Officer friendly and the tough cop:gays and lesbians navigate homophobia and policing

Despite attempts to expand social diversity, policing is still dominated by a white, masculine, heterosexual ethos. As a consequence, employment of lesbians and gay men as police officers may be especially threatening to members of this occupation. Within the context of potential hostility and homophobia, nontraditional officers must negotiate their contradictory presence on the police force. This paper investigates that negotiation. Using the Bem Sex Role Inventory and open-ended survey data from a sample of "out" and "closeted" gay and lesbian police officers, we ask how gays and lesbians manage their images as "good cops" in the face of gender norm violations associated with their sexual orientation. Our findings indicate that masculinity and femininity do not hold together in a cohesive, dichotomous manner for these officers. Instead, other characteristics that enhance policing are emphasized to support their occupational competence. These officers see themselves as "good cops." The gendered/sexualized character of their self-perceptions appears to matter less than the context of the job, more than for a comparison sample of heterosexual police officers. We conclude that although gay and lesbian officers see their sexuality as an occupational asset, they are also likely to work harder to prove themselves as crime fighters.     

In search of a more perfect heteroarchy:Vermont, civil unions and the harm of "separate-but-equal"

This article focuses on the Vermont civil union solution to the state Supreme Court's mandate in Baker v. State (1999). Using non-subordination theory, the author argues that rather than being a legal victory for lesbians and gay men, the Vermont law integrally contributes to the maintenance of an imbalance of power between heterosexuals and lesbians and gays. The article analyzes the rhetorical strategy employed by lawmakers to respond to what they perceived and portrayed as a menace posed by same-sex marriage and demonstrates that lawmakers reinforced apprehensions surrounding lesbian and gay identity and asserted the familiar heterosexist narrative in an effort to quell the threat posed by Baker. The article concludes that the legislature's genuine motivation behind civil unions was validating their own and their constituents' misplaced fears regarding gay and lesbian identity, and pacifying those fears by denying equal marriage rights to gays and lesbians in an attempt to appear responsive to a perceived threat to heterosexual primacy.     

Mistakes that heterosexual people make when trying to appear non-prejudiced: the view from LGB people

In two studies, lesbians, gay men and bisexuals were queried concerning mistakes that well-meaning heterosexual people have made when interacting with them. In qualitative, open-ended research, we determined that the most common mistakes concerned heterosexuals' pointing out that they know someone who is gay, emphasizing their lack of prejudice, and relying on stereotypes about gays. Following up with a quantitative, close-ended questionnaire, we determined that the mistakes respondents experienced most often involved heterosexuals (a) relying on stereotypes and (b) ignoring gay issues; the most annoying mistakes were heterosexuals (a) using subtle prejudicial language and (b) not owning up to their discomfort with gay issues. We used two theoretical perspectives, shared reality theory and the contact hypothesis, to analyze the quantitative responses. Implications for intergroup relationships between heterosexual people and gay people are discussed.     

Polymorphous Prejudice: Liberating the Measurement of Heterosexuals' Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men

A multidimensional measure of sexual prejudice was developed to assess the increasing complexity of heterosexuals' attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a valid and reliable 7-factor measure that assessed: 1) traditional heterosexism; 2) tendency to deny anti-gay discrimination continues; 3) aversion toward gay men; 4) aversion to lesbians; 5) judgments regarding the value of the gay and lesbian movement; 6) resistance to heteronormative expectations; and 7) endorsement of positive beliefs about gay people. A modern heterosexism theory was supported and queer/liberationist notions of anti-heteronormativity and positive beliefs were found to be related to pro-homosexual attitudes.     

"Fag church": men who integrate gay and Christian identities

It is usually assumed that being gay or lesbian and being Christian is contradictory. The eight men who participated in this qualitative inquiry demonstrate otherwise. I investigated the ways in which these men integrated their gay and Christian identities meaningfully into their lives. From the interview data, I discerned and describe in this paper a variety of strategies that these men adopted in order to facilitate identity integration of seemingly mutually exclusive identities. In the bid for social and political equality with heterosexuals, gays and lesbians typically have not received support from Christians, at least not from politically active Christians, many of whom participate in explicitly antigay campaigns. Given such a contentious context, I discuss the personal and political implications of integrating gay and evangelical Christian identities.     

