Fabio Fasoli

A substantial proportion of gay men report experiencing everyday harassment, raising questions about how observers interpret victimizing situations. Understanding these patterns requires examining how intersecting social categories shape perceptions of vulnerability, and how vulnerability is related to victim blaming. We investigated how minimal behavioural cues of gender conformity and explicitly disclosed sexual orientation jointly influence vulnerability‐related impressions. In Studies 1a/b ( N = 248), gender non‐conforming targets were consistently perceived as more vulnerable and more susceptible to victimization. Studies 2a/b ( N = 452) replicated these effects, while we found no significant effects of explicit sexual orientation on impressions of vulnerability and victimization susceptibility and no significant interactions with gender conformity. These findings highlight the consistent role of behavioural cues of gender conformity in shaping vulnerability‐related impressions when intersecting identity information is available. Moreover, perceived vulnerability was positively associated with both direct and indirect victim blaming, which suggests that vulnerability‐related impressions, rather than identity cues alone, are relevant to blame‐related judgements. Together, the results highlight how different sources of intersecting identity information are weighted when forming impressions of victimization and evaluating victims.

The use of specific words is inextricably linked to the acceptance of existing power structures (Foucault, 1971). Language is never “just” language—it carries a complex historical and social burden...

Purpose: Narrative curriculum vitae (NCVs) have emerged as a key strategy to promote fairer research assessment for funding applications. This project aimed to: a) understand how researchers from underrepresented groups perceive the challenges or opportunities of NCVs and b) examine the language used in NCVs and whether this influences reviewer evaluations. Design/methodology/approach: Study 1, a qualitative interview study with 20 scholars who are minorities in academia (e.g. due to gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability), aimed to identify the barriers and facilitators to adopting NCVs using thematic analysis. Study 2 examined how NCVs are written and evaluated, specifically focusing on language. Study 2a, adopts a linguistic analysis of 27 NCVs submitted by minoritised researchers. In Study 2b, 55 reviewers were recruited to evaluate the same 27 NCVs. Findings: Researchers from minoritised groups valued the potential of NCVs but found the different format/writing style challenging and time-consuming, especially in the context of conflicting guidelines and feedback and uncertainty about how NCVs influence funding decisions. Linguistic analysis of NCVs produced by underrepresented/minoritised researchers demonstrated differences in language use across group, including less-frequent use of language indicting agency and ownership, which subsequently was found to influence reviewers' evaluation of these NCVs. Originality/value: The project is one of the first to consider the perspective of NCV writers who belong to minoritised backgrounds in higher education, integrating their point of view and insights into the language they use and how reviewers assess it.

Individuals are quickly categorized as members of a group (e.g., national, migrants) based on their standard or nonstandard accent. However, this has usually been studied in the context of the native language, and less is known about accent-based categorization when individuals speak a second language. In this research, we tested whether speaking in Portuguese or English would influence Portuguese participants’ evaluations and recall of Portuguese-accented and Brazilian-accented speakers. In Study 1, we investigated the perceived warmth and competence, the potentiality of forming relationships, and the assumed economic status of Portuguese-accented and Brazilian-accented men speaking in their native (Portuguese) or non-native language (English). Results indicated that Brazilians speaking English received the worst judgments compared to all other categories by Portuguese listeners. Study 2 used a Who Said What paradigm to test language and accent categorization in a different experimental setting, and predicted that Portuguese participants would be more likely to make errors when recalling Brazilian-accented men speaking in English. However, Portuguese-accented men speaking in English received the most errors (although, Brazilian-accented men speaking English were second). Overall results from this project provide insight into the nuanced effects of social categorization and evaluations of standard and nonstandard accented individuals speaking in their native and non-native languages in Portugal.

