Sociological Inquiry

doi: 10.1111/soin.12438pmid: N/A

Whitley, Cameron T.; Nordmarken, Sonny; Kolysh, Simone; Goldstein‐Kral, Jess

doi: 10.1111/soin.12482pmid: N/A

Chronic misgendering is the process of being repeatedly misgendered (referred to as another gender) after informing an individual of gender pronouns (e.g., “she,” “he,” “they”). Chronic misgendering is symbolic of larger institutional and disciplinary adherence to a paradigm that privileges cisgender people, referred to as a gender essentialist paradigm. In order to understand which disciplines in higher education have more pervasive chronic misgendering, we analyze results from the National Survey of Transgender Graduate Students (n = 245). Graduate students in the natural sciences experience more chronic misgendering compared to graduate students in the social sciences. Those in health and biological science fields (in and closely related to medicine) reported the highest level of chronic misgendering, accounting for the majority of all chronic misgendering in the natural sciences. We argue that not only do these incidents negatively impact transgender graduate students, but they also reflect and reproduce field‐specific expectations for what is considered acceptable misgendering practice in post‐graduate professional environments, such as community health and medicine. As such, chronic misgendering in graduate school functions as unofficial curricula and thus, training for workplace cultures that, to different degrees, devalue transgender people and contribute to structural inequalities.

Geiss, Carley; Egner, Justine E.

doi: 10.1111/soin.12445pmid: N/A

This study examines public narratives of sex work organizations that specifically serve disabled clientele. We utilize virtual data from two organizational online presences, including featured client and worker testimonials, a related documentary film, and audience commentary. Our analysis illuminates (1) the organizational characterizations of disabled clients as deserving and in need of sex services, (2) depictions of sex workers as moral, medical practitioners, and (3) plots and moral lessons that legitimate organizational services through medical logic. We argue that while such storytelling has the potential to persuade audiences through cultural appeals to morality, emotion, and medical logic, it simultaneously stigmatizes disabled people while constructing moral hierarchies of sex workers.

Ralston, Margaret; Jennings, Elyse; Schatz, Enid

doi: 10.1111/soin.12456pmid: 36059856

This study focuses on a cohort of adults (40‐plus) in rural South Africa to unpack associations between physical health and receipt of social support, and the extent to which these associations were moderated by marital status. We use logistic regression to estimate the odds of having received emotional, physical, or financial support separately for men (N = 2247) and women (N = 2609). Our results suggest having an Activity of Daily Living (ADL) limitation or having at least one chronic condition was not significantly associated with social support receipt for women, but having an ADL limitation was associated with reduced odds of receiving financial support among men. Although marital status was strongly and significantly associated with receipt of social support for both men and women, marital status moderated the relationship between health indicators and social support receipt only for men. Our findings suggest that when men, but not women, experience a marital dissolution and are suffering from a disability or a chronic condition, their networks respond by providing needed social support.

Henricks, Kasey; Ortiz, Ruben

doi: 10.1111/soin.12449pmid: N/A

We extend prior studies on racial apathy and monetary sanctions by uncovering the relationship between the two within the realm of preferences for liberal reforms. Our study draws upon the Chicago Area Finances Survey, 2019 to answer three basic questions: (1) Is racial apathy an empirically distinct form of modern prejudice? (2) Is racial apathy of political consequence for liberal reforms on monetary sanctions? (3) Does racial apathy influence other groups besides whites? The reforms we measure feature policies that address the growing debt tied to legal infractions, including the establishment of monthly payment plans, permitting legal debt to be exchanged for community service, and fulfilling debt obligations with the completion of programs that enhance human capital. We find that racial apathy is especially relevant for predicting who withholds support for liberal reforms on monetary sanctions.

Savage, Brenda K.; Barringer, M. N.; Binder, Michael M.

doi: 10.1111/soin.12451pmid: N/A

Research has shown religion to be an important predictor of attitudes toward state punishment, yet religious identity has rarely been included in studies of public opinion toward felon disenfranchisement. In November 2018, voters in Florida passed Amendment 4, the “Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative,” to re‐enfranchise Floridians who have completed all the terms of their felony sentences, excluding those convicted of murder or sexual offenses. This study centers on the potential relationship between religious identity, particularly for evangelical Protestants, and punitiveness by examining religious identity as a predictor of attitudes toward felon disenfranchisement. Using data from a 2018 statewide survey of likely Florida voters, this study examines the effect of religious identity and other sociodemographic factors, such as race, on attitudes toward felon disenfranchisement. Results demonstrate that probable voters who identify as evangelical Protestant are less supportive of Amendment 4 (versus non‐religious), controlling for other demographics previously found to be significant in the literature. The lack of support for voter re‐enfranchisement among evangelical Protestants suggests they take a more punitive stance on this issue. Our findings demonstrate the continued salience of religious identity and the need for its inclusion in future studies examining attitudes toward felon disenfranchisement.

