A two-country study published in Archives of Sexual Behaviour finds that dogmatic views about sex and gender are closely linked to authoritarian tendencies on both sides of the political spectrum. The researchers report that endorsing a binary, fixed view of gender aligns with conservative authoritarianism, while embracing a fluid, nonbinary conception aligns with progressive authoritarianism.
In the explanation used by the researchers, “sex” generally refers to biological characteristics such as chromosomes and anatomy, while “gender” describes a person’s psychological identity and social role. People’s beliefs about how these two concepts interact vary, with some viewing gender as strictly binary and tied to birth, and others seeing gender as a spectrum that can change.
Historically, psychology has often tied binary gender beliefs to right-wing authoritarianism. For example, a 2021 study linked submission to traditional authorities with rigid beliefs about traditional gender roles. Those findings helped shape a picture of conservative ideology as a primary driver of dogmatic gender views.
“We found that, to date, there have been several empirical studies regarding the relationship between right-wing authoritarianism and beliefs regarding whether human sex or gender are binary or not,” said Alex Bertrams, of the University of Bern, to PsyPost. “However, what had been completely absent until now were studies examining how sex/gender beliefs are related to left-wing authoritarianism.”
The researchers point to separate work suggesting that authoritarian tendencies can also appear on the political left. A 2020 study outlined a model of left-wing authoritarianism and noted a push among some progressives to aggressively enforce unconventional norms. This aligns with a PsyPost report from 2025 identifying anti-conventionalism as a feature of left-wing authoritarian beliefs, characterised by demands for political homogeneity and outright rejection of conservative values.
Bertrams and Ann Krispenz set out to test whether an anti-conventional, progressive view of gender is as closely tied to left-wing authoritarianism as traditional gender views are to right-wing authoritarianism. “In addition, we noticed that certain ideological circles (also within universities) label those beliefs toward sex and gender which do not align with their own progressive views as ‘authoritarian’ or even ‘fascist,’” the researchers said. “However, certain morally overbearing forms of advocacy for progressive sex/gender beliefs may also be authoritarian – but left-wing authoritarian.”
The team designed two online surveys to explore the idea. In the first, they recruited 1,431 adults from the United States, who answered questions measuring gender beliefs on a continuous scale and a question about whether there are only two genders. In this sample, 57 percent stated there are only two genders, and 43 percent stated there are more than two.
Participants also completed assessments of two specific forms of authoritarianism. The first was right-wing authoritarian conventionalism—the desire to force society to follow traditional moral standards. The second was left-wing authoritarian anti-conventionalism—the desire to push everyone to adopt progressive values while treating conservative views as inherently immoral.
The researchers found a strong relationship between gender beliefs and these two forms of authoritarianism. Believing gender is binary and fixed was strongly associated with right-wing conventionalism, while believing gender is nonbinary and changeable was strongly associated with left-wing anti-conventionalism. These associations remained robust after accounting for age, income and general political orientation.
“We generally found strong associations between the sex/gender beliefs and the investigated forms of left- and right-wing authoritarianism,” the researchers noted. “Given the conceptual proximity of the sex/gender beliefs on the one hand and the ideological underpinnings of these authoritarianism forms on the other hand, this was not particularly surprising. After all, our goal was not to investigate something particularly sensational but something obvious for the purpose of filling a gap in research that had not been addressed until now.”
In the second study, the researchers recruited 1,390 adults from the United Kingdom to test whether the pattern held in a different cultural context. They used the same measures for gender beliefs and both forms of authoritarianism. In Britain, 68 percent of participants endorsed a binary view of gender, and 32 percent endorsed a nonbinary view.
The British sample also included additional measures of authoritarian traits, such as social dominance orientation, right-wing aggression, left-wing anti-hierarchical aggression and a desire for top-down censorship. The findings mirrored the US study, showing that binary beliefs were strongly linked to right-wing conventionalism and nonbinary beliefs to left-wing anti-conventionalism. The researchers noted that conventionalism and anti-conventionalism were the strongest predictors of gender beliefs, outpacing other traits like aggression or censorship desires.
This cross‑national replication was a deliberate part of the study design. “In contrast to many psychological studies conducted to date, our study (including the hypotheses as well as the methodology and data analysis) was pre-registered and adheres to open science standards,” they explained. “In addition, our study includes two independent samples from different countries, meaning that the findings from the first sample were replicated in a second sample.”
The researchers emphasised that the findings align with earlier PsyPost coverage from 2020, which linked right‑leaning ideology to rigid, binary beliefs about sex and gender. The new work broadens that picture by showing a parallel relationship on the left, focusing on right-wing authoritarian conventionalism rather than general political conservatism.
From the researchers’ perspective, the results offer a potential counter to misleading rhetoric. “If certain people label a particular belief about sex and gender as the viewpoint of (right-wing) authoritarians—and in doing so imply that their own position is therefore the only correct option—one can counter this viewpoint by citing our study results which contradict this characterization. Our findings suggest that very different, even contradicting, views on sex and gender can be held by authoritarian individuals on the left and the right. It is therefore inappropriate to make a one-sided association between a particular sex/gender belief and authoritarianism.”
As with all research, the authors acknowledge limitations. The study measures correlations, so it cannot determine whether holding a specific gender belief makes someone more authoritarian, or whether naturally authoritarian people gravitate toward strict gender norms. They caution against assuming that any single belief about gender is inherently authoritarian.
The researchers note that many people hold binary or nonbinary views without a desire to impose those views on others. The study simply indicates that individuals with highly controlling, authoritarian personalities tend to attach themselves to particular gender ideologies. “Whatever one believes about the binary or non-binary nature of sex and gender and whether or not people can freely determine their own sex and gender, one can also express and advocate for the respective view in a non-authoritarian way,” they clarified.
Future work will need to explore whether these patterns appear outside the United States and the United Kingdom, and whether deeper personality traits such as narcissism help explain why some adopt highly authoritarian approaches to gender debates. “Our research is not specifically focused on sex/gender beliefs, but rather on the diverse phenomena that could be explained by the dark-ego-vehicle principle,” the researchers said. “According to this approach, individuals with dark (e.g., narcissistic or psychopathic) personalities tend to use ideologies and activism as vehicles to satisfy their dark needs (e.g., expressing supposed moral superiority over others, acting out aggression at protests).”
The authors added that there is already some evidence that authoritarianism may benefit dark personalities in this regard. “In a study that was just published, we also found evidence that ideologically completely opposed stances may be useful vehicles for dark personalities. In this new study, antagonistic narcissism was associated with abortion-related radicalization intention, that is, the intention to also use illegal and violent means,” they said.
This willingness to pursue extreme tactics appeared to transcend the cause. “The key point is that this was true for both the individuals of the pro-choice as well as the pro-life group,” the researchers noted.
The study, “Sex/Gender Beliefs are Strongly Related to Either Right‑Wing Authoritarian Conventionalism or Left‑Wing Authoritarian Anti‑Conventionalism,” was authored by Alex Bertrams and Ann Krispenz.
