In the field of physics education research, numerous studies have been dedicated to investigating the relationship between gender identity and physics learning. However, these studies have predominantly employed binary gender measurement methods, which may limit the range of research questions that can be explored and impede the discovery of crucial insights. In this study, we adapted gradational measures from prior research to investigate students’ self-identified femininity, masculinity, and androgyny, as well as their reflected appraisal of femininity, masculinity, and androgyny (i.e., perceptions of how others perceive them) in both algebra-based and calculus-based introductory physics courses. The use of gradational measures revealed significant variation in students’ self-identified femininity, masculinity, and androgyny within the binary categories of women and men, providing new insights into gender dynamics in physics. We found that self-identified women in the calculus-based courses, where they are underrepresented, tend to perceive themselves as more masculine and less feminine than how they believe others perceive them. Similarly, students of color are also more likely than White students to perceive themselves as more masculine than they believe others perceive them. Using structural equation modeling, we found that students’ gender stigma consciousness plays an important role in mediating the effects of identifying as women and students of color on the observed discrepancies. Additionally, we found that women also exhibit a tendency to perceive themselves as more androgynous than they believe others perceive them in both algebra-based and calculus-based physics courses, and this phenomenon is also related to gender stigma consciousness. Moreover, our analyses revealed that students in the calculus-based courses tend to have a higher level of gender stigma consciousness even after controlling for gender and race. Our findings underscore the potential of gradational gender measurements in deepening our understanding of gender-related issues in physics education, shedding light on the complex interplay between students’ gender identity, perceptions from others, and their educational experiences in the field.

中文翻译：

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调查学生在物理入门课程中对女性气质、男性气质和双性化的自我认同和反映评价

在物理教育研究领域，大量研究致力于调查性别认同与物理学习之间的关系。然而，这些研究主要采用二元性别测量方法，这可能会限制可探索的研究问题的范围，并阻碍关键见解的发现。在这项研究中，我们采用了先前研究中的分级措施来调查学生对女性气质、男性气质和双性化的自我认同，以及他们对女性气质、男性气质和双性化的反映评价（即他人如何看待他们的看法）。基于代数和微积分的物理入门课程。分级测量的使用揭示了学生在女性和男性二元类别中自我认定的女性气质、男性气质和双性化的显着差异，为物理学中的性别动态提供了新的见解。我们发现，在以微积分为基础的课程中，自我认同的女性人数较少，她们往往认为自己比她们认为的其他人对自己的看法更有男性气概，而不是女性化。同样，有色人种学生也比白人学生更有可能认为自己比其他人认为的更有男子气概。使用结构方程模型，我们发现学生的性别耻辱意识在调节女性和有色人种学生的身份对观察到的差异的影响方面发挥着重要作用。此外，我们发现，在基于代数和基于微积分的物理课程中，女性还表现出一种认为自己比其他人认为的更雌雄同体的倾向，这种现象也与性别耻辱意识有关。此外，我们的分析显示，即使在控制性别和种族之后，微积分课程的学生也往往具有更高水平的性别耻辱意识。我们的研究结果强调了分级性别测量在加深我们对物理教育中性别相关问题的理解方面的潜力，揭示了学生的性别认同、他人的看法以及他们在该领域的教育经历之间复杂的相互作用。