, Native American, Multirace, and Other Race categories were collapsed given the limited number of observations in each category. Dummy variables for each race/ethnicity group were created, having non-Latino White/Caucasian participants serve as the referent group.

Participants also reported their sexual orientation as gay/homosexual, bisexual, straight/heterosexual, same gender loving, men who have sex with men, or other. The majority of participants identified as gay or bisexual; consequently, all other sexual identity categories were grouped into an Other Sexual Identity category. Gay participants served as the referent group in multivariate analyses.

Participants provided their level of highest educational attainment (e.g., 1 = less than high school , 2 = high school/GED , 3 = technical school , 4 = associate degree , 5 = some college , 6 = college , or 7 = some graduate school or more ). Given that age would confound participants’ educational attainment post-high school, this variable was recoded to denote whether participants had completed high school. Not having graduated high school served as the referent group.

Data Analytic Strategy

Descriptive statistics for key variables were examined and tested for bivariate differences based on participant recollection of gender policing by their primary caregiver (see Table 1 ) using t tests and chi-square statistics. Two multivariable models for each outcome were estimated. The first model tested whether there was a linear relationship between gender policing (i.e., being told to stop acting feminine) and the outcome of interest. The second model tested whether there was a linear association between the number of disciplinary actions enacted on participants who experienced gender policing and ATOD use. ATOD use outcomes (see Tables 2 and ​ and3) 3 ) were modeled using binary logistic regression. Psychological distress outcomes were modeled using ordinary least squares regression (see Table 4 ).

Sample Characteristics ( N = 1,484).

Note. For bivariate comparisons of proportions, chi-square tests were used. For mean comparisons, t -test statistics are reported.

Multivariate Logistic Regressions Examining the Relationship Between Substance Use and Being Told to Stop Acting Feminine ( N = 1,484).

Note. OR = odds ratio; CI = confidence interval; df = degrees of freedom.

Multivariate Logistic Regressions Examining the Relationship Between Substance Use and Number of Disciplinary Actions Among YMSM Told to Stop Acting Feminine ( N = 561).

Note. YMSM = young men who have sex with men; df = degrees of freedom; OR = odds ratio; CI = confidence interval.

Multivariate Logistic Regressions Examining the Relationship Between Psychological Distress and Gender Policing ( N = 1,484) and Number of Disciplinary Actions Among YMSM Told to Stop Acting Feminine ( N = 561).

Note. YMSM = young men who have sex with men; b = unstandardized slope; SE = standard error; β = standardized slope.

Study Sample

The mean age of the sample was 20.80 ( SD = 1.93) years. The majority of the sample was White ( N = 970; 65.4%), followed by racial/ethnic minorities including Latino ( N = 254; 17.1%), Black ( N = 130; 8.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander ( N = 55; 3.7%), and other ( N = 75; 5.1%). Most participants identified as gay or homosexual ( N = 1,371; 92.4%), with the remainder of participants identifying as bisexual ( N = 48; 3.2%) or using another identity to describe their sexuality (e.g., queer, same gender loving; N = 64; 4.3%). The vast majority of participants had completed high school (96.4%).

ATOD use was prevalent in the sample. In the prior 2 months, three quarters of participants ( N = 1,126) reported consuming alcohol, nearly 40% of the sample reported smoking cigarettes ( N = 578; 38.9%) or marijuana ( N = 558; 37.6%), 15% reported using at least one hard drug ( N = 227), and 7% ( N = 109) reported using someone else’s prescription drugs.

Over one third of participants ( N = 561; 37.8%) reported being told to act less feminine by a parent(s) or guardian(s) by whom they were raised (see Table 1 ). The most frequently noted disciplinary action in response to feminine behavior was being told to change one’s behavior ( N = 521; 35.1%). Other common disciplinary actions included being punished or having one’s activities restricted ( N = 183; 12.3%), being sent to counseling ( N = 110; 7.4%), and being sent to talk to a priest/minister/religious figure ( N = 80; 5.4%). Thirty-eight participants (2.6%) reported experiences of abuse (mental and physical) as disciplinary action and nine participants (0.6%) reported being placed in/forced into masculine activities. In order to ascertain if there was a dose–response relationship between the number of disciplinary actions and participant well-being, participants were given the option to report multiple disciplinary actions enacted to change their behaviors. Among those reporting multiple types of disciplinary actions, participants reported at least one type of disciplinary action ( N = 309; 55.1%), followed by two ( N = 143; 25.5%), three ( N = 63; 11.2%), and four or more ( N = 39; 7.0%).

As noted in Table 1 , participants who were told to stop acting feminine were more likely to have completed high school, and were more likely to be Asian/Pacific Islander or Latino. Participants who were told to stop acting feminine also reported higher symptoms of depression and anxiety (see Table 1 ), and were more likely to report using alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana (see Table 2 ).

