Queer Eye for the Straight Guy: Sexual Orientation and Stereotype Lift Effects on Performance in the Fashion Domain

Stereotype lift is defined as a boost in performance caused by an awareness of a positive ingroup stereotype. This study investigated if gay men experience stereotype lift in the fashion domain. To date, no studies have examined stereotype lift in regards to stereotypes about sexual orientation or in regards to a non-academic task. To address this gap in the literature, gay and straight men completed a test of fashion knowledge under conditions where the relevant gay stereotype was either salient or not by reminding participants of their sexual orientation before or after completing the test. A sample of 66 undergraduate male students (31 heterosexual and 35 homosexual) showed that gay men did outperform straight men on the fashion test, but only when the relevant stereotype was made salient, F(1, 62) = 5.23, p = .03. Implications of stereotype lift in gay men and on non-academic tasks are discussed.     

"He was treating me like trash, and I was loving it...": perspectives in gay male pornography

As the topic of gay male pornography has received limited attention from social scientists, little is known about how gay men perceive this medium. In the current study, a focus group methodology was used whereby participants examined specific scenes from commercially available gay pornography in terms of the messages they disseminate about the body and gay sexuality, in general. Findings suggest that discussants tended to view the medium from a utilitarian perspective. They saw pornography as a masturbatory aid, and did not believe that it possessed much significance vis-à-vis gay men's attitudes and behaviours. Those who identified potentially negative influences of this medium saw them as transitory and most likely to occur among gay men other than themselves.     

Portuguese Adolescents' Attitudes Toward Sexual Minorities: Transphobia,Homophobia, and Gender Role Beliefs

Research has shown that negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men are common and widespread in Western societies. However, few studies have addressed attitudes toward transgender individuals. In addition, although research has shown that homophobic harassment and bullying is highly common among adolescents, little is known about adolescent's attitudes toward sexual minorities. This study aimed to fill these gaps in knowledge, by investigating adolescents' attitudes toward transgender individuals and possible attitudinal correlates of those attitudes. Participants (N?=?188; 62 males and 126 females) were recruited in high schools in Lisbon, Portugal. Age ranged from 15 to 19 years (M?=?17; SD = .96). Participants completed a questionnaire booklet measuring attitudes toward transgender individuals, lesbians, and gay men, and gender role beliefs. Results revealed that attitudes toward transgender individuals were significantly correlated with all attitude measures. Specifically, it was revealed that those participants who endorsed negative attitudes toward transgender individuals were also endorsing of negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men and tended to adhere to traditional gender roles. A significant gender effect was found with males being more negative toward sexual minorities than females, but these negative attitudes were more extreme toward gay men than toward lesbian women. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Pictures of male homosexuals in the heads of Turkish college students: the effects of sex difference and social contact on stereotyping

The purpose of this study was to focus on the context of stereotypes of gay men, and how sex differences and social contact influence the stereotypic and counter-stereotypic attributes of them. To do that, 77 female and 106 male heterosexual undergraduate students participated in the study. The participants filled out a rating scale. The findings of the study demonstrated that male participants defined male homosexuals by using more stereotypic, less counter-stereotypic attributes, while female participants used less stereotypic and more counter-stereotypic attributes to define gay men. In the same way, participants who hadn't had any social contact with any homosexuals used more stereotypic and less counter-stereotypic attributes, while others who had had social contact with at least a homosexual defined gay men by using less stereotypic and more counter-stereotypic attributes. Both male participants and participants who hadn't had social contact with any homosexuals used more negative stereotypes than both females and participants who at least had had social contact with a homosexual. The findings were discussed in terms of gender-based judgments of gay men.     

Health risk-factors for gay American Indian and Alaska Native adolescent males

Having multiple identities as a homosexual American Indian or Alaska Native adolescent male increases the likelihood for poorer health and diminished well-being. This study assessed the differences in self-perceived health status between gay adolescent males and their heterosexual counterparts. A national nonrepresentative sample of 5,602 Indian and Native adolescent males was surveyed about issues of sexual behavior, physical and sexual abuse, mental health status, substance use, attitudes about school, participation in violence, and access to health care. Results indicate that there were no real differences between gay and heterosexual male respondents for substance use or attitudes about school. Statistically significant differences were found, however, in areas of mental health, as well as physical and sexual abuse. Gay adolescents were twice as likely to have thought of or attempted suicide. Gay adolescents were twice as likely to have been physically abused and nearly six times more likely to have been sexually abused. Gay American Indian or Alaska Native adolescent males constitute a very vulnerable population and are clearly in need of targeted health and social services. Unfortunately, the benefits seen by adults of the "two-spirited" gay and lesbian American Indian movement have not been accessible to Indian and Native adolescents.     

Comparative Morality Judgments About Lesbians and Gay Men Teaching and Adopting Children

The purpose of this study was to compare morality judgments of American Catholics and the general public about lesbians and gay men adopting and teaching children. The general sample endorsed higher agreement that lesbians and gay men should be allowed to adopt and to teach children compared to the Catholic only sample. Older participants were less accepting than all other age groups, and there was an interaction effect between education and political ideology such that those with less education and with more politically conservative beliefs were generally less accepting of lesbians and gay men adopting and teaching children.     

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.     

The mediating effects of attitudes toward homosexuality between secure attachment and disclosure outcomes among gay men

Past research has found that a stronger secure attachment style, developed in childhood, enhances one's ability to acknowledge negative feelings, cope with negative life events, and develop satisfying social relationships. Because an integral part of the "coming out" process for gay men is the ability to seek support from the gay community in order to reevaluate negative beliefs toward homosexuality, a gay man's attachment style may strongly impact this critical stage of his life. Results demonstrated that men who more strongly endorsed a secure attachment style reported more positive attitudes toward their own homosexuality, and that these more positive attitudes could mediate the relation between more secure attachment style, greater levels of self-disclosure regarding their homosexuality, and greater self-esteem. Implications of these data for internalized homophobia, the coming-out process, and effective social functioning are discussed.     

The construction and validation of the homopositivity scale: an instrument measuring endorsement of positive stereotypes about gay men

Social scientists appear to focus on negative beliefs about, and attitudes toward, gay men and lesbian women. This emphasis, though understandable in view of the widespread oppression of gay and lesbian individuals, is somewhat myopic because it ignores what might be referred to as the positive dimension of stereotypes. Although such a concept may appear oxymoronic, it is widely recognized that individuals may endorse a mixture of positive and negative stereotypes toward stigmatized groups such as African Americans and women. The purpose of the current series of studies (Study 1, N = 212; Study 2, N = 105) was to devise an instrument measuring endorsement of positive stereotypes about gay men (Homopositivity Scale; HPS). Two versions of the HPS (of varying length) were evaluated, with scale scores on both appearing to be internally consistent and factorially distinct from scales measuring negative stereotypes and prejudices about gay men. These studies also suggest that females are more likely than males to endorse positive stereotypes about gay men, and that such endorsement is negatively associated with need for uniqueness and need for cognition, and positively associated with media contact and benevolent sexism. The limitations of the two studies are outlined and the importance of assessing positive stereotypes about gay men in conjunction with oft-examined homonegativity is discussed.     

Mental health concerns of gay and bisexual men seeking mental health services

Little data exist about the mental health needs of gay and bisexual men. This is due to limitations of existing studies such as small and nonrepresentative samples, failure to assess sexual orientation, and concerns about stigmatization, possibly causing sexual minority individuals to be reluctant to disclose their sexual orientation to researchers. Fenway Community Health is a large urban health center that serves the LGBT community. The large number of gay and bisexual men who present for mental health treatment allows for a unique opportunity to gain insight into mental health, prevention, and intervention needs for this group. The current study is a review of the mental health information from all of the gay and bisexual men who reported that they were HIV-negative during their mental health intake over a six-month period at Fenway Community Health (January to June 2000; N = 92). The most frequent presenting problems were depression, anxiety, and relationship issues. Additionally, presenting problems included current or past abuse, substance abuse, finance and employment, recent loss, and family issues. The most frequent diagnoses were depression, anxiety disorders, and adjustment disorders. These findings support the notion that presenting problems and mental health concerns among gay and bisexual men are similar to those frequently reported by individuals in other mental health facilities, however, specific psychosocial stressors are unique to this population.     

Can one TV show make a difference? Will & Grace and the Parasocial Contact Hypothesis

Television has an opportunity to influence beliefs about groups with which individuals typically may have little direct social contact. This study describes a synthesis of the Contact Hypothesis and the concept of Parasocial Interaction to pose what we call the Parasocial Contact Hypothesis to test whether exposure to gay men on Will & Grace can influence attitudes toward gay men in general. Based on a study of 245 university students, this study examines the relationships among number and intimacy of gay social contacts, parasocial interaction, viewing frequency of Will & Grace, and scores on Herek's Attitudes Toward Gay Men and Lesbians scale. Increased viewing frequency and parasocial interaction were found to correlate with lower levels of sexual prejudice-a relationship that was most pronounced for those with the least amount of social contact with lesbians and gay men.     

Mental Health Concerns of Gay and Bisexual Men Seeking Mental Health Services

ABSTRACT

Little data exist about the mental health needs of gay and bisexual men. This is due to limitations of existing studies such as small and nonrepresentative samples, failure to assess sexual orientation, and concerns about stigmatization, possibly causing sexual minority individuals to be reluctant to disclose their sexual orientation to researchers. Fenway Community Health is a large urban health center that serves the LGBT community. The large number of gay and bisexual men who present for mental health treatment allows for a unique opportunity to gain insight into mental health, prevention, and intervention needs for this group. The current study is a review of the mental health information from all of the gay and bisexual men who reported that they were HIV-negative during their mental health intake over a six-month period at Fenway Community Health (January to June 2000; N = 92). The most frequent presenting problems were depression, anxiety, and relationship issues. Additionally, presenting problems included current or past abuse, substance abuse, finance and employment, recent loss, and family issues. The most frequent diagnoses were depression, anxiety disorders, and adjustment disorders. These findings support the notion that presenting problems and mental health concerns among gay and bisexual men are similar to those frequently reported by individuals in other mental health facilities, however, specific psychosocial stressors are unique to this population.     

Blame Toward Male Rape Victims in a Hypothetical Sexual Assault as a Function of Victim Sexuality and Degree of Resistance

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the impact of victim sexual orientation, the degree of victim physical resistance, and respondent gender on attributions of blame and assault severity in a hypothetical case of stranger-perpetrated male rape. One hundred eighty-three participants read a scenario depicting a rape in which the victim's sexuality and degree of resistance were both varied between-subjects before completing 12 blame attribution items. Overall, findings suggest that male respondents were less pro-victim than were females. While women generally attributed little victim blame and considered the assault very severe regardless of condition, men were influenced by both factors. Specifically, although men considered the assault severe, they blamed a gay victim more when he fought back against his attacker but, conversely, blamed a heterosexual victim when he did not fight back. Results are discussed in relation to homophobia and judgments about victim resistance during rape. Implications for treatment services are also considered.     

Relationships Between Religiosity Level and Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Among Turkish University Students

This study examined the relationships between religiosity levels and attitudes toward lesbians and gay men among freshmen university students in Turkey. The Attitudes Towards Lesbians and Gay Men Scale–Short Form and the Religiosity Scale were administered to 91 male (M = 19.95, SD = 1.48 years) and 171 female (M = 19.23, SD = 1.28 years) students. The findings showed that male freshmen (M = 19.32, SD = 4.97) had more negative attitudes toward gay men than toward lesbians (M = 17.84, SD = 5.25), p = .000. In addition, attitudes of male freshmen were significantly more negative toward gay men (M =19.32, SD = 4.97) than females (M = 17.51, SD = 5.73), p = .012. Both male and female freshmen students who had higher levels of religiosity were found to have higher levels of negative attitudes toward both lesbians and gay men.     

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.     

Self-Identified Heterosexual Clients in Substance Abuse Treatment With a History of Same-Gender Sexual Contact

There is virtually no literature concerning the experiences of self-identified heterosexual clients in substance abuse treatment who have a history of same-gender sexual contact (HSGS). In a U.S. urban inpatient program in 2009–2010, 99 HSGS clients were compared to 681 other heterosexual and 86 lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients regarding background factors, program completion rates, and feelings about treatment. Male HSGS participants had lower completion rates than other male heterosexual participants. Qualitative data indicated that most male HSGS participants experienced difficult emotions regarding same-gender sexual encounters, particularly those involving trading sex for money or drugs. Implications for treatment are discussed.     

Twenty-First Century Lesbian Studies,edited by Noreen Giffney and Katherine O'Donnell

Using a convenience sample of 157 undergraduates, this study explored the likeability ratings of target characters from selected film clips who were described as gay or heterosexual as they associated with a gay-described foil character (i.e., a character against which the target is compared). As predicted, male respondents who strongly endorsed anti-gay prejudice viewed gay-described targets more favorably than heterosexual-described targets when each target was paired with a gay foil. Further, this pattern of biased ratings by high-prejudice male participants against our heterosexual target differentiated these participants from both low-prejudice male and high-prejudice female respondents. In contrast, but as hypothesized, high-prejudice female respondents compared to high-prejudice males rated heterosexual-described targets more favorably than they rated gay-described targets.     

Battered gay men: an exploration of abuse, help seeking, and why they stay

In comparison to a large body of literature about battered heterosexual women and a growing body about battered lesbians, this is one of the first published studies that investigates the experiences of battered gay and bisexual men. Results indicated that these men suffered patterns, forms, and frequencies of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse similar to what has been documented by research on battered heterosexual and lesbian women. Likewise, the most commonly reported reasons for staying--namely, hope for change and love for partner--appear to be universal to the experience of being battered. Unlike battered heterosexual women, respondents in this study were not likely to report that being financially trapped was a major reason why they had remained. HIV-status, however, appears to significantly influence their decision to remain. Moreover, lack of knowledge about domestic violence and the lack of availability of appropriate resources play a significant role in same-gender domestic violence victims' decisions to remain. Like battered lesbians, battered gay men infrequently sought assistance from battered women's services and perceived these services as not helpful. By contrast, individual counselors and agencies who provided individual counselors were rated as quite helpful.     

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.