GENDER BELIEF SYSTEMS: HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE IMPLICIT INVERSION THEORY (original) (raw)
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The Spanish journal of psychology, 2010
Two hundred and twenty-six heterosexual participants (115 women and 111 men) were asked to indicate their attitude toward gender-roles, their perceived similarities with gay men, and their attitude toward gay men (i.e., sexual prejudice). As expected, male participants showed more sexual prejudice than female participants, and perceived dissimilarities were related to a greater sexual prejudice. Support for gender-roles was related to sexual prejudice for male participants, but not for female participants. More interestingly, the three-way interaction suggested that perceived similarities moderated the link between gender-roles and sexual prejudice among heterosexual men, but not among heterosexual women. Attitude in favor of traditional gender-roles was related to sexual prejudice for male participants who perceived gay men as different, but not for those who perceived gay men as similar. These findings are discussed in terms of the defensive function of men's attitude toward h...
Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 2011
implicit inversion theory suggests that stereotypes about gay men include beliefs that they possess certain mental health traits more characteristic of women than men. however, no research has explored gay men's stereotype about their own mental health or how their self-stereotype relates to stereotypes of women (i.e., heterosexual women and lesbians). three studies documented gay men's self-stereotype about mental health and compared it to other stereotypes. Comparisons among stereotypes about gay men, heterosexual women, and lesbians suggested that the stereotype about gay men partially overlaps with the stereotypes about heterosexual women and lesbians but also has traits independent of those female stereotypes. overall, there appears to be a prevalent stereotype about gay men's mental health that is partially explained by the implicit inversion theory. 330 boySen eT al.
Attitudes Toward Stereotypical Versus Counterstereotypical Gay Men and Lesbians
Journal of Sex Research, 2009
This study examined differences in the way heterosexual men and women feel about gay men and lesbians who either confirm or disconfirm prevailing stereotypes. Fifty-three heterosexual college men and women read descriptions about two fictitious homosexual students at their university, both of whom were either male or female. One of the students was portrayed as being more stereotypically masculine, whereas the other was portrayed as more stereotypically feminine. Participants rated the targets on a variety of dimensions, including liking. Male participants liked the masculine gay man more than the feminine gay man, whereas female participants showed similar degrees of liking for both men. Both male and female participants reported greater liking for the feminine lesbian than the masculine lesbian. Implications for understanding attitudes toward stereotypical versus counterstereotypical gay men and lesbians are discussed.
Homonegativity is a term used to describe negative attitudes toward homosexuals. Previous research shows gender differences in self-reported attitudes toward homosexuals; in this study, we examined possible factors associated with these gender differences. Heterosexual undergraduate students (252 females, 85 males) completed scales measuring variables hypothesized to explain gender differences in overall homonegativity, including differential exposure to homosexuals, disgust sensitivity, and reporting biases. As predicted, heterosexual males consistently expressed more negative attitudes toward homosexuals than did heterosexual females, with the effect being more pronounced for attitudes toward gay men. Also as hypothesized, many (but not all) variables related to differential exposure, disgust sensitivity, and reporting biases were significantly correlated with overall homonegativity and revealed significant gender differences. However, only one of these variables (self-reported familiarity with at least one gay man) showed a significantly stronger correlation with homonegativity among males (r = -.48) than females (r = -.23; Fisher's z = -2.22, p = .03). Thus, the study failed to show that differential exposure, disgust, or reporting biases explain the gender difference in overall homonegativity.
Cultural Stereotypes and Personal Beliefs: Perceptions of Heterosexual Men, Women, and People
The present research prioritizes minority groups' perspectives, specifically in the context of lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and transgender (LGBQT) and heterosexual dynamics. Study 1 elucidates LGB people's knowledge of stereotypes about heterosexuals, whereas Study 2 examines the extent to which LGBQT people believe in stereotypes about heterosexuals. In Study 1, we asked a large sample of LGB-identified participants to describe cultural stereotypes that exist about heterosexual men, women, or people (gender unspecified) and analyzed the data in terms of frequency and thematic content. Results indicated that cultural stereotypes about heterosexual targets are gendered (e.g., macho and aggressive; hyper-feminine and submissive) and negative in content (e.g., closed-minded and judgmental). In Study 2, we measured LGBQT participants' personal endorsement of cultural stereotypes about heterosexual target groups (generated by participants in Study 1). The results of Study 2 demonstrated that LGBQT participants' beliefs about heterosexual men and people overlap, whereas participants tend to perceive heterosexual women in a favorable light. Taken together, these 2 studies offer new insight into intergroup relations between sexual minorities and heterosexuals by evaluating the cultural stereotypes and personal beliefs held by LGBQT people.
What do people believe about gay males? A study of stereotype content and strength
Sex Roles, 1997
The current research examined the content and strength of the gay male stereotype. This focus represents a return to the earliest issues addressed by social psychologists. Although once a major substantive area in social psychology, issues of content gradually gave way to issues of process. However, issues of content and process are inextricably tied to one another. Content studies detail the specific attributes in stereotypes, their strength, valence, and inaccuracy. Process studies use this information to examine when stereotypes will influence social reality and social perception. The current research showed that beliefs about gay males included attributes from multiple stereotype components, formed two subtypes, and varied in strength. These findings have implications for research on issues of process because knowing what people believe about gay males and how strongly they hold those beliefs provides insight into when stereotypes may be most likely to create biases.
Attitudes toward Gays and Lesbians: Gender and Sexism
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Heterosexuals, particularly males, typically hold more negative attitudes towards gays than lesbians (Herek, 2002; Kerns & Fine, 1994). We explored the relation between sexism and the attitudes toward homosexuality in 99 male and 226 female college students, using the stereotype content model (Cuddy, Fiske, & Glick, 2004), the Attitude towards Lesbians and Gay Men Scale (Herek, 1999) and the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (Glick & Fiske, 2001).
University of Canterbury, 1990
This study was intended to assess the effects of sex and sexual orientation on measures of liking and loving for partner and on responses to some general questions regarding homosexual relationships. It was also intended to establish whether gender is a significant determinant of attitudes toward homosexuals in general, and toward homosexuals of one's own sex, in particular. The final objective was to discover if there is any relationship between attitudes toward women and attitudes toward homosexuals. A total of one hundred subjects was employed (fifty homosexual and fifty heterosexual males and females) to examine these factors. Relationship dynamics were examined using Rubin's (1973) "Liking and Loving scales" and attitudes were measured using the "Heterosexual Attitudes Toward Homosexuals Scale" (Larsen, Reed and Hoffman, 1980), and the "Attitudes Toward Women Scale" (Spence, Helmreich and Stapp, 1973). Four additional questions were asked in an effo1t to gain some general information about attitudes toward homosexuals. The results on the whole were favourable and were mainly consistent with the hypotheses. The first and third hypotheses were wholly supported by the results. The findings with regard to hypothesis two were a little less conclusive, with a significant main effect being gained and a non significant interaction effect. Conclusions were made to the effect that homosexual and heterosexual relationships are remarkably similar and responses to the general questions implied that heterosexuals may slowly be coming to this realisation. Consistent with expectations gender was found to be a powerful predictor of attitudes (with males showing greater rejection of homosexuals than females), but the hypothesis that heterosexuals would be more rejecting of homosexuals of their own sex was not supported. Scores on the two attitude measures were highly correlated as predicted, therefore it was concluded that attitudes toward women and attitudes toward homosexuals are highly related.