University Students’ Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Parenting and Gay and Lesbian Rights in Portugal

The purpose of this study was to explore university students’ attitudes toward same-sex parenting and toward gay and lesbian rights. A total of 292 participants, aged between 18 and 27 (M = 21) responded to a questionnaire measuring attitudes toward parenting by gay men and lesbians, gay and lesbian rights, and beliefs about the etiology of homosexuality. Results revealed that the majority of students were against gay and lesbian parenting, gay and lesbian equal rights, and believed that homosexuality has a social/environmental basis. It was found that sexual prejudice is highly prevalent in Portuguese university students, and implications of these findings are discussed.     

Attitudes towards lesbians and gay men and support for lesbian and gay human rights among psychology students

A questionnaire comprising two scales, the short form of the Attitudes Towards Lesbians and Gay Men Scale (ATLG-S; Herek, 1984) and the newly devised Support for Lesbian and Gay Human Rights Scale (SLGHR) were administered to 226 students taking undergraduate psychology courses at universities in the United Kingdom, to assess their attitudes towards lesbians and gay men, and their level of support for lesbian and gay human rights. The results indicated that whilst only a small percentage of respondents expressed negative attitudes towards lesbians and gay men on the ATLG-S, the sample as a whole did not overwhelmingly support lesbian and gay human rights. The lack of support for lesbian and gay human rights is discussed in relation to its implications for psychology students as future practitioners and policymakers.     

Religion,Contact, and Ambivalent Attitudes Toward the Rights of Gays and Lesbians in Barbados

ABSTRACT

Over 70 countries in the world currently carry anti-gay laws, among which is Barbados, a small English-speaking Caribbean island. This study evaluates whether heterosexuals in Barbados are consistent or ambivalent in their attitudes toward anti-gay law reform and the extent to which competing messages from interpersonal contact and religion affect ambivalence. The analysis revealed that a majority of heterosexuals hold ambivalent attitudes about gay and lesbian rights. Moreover, results from a multinomial logistic regression imply that Barbadians whose views on sexuality were theologically based were less likely to support restrictions on same-sex intimacy when they have a close relationship with a gay man or lesbian. However, this decline in support for the laws brought about by meaningful contact did not translate to support for gay and lesbian rights among the religiously inclined. Rather, it manifested itself as a state of attitudinal ambivalence.     

Left Out? Lesbian,Gay, and Bisexual Poverty in the U.S.

This paper analyzes the risk of poverty for self-identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people from mid-2013 through 2016 in the National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative survey of households that includes a sexual orientation question based on identity (n = 112,143). The study tests the role of family structure—living with a spouse or partner and having children—on the risk of poverty for LGB and heterosexual respondents. After controlling for education, demographic, and health measures in a probit model, lesbians and gay men are as likely to be poor as similar heterosexuals, but bisexual women and men are significantly more likely to be poor, regardless of relationship status. Single and childless gay men are also more likely to be poor than single heterosexual men. Being in a relationship reduces the likelihood of poverty for people of all sexual orientations, but the data show evidence of a gender composition effect: married male same-sex couples are less likely and unmarried female same-sex couples more likely to be poor than their married counterparts. Marriage reduces gay men’s poverty risk more and children increase their poverty risk less than for heterosexual men.     

Self-perceived origins of attitudes toward homosexuality

Undergraduate students (N = 417) at a large southern university responded to open-ended questions designed to assess self-perceived origins of attitudes toward homosexuality and circumstances that may prompt a shift in attitudes. Inductively coded responses pointed to a positive correlation between attitudes toward homosexuality and experience interacting with gay men or lesbians; this is discussed in the context of Allport's (1954 ) contact hypothesis and Herek's (1984 , 1986 ) theory of functional attitudes. Implications are discussed for education and intervention efforts aimed at facilitating understanding and tolerance of gay men and lesbians.     

Heterosexual Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Marriage

Negative attitudes of heterosexual people toward same-sex marriage relate to the degree to which they are homophobic. However, it has been understudied whether there exists a gender difference in this association. Our results indicated that homophobia was the best predictor of attitudes toward gay male and lesbian marriage, and this was equally true for both heterosexual men and women. However, the attitudinal difference between gay male and lesbian marriage was related to homophobia in men but not in women. That is, for men only, being less homophobic toward lesbians than toward gay men was associated with favoring lesbian over gay men marriage. Considering these results, the role of gender in attitudes toward same-sex marriage seems to be as an important moderator of homophobia.     

