Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Clothing and Self Concept in Cisgender and Transgender Individuals

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Gender Issues Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Clothing serves as an expression of the self and means for self-evaluation and self-enhancement. Gender, which is central to one’s self-concept is performed through adherence to prescribed gender roles and dress. Using discrepancy theory and self-image congruity, the authors examined the relationship between gender identity and proximity of clothing to self, under the moderating effect of internalization. An online survey of 406 participants (150 cisgender women, 55 cisgender men, 101 trans men, and 100 trans women). MANOVA findings confirmed gender as a central component of self-concept which affects one’s relationship with their clothing specifically when they are used to create a common understanding of the body. Results indicated clothing to be more important for cisgender women (Clothing in relation to self as structure, self-esteem-evaluative process dominant, and self-esteem- affective process dominant) as an expression of their self-perception than transgender individuals. Further, cisgender women engaged more in self-evaluation with social standards, with no significant moderating effect of internalization observed. The current study contributes to the growing body of literature on gender and dress behaviors, specifically how transgender identities impact one’s relationship with their clothing.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Availability of data and material

The data set associated with this study can be requested from the first author. It is currently not in a data repository.

References

  1. Ålgars, M., Santtila, P., & Sandnabba, N. K. (2010). Conflicted gender identity, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating in adult men and women. Sex Roles, 63(1–2), 118–125. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9758-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Allen, P., & Bennett, K. (2008). SPSS for the health & behavioural sciences. Thomson Learning.

  3. American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th ed., Washington: American Psychiatric Pub. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

  4. American Psychiatric Association (2020). What is gender dysphoria? American Psychiatric Pub. https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gender-dysphoria/what-is-gender-dysphoria

  5. American Psychological Association (2020). Gender identity. APA Dictionary of Psychology. https://dictionary.apa.org/gender-identity

  6. Benveniste, A. (2019, December 6). Someday there might not be a menswear department. Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-06/gender-neutral-clothing-retailer-phluid-bets-on-non-binary-world

  7. Bettany, S., Dobscha, S., O’Malley, L., & Prothero, A. (2010). Moving beyond binary opposition: exploring the tapestry of gender in consumer research and marketing. Marketing Theory, 10(1), 3–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593109355244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Betz, D. E., Sabik, N. J., & Ramsey, L. R. (2019). Ideal comparisons: Body ideals harm women’s body image through social comparison. Body Image, 29, 100–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Butler, J. (2002). Undoing gender. Routledge

  10. Cash, T. F. (2002). Cognitive behavioral perspectives on body image. In T. F. Cash & L. Smolak (Eds.), Body image: a handbook of science, practice, and prevention (pp. 39–47). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Chadee, D. (Eds.). (2011). Theories in social psychology. Wiley-Blackwell.

  12. Chen, W. C. (2021). How cultural values affect subjective well-being among older adults: the role of proximity of clothing to self. Journal of Happiness Studies, 22, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-020-00220-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Crosby, E., McKeage, K., & Rittenburg, T. (2015). Marginalization, resistance, and stealth shopping: subalternity in the gendered marketplace. Advances in Consumer Research, 43, 254–259.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Dobscha, S., & Ostberg, J. (2021). Introduction to the special issue on gender impacts: consumption, markets, marketing, and marketing organisations. Journal of Marketing Management, 37, 181–187. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2021.1880163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Dua, T. (2021, June 30). Trans and Non-Binary Representation Is Going Mainstream in Advertising. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/trans-and-non-binary-representation-is-going-mainstream-in-advertising-2021-6

  16. Entwistle, J. (2015). The fashioned body: Fashion, dress and modern social theory. John Wiley & Sons.

  17. Ericksen, M. K., & Sirgy, M. J. (1992). Employed females’ clothing preference, self-image congruence, and career anchorage. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 22(5), 408–422. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1992.tb01547.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Fischer, E., & Arnold, S. J. (1994). Sex, gender identity, gender role attitudes, and consumer behavior. Psychology & Marketing, 11(2), 163–182. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.4220110206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Frith, H., & Gleeson, K. (2004). Clothing and embodiment: Men managing body image and appearance. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 5(1), 40–48. https://doi.org/10.1037/1524-9220.5.1.40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Frith, H., & Gleeson, K. (2008). Dressing the body: The role of clothing in sustaining body pride and managing body distress. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 5(4), 249–264. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780880701752950

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Geczy, A., & Karaminas, V. (2013). Queer style. A&C Black.

  22. Grabe, S., Ward, L. M., & Hyde, J. S. (2008). The role of the media in body image concerns among women: a meta-analysis of experimental and correlational studies. Psychological Bulletin, 134(3), 460–476. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.134.3.460

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Guittar, S. G., Grauerholz, L., Kidder, E. N., Daye, S. D., & McLaughlin, M. (2021). Beyond the pink tax: gender-based pricing and differentiation of personal care products. Gender Issues. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-021-09280-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Hair, J. F. Jr., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L. and Black, W. C. (1998), Multivariate Data Analysis (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River.

