ALT Title and abstract of Martin Naunov’s forthcoming Journal of Politics article on how American voters evaluate gay and gender-nonconforming male candidates. Using experimental manipulations of candidate presentation, the study finds both Republicans and Democrats penalize gender nonconformity, even as Democrats favor gay candidates who conform to heteronormative standards.

ALT Bar charts show predicted support for male political candidates by sexuality and gender presentation. Gay candidates are penalized overall, especially those with nonconforming presentation. Both straight and gay nonconforming men receive the lowest support, revealing strong gender norm enforcement.

ALT Regression table shows that support and feeling ratings are shaped by sexuality, gender presentation, and interactions with anti-gay attitudes and need for order. Gay candidates receive lower ratings when gender-nonconforming; heteronormative preferences persist across both national and student samples.

ALT Dot-and-whisker plots show that Democrats rate gay candidates more favorably than Republicans, but both parties penalize gender nonconformity. Nonconforming candidates face sharp drops in support and warmth among Republicans, with smaller penalties also observed among Democrats.