Discomfort With Homosexuality: A New Measure Captures Differences in Attitudes Toward Gay Men and Lesbians

This study describes a creative and psychometrically sound method that allows researchers to measure homonegativity at a lower threshold than existing measures and to differentiate between homonegativity toward gay men and lesbians. Four hundred and thirty-one undergraduate students at a Western comprehensive university were asked to respond to a series of vignettes describing situations in which heterosexuals sometimes experience discomfort in the presence of homosexuals, indicating the degree to which they would feel comfortable or uncomfortable. The 12-item Homonegativity as Discomfort Scale (HADS) has adequate alpha reliability (.92) as well as good criterion and construct validity. Suggestions are made as to how the measure could be employed in research. Testing on this sample shows greater discomfort with gay men than with lesbians and greater discomfort among men than among women.     

Sun, sand, and citizenship: the marketing of gay tourism

This article investigates trends in the marketing of gay and lesbian tourism. It reviews gay and lesbian travel guides from the 1960s to the 1990s before examining more recent travel materials including brochures and Web sites promoting specific American cities. These promotional materials are a valuable object of inquiry because they are uniquely situated at the intersection of discussions of sexuality, the market, representation, space, and citizenship. Through an aggregate semiotic analysis and ideological criticism, this article examines themes and concerns raised by the recent wave of gay tourism marketing, including questions of visibility, privacy, and assimilation. I argue that while marketers' recent attempts to lure gay and lesbian tourists to specific destinations may seem to suggest increased tolerance and societal inclusion, the specific strategies that they employ actually reveal the second-class citizen status still experienced by gays and lesbians within the rest of American society.     

Poppies in a wheat field: exploring the lives of rural lesbians

Many believe that lesbian identity is predicated upon the availability of opportunities in urban life to find information, support, and like others (Bell and Valentine 1995a). Indeed, exploring one's lesbian sense of self often involves identifying with a visible reference group, seeking out social arenas where there are other gays and lesbians, connecting with a local community, and taking part in gay and lesbian oriented activities. For rural residents, these opportunities are mostly unavailable, and the lack of access to information, to a public meeting space, and to connections with other lesbians further hinders the development of social group identity. Given that gay and lesbian identity has as its basis a social reference group, how might rural lesbians develop and sustain their sense of personal and group lesbian identity? With few exceptions (D'Augelli 1989; D'Augelli et al. 1987; Kramer 1995; Krieger 1982) the empirical research conducted on the lives of gays and lesbians has utilized urban and suburban samples. Likewise, research on rural life has omitted the experiences of gay and lesbian residents. Either way, information about rural lesbian life remains mostly uncovered. This pilot study attempts to provide new information about the experiences of rural lesbians. Utilizing focus group interviews, the challenges of sustaining lesbian identity in a rural setting are explored. The data show that for this sample, although rural lesbians initially felt isolated and unsure of how to develop a sense of group identity, the opportunity to connect with a small informal network of friends and acquaintances helped alleviate these problems. Further, because these women have little access to information, public gathering space, or to local gay culture, this network was said to be crucial. Without it, the women feel invisible and isolated, that is, their identity remains unseen.     

Disclosure patterns within social networks of gay men and lesbians

Gay men and lesbians must make decisions about disclosure of their sexual orientation. Past research has focused on an individual's overall level of disclosure or on disclosure to a specific subset of individuals. This study used a new measure, the Disclosure Grid, to assess the disclosure patterns of 89 gay men and 55 lesbians across their entire social network. In addition to assessing disclosure to each network member, the Grid also assessed perceived relationship quality prior to disclosure and currently. Finally, the Grid assessed perceptions of each network member's initial and current acceptance of the gay or lesbian person's sexual orientation. Data provide a rich portrait of disclosure patterns among a heterogeneous, urban sample of lesbians and gay men. Analyses also found support for three hypotheses about disclosure, relationship quality, and acceptance. For example, it was found that participants have better relationships with individuals they have directly told about their sexual orientation than with people who found out in an indirect manner.     

