How does gender accountability vary? We theorize that reduced perceptions by others of one’s gender, or reduced external assessments of gender accountability, create more space for the cultivation of nonbinary subjectivities. We use the shelter-in-place period of the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural experiment during which major social institutions such as work and school changed and thus shifted gender accountability. Through interviews with a racially diverse sample of 22 U.S. adults who came out as nonbinary or genderfluid during this time period, we examine their experiences and understandings of this change in gender accountability. Participants described relief from relentless gender assessments as well as space for self-reflection and gender experimentation. Less stringent external assessments at work and school, especially the reduction of constant in-person evaluations of gender expression, produced new gender subjectivities that resisted binary understandings of gender. This study explores the nuance, variability, and situational character of gender accountability. We argue that in-person full-body gender assessments are a powerful component of gender accountability and that relief from gender accountability at work and school may be particularly liberating.

中文翻译：

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当性别责任减少时会发生什么？ COVID-19 大流行期间非二元性别和性别流动人士的经历

性别责任有何不同？我们的理论是，减少他人对性别的看法，或减少对性别责任的外部评估，为培养非二元主体性创造更多空间。我们将 COVID-19 大流行期间的就地避难期作为一次自然实验，在此期间，工作和学校等主要社会机构发生了变化，从而改变了性别责任。通过对 22 名在此期间表现出非二元性别或性别流动性的美国成年人进行采访，我们研究了他们对性别责任这一变化的经历和理解。参与者描述了从无情的性别评估中得到的解脱，以及自我反思和性别实验的空间。工作和学校的外部评估不那么严格，尤其是对性别表达的持续面对面评估的减少，产生了新的性别主观性，抵制对性别的二元理解。本研究探讨了性别问责制的细微差别、可变性和情境特征。我们认为，面对面的全身性别评估是性别问责的重要组成部分，并且减轻工作和学校中的性别问责可能特别令人解放。