Attitude of Italian Gay Men and Italian Lesbian Women Towards Gay and Lesbian Gender-Typed Scenarios

Abstract

This study examined the differences between gay men and lesbian women in their negative attitudes towards gay men and lesbians who either confirm or disconfirm stereo- typical gender roles. One hundred thirty-eight gay and lesbian participants read four gender-typed scenarios: in two, a gay student and a lesbian student were portrayed as more stereotyp- ically masculine, and in the other two, two gay and lesbian students were described as more stereotypically feminine. Participants rated the targets on a scale assessing negative emo- tions. The results showed that the feminine gay male target provoked more negative emotions than the other three targets, among both gay and lesbian participants. Moreover, gay and lesbian participants felt more negative emotions towards the masculine lesbian target than the feminine lesbian one. In the end, while the feminine gay man target elicited more negative emotions than the feminine lesbian target, the masculine gay man target did not elicit more negative emotions than the mas- culine lesbian one. Implications of the results are discussed

Heterosexist microaggressions, student academic experience and perception of campus climate: Findings from an Italian higher education context

“…On the one hand, homosexuality is considered as a sin or a deviation from normal development; on the other hand, it is considered as a private matter, something that should be neither persecuted nor protected by law. Consistent with the Italian gender role tradition, negative attitudes are more prominent toward gay men compared with lesbians, supporting the representation of male homosexuality as a visible threat to the traditional gender norms, and the idea that only the traditional gender-conforming, heterosexual behavior is socially acceptable [34].…”

Sexual Fantasies and Stereotypical Gender Roles: The Influence of Sexual Orientation, Gender and Social Pressure in a Sample of Italian Young-Adults

“…As a result, gay men may experience pressure to adhere to stereotypically masculine roles, traits, and behaviors due to perceived threats to their masculinity (Hunt et al, 2015). Furthermore gay men and lesbian women may react negatively to feminine gay men (Salvati et al, 2017). For the aforementioned reasons, the social context as well as the individual strains, if present, to counteract stereotypes associated with being a gay man or a lesbian woman may have an influence on results when assessing gender roles in gay men and lesbian women.…”

Sports as a risk environment: Homophobia and bullying in a sample of gay and heterosexual men

“…These results suggest that gay men perceive greater pressure to conform to masculine stereotypes and gendered norms (Eng, 2008;Griffin, 1993;Herek & Garnets, 2007;Salvati et al, 2017) in sports-related contexts, because they may be perceived as "a risk" to the norm (Giritli Nygren, Öhman, & Olofsson, 2017). Previous studies on people who identify as LGB have found greater parental pressure aimed at discouraging gender atypical behavior during childhood (D'Augelli et al, 2006;O'Brien, Putney, Hebert, Falk, & Aguinaldo, 2005).…”

“…Utilizing Connell's (1990) theory of hegemonic masculinity, several studies argued that sports are a cultural idealization of masculinity and represent a belief system that privileges heterosexuality and stigmatizes other sexual behaviors (Eng, 2008;Griffin, 1993Griffin, , 1998Herek & Garnets, 2007;Meyer, 2003;Salvati, Pistella, Ioverno, Giacomantonio, & Baiocco, 2017).…”