abstract: Despite the population of transgender individuals in the United States doubling from 2011 to 2016, this population is one of the most understudied in psychological science. Of the available research, the associations between gender congruence, defined as an individual’s body matching their gender identity, and well-being have been examined, particularly demonstrating positive associations between gender congruence and overall life satisfaction. However, there remains a dearth of research on the possible associations between gender congruence and relational well-being - particularly sexual satisfaction - and possible moderating effects of the internal negative feelings regarding one’s identity (internalized transphobia). To address these gaps in the literature, this study gathered data from 165 binary transgender men. While there was not an effect of gender congruence on sexual satisfaction, internalized transphobia was found to moderate this association such that individuals who reported high internalized transphobia and high gender congruence reported the highest sexual satisfaction. Results of this study highlight the existing literature on the negative associations between internalized transphobia and well-being for transgender individuals. Implications for counselors are discussed, including advocacy efforts and implementation of techniques to facilitate growth and resilience to help transgender clients navigate the negative effects of internalized transphobia. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Counseling 2020

Background:Brand gender is the set of human personality traits associated with masculinity and femininity applicable and relevant to brands. Brand gender perceptions can be affected through a range of different marketing techniques, to attract specific customers, and positively influence their consumer-brand relationships and their brand equity. Similar to past marketing techniques used by tobacco companies who targeted women with cigarettes using slogans such as “Torches of Freedom” and the message that smoking makes you slim, marketers are now trying to change consumer perceptions of snus, a tobacco product originating from Sweden, where a drastic increase in usage among women can be seen.  Problem: Previous literature on the topic of brand gender has mainly focused on products and product categories that are highly connected to consumers’ self-presentation. Current literature also expresses the need for future research to be done using specific brands and product categories. Researchers have also expressed the need for examination of brand gender in contexts of highly feminine cultures.  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine if LYFT’s marketing portrays a clear brand gender positioning and to see how consumers perceive gendered branding. The aim is to expand existing knowledge on brand love, brand gender congruence and brand-gender positioning, using a product category that is less connected to consumers’ self-presentation. To fulfil the purpose of this research, a content analysis of LYFT’s Instagram was conducted, followed by an analysis of regular users of snus to identify their perceptions and relationships with LYFT. Method: This study has followed a mixed-method approach, where a quantitative content analysis of LYFT’s Instagram has been executed, followed by eight qualitative semi-structured interviews of regular users of snus in the age range of 22-28 years in Sweden who are highly familiar with LYFT. The interviews were analysed following interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).  Results: The interview participants perceived LYFT’s typical customer, their communication, as well as their product attributes and benefits to be feminine, which was consistent with the results of the content analysis. Congruent with previous research, this study found that the typical user of the brand had the most significant effect on brand gender perceptions and that a strong brand gender positioning can enhance brand love. However, the study also found that female individuals were less likely to consume masculine products or product categories than what previous studies have claimed. This study is useful for marketing practitioners wanting to enhance their customer-brand relationships through clear brand gendering and shows the importance of utilizing marketing techniques such as social media to affect consumer perceptions of brand gender.

According to human nature of having a taste for beauty, advertisers heavily rely on physical attractive male and female models as the product spokespersons to enhance consumers¡¦ liking of the ad, and this is so-called ¡§What-is-beautiful-is-good stereotype.¡¨ Previous research focuses on the impact of physical attractiveness of models on consumer perceptions and advertising persuasion. However, service is different from products due to the high intangibility and interaction with consumers. Therefore, this research takes one step forward to examine how a service provider¡¦s physical attractiveness influences advertising persuasion. The present study uses experimental design to investigate the advertising effects of service provider¡¦s physical attractiveness (high vs. moderate), gender congruence between service provider and customer (congruent gender vs. incongruent gender), and type of service (search service vs. experience service). Thus, 2x2x2 factorial design is conducted. The ad effects are measured by attitudes toward the ad and purchase intention toward the ad to observe the responses under eight different and fictitious scenarios. The results indicate that, a highly attractive service provider is not necessarily more effective than a moderately attractive one. When promoting a service with search attributes, either gender congruence between service provider and consumer or service provider¡¦s physical attractiveness matters in advertising persuasion. When promoting a service with experience attributes, a moderately attractive service provider is more effective than a highly attractive one in the condition of the same gender between provider and consumer. The findings suggest that companies and marketers should take account of not only the match-up of service attributes and physical attractiveness but also the target customer gender to enhance their advertising persuasion.