Beyond biological sex: Dream intensity and attitudes of transgender and gender nonconforming individuals

Abstract

Considerable evidence demonstrates that dream recall differs between females and males and is associated with femininity. However, sex and sex role orientation are intertwined such that males tend to be more masculine, females being more feminine. Accordingly, it is unclear that women experience more intense dream experiences possibly due to their biological sex characteristics rather than their psychological sex characteristics. Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) individuals, who do not conform to their birth-assigned sex, present a unique opportunity for investigating the influence of self-identified gender and sex role orientation. Therefore, this study examined 85 TGNC participants’ sex role orientation, dream intensity, and attitudes toward dreams. It was found that attitudes toward dreams significantly mediated the relationship between femininity and dream intensity, despite the negative association between self-identified gender and birth-assigned sex.