Mentorship plays a significant role in shaping an individual's career in the workplace. Agency and communion are key dimensions that reflect personal values and workplace norms, both of which strongly influence the mentoring experience. Across four studies, we examined the type of mentoring that potential mentees want depending on their own values, workplace norms, and the interplay between the two. In each study, we investigated if potential mentees prefer mentors similar to themselves on agency and communion and who fit agentic and communal workplace norms. We analyzed perceived workplace norms in Study 1, manipulated prescriptive workplace norms in Study 2, and descriptive workplace norms in Study 3. Finally, Study 4 experimentally investigated if the similarity with the mentor and the perceived workplace requirements affects the preference for a potential mentor. Across all studies, we investigated if women preferred more communion (i.e., communal values in the mentor, psychosocial support) in their ideal mentors than men. The results indicated that people prefer mentors who share the same values and that women prefer more communion than men. Workplace norms did not influence mentoring preferences and did not interact with individuals' values.

Gay-sounding men are often perceived as not suitable for leadership roles. However, this bias may depend on the type of role they apply for since gay men are seen as a better fit for stereotypically feminine than masculine roles. Hence, gay-sounding men may have an advantage when applying for feminine leadership roles. In a pilot study, we identified Italian male speakers who were perceived as either gay- or straight-sounding by British listeners. In the main study, we tested the perception and career advancement to more senior roles of candidates who already held managerial positions. British participants (N = 113) listened to foreign (Italian) male candidates who either sounded gay or straight. They then judged their suitability for stereotypically feminine, masculine, and neutral senior roles and rated them in terms of agency and communion. Results showed a positive bias such as that gay-sounding candidates were seen as more suitable for stereotypically feminine senior roles than straight-sounding candidates because they were seen as more communal. Such positive bias was stronger among those participants who reported the lowest level of negative attitudes toward gay men. These findings contribute to the current literature on voice-based discrimination by showing positive stereotyping and positive biases toward gay-sounding men.

Background Individuals make first impressions of others based on how they look. Facial cues trigger gender social categorisation and elicit gender stereotyping. However, it remains unclear to what extent such impressions are influenced by the perceivers’ gender identity and gender beliefs. Methods We recruited cisgender and transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) participants (N = 195). Participants were shown three morphed faces (prototypical male versus. prototypical female versus. androgynous) and, for each target, were asked to create a sentence describing their first impression. To do so, they had to choose from a list of pronouns, professions, and personality traits. Participants also reported how confident they were in their first impression and rated the gender of the targets. Results Results showed that overall participants perceived the prototypical male target as masculine while both the prototypical female and androgynous targets were seen as feminine. Participants also felt more confident when forming an impression about the prototypical male target. Further, impressions were influenced by perceivers’ gender identity. Cisgender participants formed stronger stereotypical impressions of the prototypical male and female target than TGNB participants. In particular, cisgender participants were more likely to use masculine pronouns for the prototypical male target and more feminine pronouns for the prototypical female target, but less neutral pronouns for the androgynous target, than TGNB participants. The difference in pronoun use was mediated by cisgender participants stronger endorsement of gender binary beliefs. Conclusions These findings provide new insights into face-based stereotyping and show the importance of considering different stereotype components and individual differences such as gender identity and beliefs.

Gay men who believe to sound ‘gay’ expect to be discriminated against because of their voices and gay‐sounding men are discriminated against in the hiring process. We examined whether uttering an agency‐based message decreased discrimination expectancy and enactment. In Study 1a ( N = 256; gay and bisexual men) and Study 1b ( N = 216; gay men), speakers uttered agentic (vs. neutral) messages. We assessed their self‐perception as gay sounding, agency self‐attribution and discrimination expectancy. Uttering agentic (vs. neutral) messages made the speakers self‐perceive as more agentic and this decreased discrimination expectancy. Additionally, self‐perception as gay sounding predicted discrimination expectancy. In Study 2 ( N = 466), heterosexual participants listened to gay‐ and straight‐sounding speakers uttering either neutral or agentic messages and rated them in terms of agency and employability. Gay‐sounding speakers uttering agentic messages were less likely to be discriminated against than when uttering neutral messages. Results show the positive impact of linguistic strategies involving agentic messages to reduce discrimination expectancy and hiring biases.