Lesbians and Gay Men’s Vacation Motivations,Perceptions, and Constraints: A Study of Cruise Vacation Choice

ABSTRACT

This study explores the push-pull vacation motivations of gay male and lesbian consumers and examines how these underpin their perceptions and purchase constraints of a mainstream and LGBT¹ cruise. Findings highlight a complex vacation market. Although lesbians and gay men share many of the same travel motivations as their heterosexual counterparts, the study reveals sexuality is a significant variable in their perception of cruise vacations, which further influences purchase constraints and destination choice. Gay men have more favorable perceptions than lesbians of both mainstream and LGBT cruises. The article recommends further inquiry into the multifaceted nature of motivations, perception, and constraints within the LGBT market in relation to cruise vacations.     

An empirical analysis of stressors for gay men and lesbians

This research describes the empirical classification of stressors for gay men and lesbians. Volunteer respondents were recruited through a free local gay and lesbian newspaper, through gay and lesbian student organizations nationwide, through gay and lesbian bookstores nationwide, and at a gay festival in St. Louis. Nine hundred seventy-nine (979) participants completed a 70-item measure with stressors that had been identified in previous qualitative research. Participants were asked to indicate the degree to which they had experienced stress associated with a variety of experiences. Participants also completed a measure of dysphoria (CES-D), responded about their degree of openness regarding sexual orientation, and provided information about their relationship status and involvement with gay groups and activities. Using confirmatory factor analysis, a six-factor model was predicted to account for the data. One-factor, six-factor, and ten-factor models were tested. The ten-factor model yielded the best fit with the data and accounted for 63.5% of the variance. The factor structure remained stable when gay men were compared to lesbians, when those endorsing a predominantly gay versus exclusively gay orientation were compared, and when those in a relationship were compared to those who were not in a relationship. Increased gay stress was associated with more dysphoria. Implications of these findings are discussed and directions for future research are considered.     

Reactive, anxious and possessive forms of jealousy and their relation to relationship quality among heterosexuals and homosexuals

The present study examined the relationship between relational quality and three different types of jealousy-reactive, anxious and possessive jealousy. The sample consisted of 76 gay men, 79 lesbians, 70 heterosexual women and 70 heterosexual men. Findings show that different types of jealousy affect relationship quality differently and do so differently for homosexuals and heterosexuals. Among heterosexuals and especially gay men--but not among lesbians--anxious jealousy was negatively related to relationship quality. In contrast, among heterosexuals--but not among gay men or lesbians--reactive jealousy was positively related to relationship quality. The present study shows that distinguishing between different types of jealousy is necessary to entangle the diverse effects of jealousy on the quality of homosexual and heterosexual relationships.     

A Comparison of Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Among Students of Helping Professions in Crete,Greece: The Cases of Social Work,Psychology, Medicine,and Nursing

This study investigated the attitudes toward lesbians and gay men among social work, psychology, medical, and nursing students in Crete, Greece, using Herek’s ATLG scale. No respondents held completely heterosexist attitudes; only 1.6% held completely non-heterosexist attitudes. The 44.96 total ATLG score indicates a slightly positive attitude toward lesbians and gay men. Psychology students scored higher than all others on positive attitudes, followed by social work students, medical students, and nursing students. Gender, having lesbian or gay acquaintances or friends, and religiosity were significant factors influencing students’ attitudes, while no impact on attitudes due to the effects of higher education could be discerned. Implications for curriculum design and teaching methods are discussed.     

From an oppressed citizenship to affirmative identities: lesbian and gay political participation in Portugal

In this paper we intend to articulate a multidimensional perspective on citizenship with a psychological understanding of lesbian and gay identities' development in the context of a Southern European country: Portugal. We begin by reviewing some legal statements and institutional regulations around gay and lesbian issues and the lack of opportunities for the affirmation of a non-hegemonic (sexual) identity in Portugal. Next, we describe participation efforts developed by the Portuguese LGBT nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the actual results that such efforts already produced in the political and cultural attitudes toward gay men and lesbians: particularly, the legal approval of domestic same-sex partnership is emphasized as a symbolic achievement of such political struggle. Finally, we explore the implications of communitarian participation for gay and lesbian identities' development, not just in terms of collective empowerment but also in what concerns individual development and well-being.