Appearance Matters: Cisgender Prototypicality Influences Hiring Decisions About Trans Women But Not About Trans Men

ABSTRACT

Transgender people experience discrimination in the workplace and in hiring processes. This experimental study tested the hireability of trans women and trans men with more or less cisgender prototypical appearance. Participants with recruitment experience ( N  = 451) evaluated the CV summary of a trans woman or a trans man whose cisgender prototypical appearance was manipulated through a photograph. Overall, trans women were considered less hirable than trans men, whereas there were no direct effects of cisgender prototypicality. However, perceived attractiveness was significantly related to the hireability of trans women, but not of trans men: trans women who deviated from cisgender prototypical appearance were perceived as less attractive, which was in turn associated with lower hireability. Thus, some trans women may face double discrimination: a first one based on gender identity and a second one based on failing to meet cis‐normative standards of attractiveness. The implications of cisgender appearance norms for trans women in recruitment procedures are discussed.