Multivariable Models

Participants who reported that their parents asked them to stop acting feminine were more likely to use alcohol in the prior 2 months (see Table 2 ). Older participants who had completed high school had higher odds of alcohol use. Compared with White participants, African American and Latino participants were less likely to report alcohol use. No other differences by race/ethnicity or sexual orientation were observed.

Among those who had been told to stop acting feminine, there was no association between alcohol use and the number of disciplinary actions, after adjusting for age, education, sexual orientation, and race/ethnicity (see Table 3 ).

Participants who reported that their parents asked them to stop acting feminine were more likely to smoke cigarettes in the prior 2 months (see Table 2 ). Cigarette use was greater among bisexual participants than gay counterparts. Compared with White participants, African American and Asian/Pacific Islander participants were less likely to report cigarette use. No other differences by race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, or education were identified.

Among those who had been told to stop acting feminine, cigarette use was associated with a greater number of disciplinary actions, after adjusting for age, education, sexual orientation, and race/ethnicity (see Table 3 ). Bisexual participants were more likely than gay peers to report cigarette use. No other differences by sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, age, or education were noted.

Participants who reported that their parents asked them to stop acting feminine were more likely to smoke marijuana in the prior 2 months (see Table 2 ). There was no association between marijuana use and age, education, race/ethnicity, or sexual orientation. Among those who had been told to stop acting feminine, there was no association between marijuana use and the number of disciplinary actions, after adjusting for age, education, sexual orientation, and race/ethnicity (see Table 3 ).

Hard Drug Use

There was no association between hard drug use and being told to stop acting feminine or the number of disciplinary actions after adjusting for age, education, sexual orientation, and race/ethnicity.

Prescription Drug Use

There was no association between illicit use of prescription drugs and being told to stop acting feminine (see Table 2 ). Compared with White participants, African American and Latino participants were less likely to report prescription drug use. No other differences by race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, or education were observed.

Among those who had been told to stop acting feminine, there was no association between illicit use of prescription drugs and the number of disciplinary actions, after adjusting for age, education, sexual orientation, and race/ethnicity (see Table 3 ).

Depressive symptoms were higher among participants who reported being told to stop acting feminine when they were growing up. Depressive symptoms were higher among participants who were younger. Depressive symptoms were higher among participants who had completed high school. Compared with White participants, Black participants reported fewer depressive symptoms. No other differences by race/ethnicity or sexual orientation were identified (see Table 4 ).

Among those who had been told to stop acting feminine, participants who reported a greater number of disciplinary actions reported greater depressive symptoms (see Table 4 ). Depressive symptoms were higher among participants who were older. Compared with their gay counterparts, participants who identified as another sexual orientation reported higher depression symptoms. No other differences by sexual orientation, high school completion, or race/ethnicity were identified.

Anxiety symptoms were higher among participants who reported being told to stop acting feminine when they were growing up (see Table 4 ). Anxiety symptoms were higher among participants who were older and who had completed high school. Compared with White participants, Latino participants reported greater anxiety symptoms. Compared with gay participants, participants who identified as any other sexual orientation reported higher anxiety symptoms. There were no other differences by race/ethnicity.

Among those who had been told to stop acting feminine, participants who reported a greater number of disciplinary actions reported greater anxiety symptoms (see Table 4 ). Anxiety symptoms were lower among participants who were older. Compared with their gay counterparts, participants who identified as another sexual orientation reported higher anxiety symptoms. There were no differences by high school completion or race/ethnicity.

Over a third of the sample reported gender policing by a parental or other caretaker during childhood and adolescence. The most common method of gender policing was being told to correct behavior so as not to appear feminine. In some cases, gender policing included punitive actions such as sending youth to counseling, restricting them from activities, and even physical or emotional abuse. Prior research has suggested that pressure to adhere to social norms stemming from hegemonic masculinity may be negatively linked to the health and well-being of sexual minority youth and adult men ( Collier, Van Beusekom, Bos, & Sandfort, 2013 ; Emslie, Ridge, Ziebland, & Hunt, 2006 ; Hatzenbuehler, 2011 ; Ioerger, Henry, Chen, Cigularov, & Tomazic, 2015 ; Plöderl & Fartacek, 2009 ; Rieger & Savin-Williams, 2012 ). The current findings align with these prior studies and suggest that parent or caretaker gender policing is associated with ATOD use and psychological distress among young adult sexual minority men.

Experiences of parental gender policing were associated with recent ATOD use in the multivariable models. Specifically, participants who reported that their parents asked them to stop acting feminine were more likely to use alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana in the prior 2 months. Given that alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana are the most common substances used by young adults ( Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2014 ), these substances may be most readily available in their social contexts and more likely to be used as negative coping behaviors ( Debnam, Milam, Furr-Holden, & Bradshaw, 2016 ). A dose effect was also observed: Participants who experienced a greater number of disciplinary actions for acting too feminine were more likely to report recent marijuana and prescription drug misuse. Consistent with prior literature with heterosexually identified young men ( Oliffe & Phillips, 2008 ), it might be possible that young sexual minority men use certain substances to comply with different social norms (e.g., use alcohol or cigarettes to appear more masculine in social settings) or to self-medicate in the presence of more severe psychosocial stress (e.g., history of punitive actions). In the current analysis, however, it was impossible to examine whether ATOD use varied based on frequency of parental gender policing and/or the long-term consequences of the disciplinary actions. Consequently, these interpretations remain subject to empirical verification through prospective longitudinal quantitative and qualitative studies.