Samson, Frank L.

doi: 10.1111/soin.12452pmid: N/A

Over the years, race‐related incidents involving Greek letter organizations (GLOs), especially fraternities, continue to arise despite the ensuing controversy and negative media attention that inevitably follow such incidents. The present study examines whether there is an association between GLO membership and negative ethnoracial attitudes given a range of relevant psychological, sociological, and political theories about ethnoracial attitudes. Building on insights from microclass research on attitudinal structuring and drawing on the National Longitudinal Study of Freshmen (N = 2,817), results of linear regression models indicate that GLO membership is associated with heightened negative ethnoracial attitudes, particularly among white male students. Moreover, a measure of ethnoracial group affiliation partially mediates this effect. This latter finding suggests that among the various ethnoracial attitude theories, group position theory may be better formulated to explain an association between GLO membership and negative ethnoracial attitudes, given its consideration of both ingroup boundary formation and organizations. The results also support microclass processes and suggest future research to more clearly account for pre‐occupational structuring that later feeds into occupational processes.

Villegas, Francisco J.; Munoz, Elizabeth

doi: 10.1111/soin.12431pmid: N/A

In 2017, Kalamazoo County passed a county‐based identification program to provide residents a more accessible form of documentation than the State of Michigan ID. Given the normalization of identification cards in contemporary society, the inability to furnish ID can exclude individuals from myriad services. In this article, we analyze transcripts of politicians and residents at county meetings leading up to the passing of the ID policy. This policy was widely supported by attendees. However, many utilized arguments that, while in favor of it, reproduced illegalizing logics. We track the use of four illegalizing frames and argue that while attempting to rationalize the undocumented population as having value, the majority of speakers in favor of the ID articulated opinions that positioned migrants outside the parameters of belonging and reinforced citizen/non‐citizen binaries. This article contributes to sociological understanding of the construction of migrant deservingness and the limits of supporting arguments.

Brown, Adrienne R.

doi: 10.1111/soin.12483pmid: N/A

Due to the widespread destruction of the Camp Fire in Paradise, California in November 2018, residents faced long‐term displacement and disruption to community life. In response, digital spaces emerged as an important gathering space for survivors. While research has addressed the role of social media during disasters, less is known about the long‐term uses of digital platforms in post‐disaster recovery. This study presents a content analysis of the use of public Facebook groups created by and for survivors of the Camp Fire approximately 1 year after the event. It examines 480 posts from seven groups during a 2‐week period from November 19, 2019 through December 2, 2019. Users were most often seeking or providing informational support, but they also frequently used the groups for community‐building. Less frequent uses included instrumental, material, and emotional supports. Social media provide an alternative space for these community functions and also enable the recovery of the town itself.

Carlson, Daniel L.; Petts, Richard J.; Pepin, Joanna R.

doi: 10.1111/soin.12459pmid: 34908600

Stay‐at‐home orders and the removal of care and domestic supports during the early days of the COVID‐19 pandemic substantially disrupted US parents’ work and family lives. Although much is known about changes in US parents’ paid labor arrangements, the evidence regarding changes in unpaid domestic labor has been largely anecdotal. This study uses novel data from 1,025 US parents in different‐sex partnerships to provide a descriptive overview of changes in mothers’ and fathers’ participation in, and division of, housework and childcare from March 2020 to the early days of the pandemic (late April 2020). Findings show an overall increase in domestic responsibilities for mothers who were already doing most of the household labor. Still, both mothers and fathers report a general shift toward more egalitarian divisions of household labor, driven by increases in fathers’ contributions. The shift toward more egalitarian sharing of domestic labor is observed across demographic groups and across types of domestic tasks. Consistent with findings from other countries, egalitarian divisions of domestic labor increased among U.S. parents during the early days of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Mothers, nonetheless, report retaining primary responsibility for domestic labor in the majority of families.