  25. Hattie, J. (2014). Self-concept. East Sussex: Psychology Press.

  26. Heinzen, T., & Goodfriend, W. (2018). Social Psychology. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Higgins, E. T. (1987). Self-discrepancy: a theory relating self and affect. Psychological Review, 94, 319–340. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295x.94.3.319

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Hourigan, S. R., & Bougoure, U. S. (2012). Towards a better understanding of fashion clothing involvement. Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ), 20(2), 127–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ausmj.2011.10.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Jones, B. A., Haycraft, E., Murjan, S., & Arcelus, J. (2016). Body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in trans people: a systematic review of the literature. International Review of Psychiatry, 28(1), 81–94. https://doi.org/10.3109/09540261.2015.1089217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Jones, J.M. (2021). LGBT identification rise to 5.6% in latest U.S. estimate. Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/poll/329708/lgbt-identification-rises-latest-estimate.aspx

  31. Kaiser, S. B. (1997). The social psychology of clothing: Symbolic appearances in context. Fairchild.

  32. Kaiser, S. B. (2012). Fashion and cultural studies. London: Berg.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Kozee, H. B., Tylka, T. L., & Bauerband, L. A. (2012). Measuring transgender individuals’ comfort with gender identity and appearance: development and validation of the transgender congruence scale. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 36(2), 179–196. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684312442161

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Kraemer, B., Delsignore, A., Schnyder, U., & Hepp, U. (2008). Body image and transsexualism. Psychopathology, 41(2), 96–100. https://doi.org/10.1159/000111554

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Kressmann, F., Sirgy, M. J., Herrmann, A., Huber, F., Huber, S., & Lee, D. J. (2006). Direct and indirect effects of self-image congruence on brand loyalty. Journal of Business Research, 59(9), 955–964. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2006.06.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Lee, Y. A., & Sontag, M. S. (2010). An assessment of the proximity of clothing to self scale for older persons. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 34(4), 443–448. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2010.00874.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Mair, C. (2018). The Psychology of Fashion. Routledge

  38. Mandel, N., Rucker, D. D., Levav, J., & Galinsky, A. D. (2017). The compensatory consumer behavior model: how self-discrepancies drive consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 27(1), 133–146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2016.05.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. McGuire, J. K., Doty, J. L., Catalpa, J. M., & Ola, C. (2016). Body image in transgender young people: findings from a qualitative, community based study. Body Image, 18, 96–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.06.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. McNeill, L. S. (2018). Fashion and women’s self-concept: a typology for self-fashioning using clothing. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: an International Journal, 22(1), 82–98. https://doi.org/10.1108/jfmm-09-2016-0077

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Mizock, L., & Hopwood, R. (2016). Conflation and interdependence in the intersection of gender and sexuality among transgender individuals. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 3(1), 93–103. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Moradi, B. (2010). Addressing gender and cultural diversity in body image: objectification theory as a framework for integrating theories and grounding research. Sex Roles, 63, 138–148. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9824-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Mulgrew, K. E., & Tiggemann, M. (2018). Form or function: does focusing on body functionality protect women from body dissatisfaction when viewing media images? Journal of Health Psychology, 23(1), 84–94. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105316655471

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Murnen, S.K. (2011). Gender and body image. In T.F. Cash & L. Smolak (Eds.), Body image (2nd edition, pp. 173–179). The Guilford Press.

  45. Murnen, S. K., & Don, B. P. (2012). Body image and gender roles. In T. F. Cash (Ed.), Encyclopedia of body image and human appearance (pp. 128–134). London: Academic press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  46. O’Cass, A. (2000). An assessment of consumers product, purchase decision, advertising and consumption involvement in fashion clothing. Journal of Economic Psychology, 21(5), 545–576. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0167-4870(00)00018-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. O’Dea, J.A., (2012). Body image and self-esteem. In T.F. Cash (Ed.), Encyclopedia of body image and human appearance (pp.141–147). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-384925-0.09002-7

  48. Olson, C. L. (1974). Comparative robustness of six tests in multivariate analysis of variance. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 69(348), 894–908.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Parent, M. C., & Moradi, B. (2011). His biceps become him: A test of objectification theory’s application to drive for muscularity and propensity for steroid use in college men. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58(2), 246–256. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021398

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Reddy-Best, K. L., & Pedersen, E. L. (2015). The relationship of gender expression, sexual identity, distress, appearance, and clothing choices for queer women. International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education, 8(1), 54–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/17543266.2014.958576

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Reilly, A., Catalpa, J., & McGuire, J. (2019). Clothing fit issues for trans people. Fashion Studies, 1(2), 1–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Ridgeway, R. T., & Tylka, T. L. (2005). College men’s perceptions of ideal body composition and shape. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 6(3), 209–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Riggle, E. D., Rostosky, S. S., McCants, L. E., & Pascale-Hague, D. (2011). The positive aspects of a transgender self-identification. Psychology & Sexuality, 2(2), 147–158. https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2010.534490