Psychological distress was associated with having been told by a parent or caretaker to act less feminine in the multivariable models. Participants who reported experiencing parental gender policing had higher depression and anxiety scores than participants who did not experience gender policing. Moreover, a dose–response association between psychological distress and the number of disciplinary actions experienced was identified. These findings coincide with prior research suggesting that gender policing and gender nonconformity are linked to increased mood and anxiety disorders ( Skidmore, Linsenmeier, & Bailey, 2006 ) and lower ratings of general psychological well-being ( Rieger & Savin-Williams, 2012 ; Van Beusekom et al., 2016 ). Although parents and caretakers may have their children’s best interest at heart when they engage in gender policing, the current findings suggest that parental gender policing is associated with psychological distress. Nevertheless, this study is unable to tease out whether the salience of these associations are moderated by parents’ sociodemographic (e.g., gender, educational attainment) and social (e.g., endorsement of traditional gender norms, sexual prejudice) characteristics, the circumstances behind gender policing (e.g., to shield them from anticipated stigma vs. to make them conform to normative masculine roles), and/or the timing of these behaviors (e.g., childhood vs. adolescence). Future research examining both parent and child experiences of gender policing may help inform family-level intervention strategies for sexual minority young men and their parents.

The univariate analyses also suggested that negative social outcomes may also be linked to gender policing. Specifically, participants who reported parental gender policing were less likely to have finished high school. Given that high school completion is a critical socioeconomic milestone and could potentially be a protective factor in our psychological distress models, future research examining how gender policing may be associated with young sexual minority men’s social advancement is warranted. Moreover, future research should refine and validate the current study’s assessment of gender policing using a larger social network perspective. For instance, it remains unclear whether experiences of gender policing from other key actors in sexual minority young men’s lives (including other family members, friends, and school personnel) have different or additional effects from those of parents or caretakers. In addition to familial, peer, or school settings, future research should examine if the presence of policies (e.g., school, workplace) regarding gender expression are associated with sexual minority young men’s well-being ( Gleason et al., 2016 ).

There are several limitations meriting mention. First, the sample may not be generalizable to all sexual minority young men. Given the absence of a population frame from which to recruit a random sample of sexual minority young men, a convenience sampling method was used. Participants were recruited online, so the current analyses do not include the experiences of men who do not have access to the Internet. Second, this study is cross-sectional by design; therefore, no causal relationships should be inferred from the findings. Third, the data are restricted to sexual minority young men who identify as cisgender (e.g., both their sex assigned at birth and current gender are male); thus, future research examining the relationship between gender policing and the well-being of other sexual (e.g., lesbians) and gender (e.g., gender nonconforming, transgender) minorities is warranted. Fourth, the analyses did not account for participants’ stress, frequency of drug use and misuse, and/or polydrug use. The absence of these indicators in the models may underestimate the true association between gender policing, ATOD use, and psychological distress. Finally, the frequency of parental gender policing and/or the perceived severity ascribed to these actions was not assessed. The findings are further restricted by participants’ recall of gender policing. It is possible that sexual minority young men experienced greater gender policing, but only remember salient events. These variables will be important to consider in future studies that further refine the implications of gender policing on substance use and mental health, and may explain the modest effect sizes observed between gender policing and well-being. Future research that seeks to develop and test more nuanced measures of gender policing may be warranted.

Despite the inherent limitations of the current cross-sectional work, this study reports evidence of both the prevalence of gender policing by parents and caretakers of young adult sexual minority men during childhood and adolescence and negative behavioral health outcomes associated with these experiences. Consistent with prior findings, gender policing behavior was associated with psychological distress among gay and bisexual men ( Rieger & Savin-Williams, 2012 ; Skidmore et al., 2006 ; Van Beusekom et al., 2016 ) and with maladaptive coping strategies such as ATOD use ( Ioerger et al., 2015 ). The current study suggests that experiences of gender policing behavior on young adult sexual minority men in childhood and adolescence is significantly associated with higher odds of psychological distress and ATOD use during the transition into young adulthood. The evidence presented here illustrates a need to develop clinical interventions for both parents and young sexual minority men that can address the presence of and potential long-term outcomes associated with gender policing.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This project was funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health Career Development Award to Dr. Bauermeister (K01- {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"MH087242","term_id":"1366942743","term_text":"MH087242"}} MH087242 ).

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