PULLMAN, Wash.-
A recent Washington State University (WSU) study found that seeing all-gender signs in public places is linked to acceptance of transgender and nonbinary people in adolescents.
For the study researchers conducted an online experiment with a nationally representative sample of 319 adolescents aged 12 to 17, testing how gendered signs displayed on public facilities affected participants’ subsequent attitudes toward gender.
According to a WSU press release the adolescents who had been exposed to the all-gender signage were more likely to perceive genders other than male and female as valid.
Additionally, youth exposed to all-gender facilities in their everyday lives reported being more comfortable with using such facilities and tended to be more accepting of transgender and nonbinary people.
“In essence, the study showed that gender-segregation in physical spaces primes adolescents to think of gender in a binary manner, while gender-inclusive spaces tend to lead them to have a more nuanced understanding,” said Traci Gillig, an assistant professor at WSU and lead researcher on the study published in the International Journal of Communication.