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Rosa, J. A., Garbarino, E. C., & Malter, A. J. (2006). Keeping the body in mind: the influence of body esteem and body boundary aberration on consumer beliefs and purchase intentions. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 16(1), 79–91. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327663jcp1601_10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Rudd, N., & Lennon, S. (2000). Body image and appearance-management behaviors in college women. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 18(3), 152–162. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887302x0001800304

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Schaefer, L. M., Burke, N. L., Thompson, J. K., Dedrick, R. F., Heinberg, L. J., Calogero, R. M., & Anderson, D. A. (2015). Development and validation of the sociocultural attitudes towards appearance questionnaire-4 (SATAQ-4). Psychological Assessment, 27(1), 54–67. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22590

    Article  Google Scholar 

  57. Schneider, J., & Auten, D. (2018, August 14). The $1 trillion marketing executives are ignoring. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/debtfreeguys/2018/08/14/the-1-trillion-marketing-executives-are-ignoring/?sh=491a8f68a97f

  58. Sirgy, M. J. (1982). Self-concept in consumer behavior: a critical review. Journal Consumer Research, 9, 287–300. https://doi.org/10.1086/208924

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. Sontag, M. S., & Schlater, J. D. (1982). Proximity of clothing to self: evolution of a concept. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 1(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887302x8200100101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Sontag, M. S., & Lee, J. (2004). Proximity of clothing to self scale. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 22(4), 161–177. https://doi.org/10.1037/t55964-000

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. Steinmetz, K. (2017, March 2017). Beyond ‘He’ or ‘She’: The Changing Meaning of Gender and Sexuality. TIME. https://time.com/magazine/us/4703292/march-27th-2017-vol-189-no-11-u-s/

  62. Striegel-Moore, R. H., & Bulik, C. M. (2007). Risk factors for eating disorders. American Psychologist, 62, 181–198. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.62.3.181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  63. Strübel, J., Sabik, N., & Tylka, T. (2020). Body image and depressive symptoms among transgender and cisgender adults: Examining a model integrating the tripartite influence model and objectification theory. Body Image, 35, 53–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.08.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  64. Sun, Y., & Guo, S. (2014). Media exposure, social comparison and self-discrepancy: a model of prediction of fashion clothing involvement. Intercultural Communication Studies, 23(2), 151–172.

    Google Scholar 

  65. Sung, J., & Yan, R. N. (2020). Predicting clothing behaviors of Generation Y men through self-esteem and body dissatisfaction. Fashion and Textiles, 7(1), 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  66. Tebbe, E. A., & Budge, S. L. (2016). Research with trans communities: applying a process-oriented approach to methodological considerations and research recommendations. The Counseling Psychologist, 44(7), 996–1024. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000015609045

    Article  Google Scholar 

  67. Tiggemann, M. (2011). Sociocultural perspectives on human appearance and body image. In T. F. Cash & L. Smolak (Eds.), Body image: A handbook of science, practice, and prevention (pp. 12–19). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  68. Tiggemann, M., Verri, A., & Scaravaggi, S. (2005). Body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, fashion magazines, and clothes: a cross-cultural comparison between Australian and Italian young women. International Journal of Psychology, 40(5), 293–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  69. Tiggemann, M., & Lacey, C. (2009). Shopping for clothes: Body satisfaction, appearance investment, and functions of clothing among female shoppers. Body Image, 6(4), 285–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  70. Tiggemann, M., & Andrew, R. (2012). Clothing choices, weight, and trait self-objectification. Body Image, 9(3), 409–412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  71. Ye, L., & Robertson, T. M. (2012). Gender identity: Does it matter for consumers’ perceptions? Journal of Business Diversity, 12(3), 81–92.

    Google Scholar 

  72. Zarebazakabadi, G. (2019). Breaking the dress code: gender identity and fashion in Iran [Master’s thesis, Sapienza University of Rome].

Download references

Funding

This study was funded by a University of Rhode Island Research Proposal Development Grant.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design, College of Business, University of Rhode Island, Ballentine 204, 7 Lippitt Road, Kingston, RI, 02881, USA

    Jessica Strübel & Saheli Goswami

Authors
  1. Jessica Strübel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Saheli Goswami
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Conceptualization: Jessica Strübel; Data curation: Jessica Strübel, Saheli Goswami; Formal analysis: Jessica Strübel; Funding acquisition: Jessica Strübel; Methodology: Jessica Strübel; Project administration: Jessica Strübel; Supervision: Jessica Strübel; Visualization: Jessica Strübel, Saheli Goswami; Writing-original draft: Jessica Strübel, Saheli Goswami; Writing- review & editing: Jessica Strübel, Saheli Goswami.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jessica Strübel.

Ethics declarations

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare they have no financial interests and no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Ethics Approval

The authors complied with the American Psychological Association’s ethical standards in the treatment of human subjects and received IRB approval for this study (IRB Ref #: 1139441–1). All research participants provided informed consent for this study.

Consent for Publication

All authors consent to the publication of this paper if accepted.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Strübel, J., Goswami, S. Clothing and Self Concept in Cisgender and Transgender Individuals. Gend. Issues 39, 387–408 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-022-09296-9

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-022-09296-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation