Antigay Behaviors Among Young Adults

Abstract

This is the first empirical research into prevalence rates of and motivations for antigay harassment and violence by noncriminal young adults. In an anonymous survey of 484 young adults, 1 in 10 admitted physical violence or threats against presumed homosexuals, and another 24% acknowledged name-calling. Factor analyses revealed four motivational themes: peer dynamics, antigay ideology, thrill-seeking, and perceived self-defense. Compared with nonassailants, assailants held more negative attitudes toward homosexuals and reported more negative social norms among their friends. Assailants also had higher levels of masculinity ideology and social drinking. The findings suggest that many young adults believe antigay harassment and violence is socially acceptable, particularly in response to inferred sexual innuendos or gender norms violations. Because antigay behaviors are culturally normative and usually go unreported, educational outreach to adolescents and preadolescents is likely to be a more effective prevention strategy than criminal prosecutions under special hate crimes laws.

What motivates hate crimes based on sexual orientation? Mediating effects of anger on antigay aggression

“…Although of theoretical and intuitive interest, this hypothesis has yet to be systematically tested. Interestingly, although societal-level heterosexism presumably sanctions antigay aggression, research indicates that antigay assailants motivated primarily by peer dynamics or thrill seeking harbor minimal levels of individual-level sexual prejudice [Franklin, 1998[Franklin, , 2000. These findings call into question the exact role of anger in response to gay men in these types of antigay attacks.…”

“…Pertinent theories have identified sexual prejudice, peer dynamics, and thrill seeking as primary motivations for antigay aggression that are justified by broader heterosexist societal norms. While these motivations are believed to converge to varying degrees to generate a violent incident, a factor analysis of assailants' self-reported motivations for a past act of antigay aggression supported these general distinctions [Franklin, 2000]. Unfortunately, empirical support for the predictive validity of these motivations is varied.…”

“…Survey-based studies have demonstrated a positive association between sexual prejudice and self-reported past aggressive behavior toward gay men [Franklin, 2000;Patel et al, 1995;Roderick et al, 1998]. Laboratory-based studies have shown that sexually prejudiced men displayed higher levels of aggressive behavior toward a gay male, relative to the heterosexual male, but only after exposure to sexual violations of the traditional male gender role (i.e.…”

“…Numerous surveyand laboratory-based studies have demonstrated a positive association between sexual prejudice and perpetration of antigay aggression. In contrast, support for peer dynamics and thrill-seeking motivations comes from only one qualitative [Franklin, 1998] and one quantitative study [Franklin, 2000]. In the latter investigation, perpetrators' self-reported reasons for engaging in one earlier antigay assault were examined.…”

“…Antigay Behaviors Inventory [Franklin, 2000]. This 89-item inventory assesses participants' self-reported frequency of engaging in antigay aggression, descriptions of specific incidents, and motivations for engaging (or not engaging) in antigay aggression.…”