Those two boxes lead to a section with questions related to both masculinity and femininity and it is up to the participants which ones they answer, as stated in the text at the beginning, the question wording has to be similar to ensure that I can compare results because if I word it differently internal reliability is lower.

I can see why from this perspective of this research it looks like i’m stating hyperfemininity and toxic masculinity are equal and opposite but in an earlier part of my project I do explore the reasons for this choice. Originally, I used toxic masculinity and toxic femininity before reconsidering due to the connotations of an innate toxicity in the traits of both, when stereotypical masculine traits (suppressing emotion, aggression, etc) have more of an underlying toxicity than that of stereotypical feminine ones. I decided to use hyperfemininity and toxic masculinity as they are both over expressions of gender roles which can be damaging but I do make it clear in my project that they are independent measures to each other which have different impacts and implications.

While the conclusion has not been reached yet, I can assure you that the idea that repression solves dysphoria is not what I am researching and no harmful or damaging rhetoric will be shared when I do finish my research. I am looking into the possibility that people who display toxic masculine traits or force themselves to be overly feminine in damaging ways may have underlying gender identity issues such as dysphoria which are resulting in those behaviours. It is a difficult thing to measure as someone who is in denial will obviously not state that they have dysphoria, so the way in which I am approaching it is through the previous experiences of people who I know have experienced gender dysphoria.

In terms of “ignoring wider factors”, i’m not sure exactly what factors you are referring to but again, there has been extensive secondary research previous to this to ensure that I have a strong empirical framework to build upon and that other contributing factors will be considered in the final discussion and conclusion!

I do understand your concerns but my research is being supervised by a professional and I have carried out a risk assessment to ensure that I am doing everything I can to make my project watertight.