Heteronormativity, Disgust Sensitivity, and Hostile Attitudes toward Gay Men: Potential Mechanisms to Maintain Social Hierarchies

Abstract

Within a social hierarchy based on sexual orientation, heteronormative ideology serves as a social force that maintains dominant group members' status (e.g., heterosexual men). Disgust may be an emotional reaction to gay men's violation of heteronormativity (i.e., same-sex sexual behavior) and motivate hostile attitudes toward gay men to promote interpersonal and intergroup boundaries. Based on this theoretical framework, we hypothesized that sexual disgust-compared to pathogen or moral disgust-would be most strongly associated with antigay hostility and would statistically mediate its relationship with heteronormativity. Heterosexual men in the United States (n = 409) completed an online questionnaire assessing heteronormative ideology, disgust sensitivity, and hostile attitudes toward gay men. Results support the hypotheses and suggest that gay men's sexual behavior is the most likely elicitor of disgust and antigay hostility, as opposed to a perceived pathogen threat or moral transgression. The findings indicate that heteronormative attitudes and sexual disgust are likely contributors to antigay hostility. Thus, intervention efforts should seek to improve tolerance of same-sex sexual behavior among heterosexual men, which may mitigate emotional reactions and hostile attitudes toward gay men.

Masculinity threat increases bias and negative emotions toward feminine gay men.

“…These findings build on prior work by suggesting that these anticipated negative emotions may influence heterosexual men's negative evaluations of feminine gay men. Our findings are consistent with theorizing regarding heterosexual men's negative emotion toward contact with gay men driving their biases and negative evaluations (e.g., Buck et al, 2013;Herek, 1986;Ray & Parkhill, 2021). Interestingly, although feminine gay men were evaluated least positively in the threat condition, masculine gay men in the control condition were evaluated least positively among the other groups.…”

Does Disgust Drive Religious Freedom Attitudes? Experimental Results About the Context of Service Refusal Opinion

“…One question stemming from this pattern of results is whether it denies or reflects religious influence. Sentiment toward LGBT Americans is not pathogenic (Ray and Parkhill, 2020) but reflects a socialized response (Bramlett, 2012). Though there may be other sources of this socialization, the most likely one is the religious organizations that have been taking strident stands against homosexuality as well as gay rights for many decades using language that is specifically geared to engineer and reinforce a strong negative, disgust response.…”

Intersectional Effects of Sexual Orientation Concealment, Internalized Homophobia, and Gender Expression on Sexual Identity and HIV Risk Among Sexual Minority Men of Color: A Path Analysis

“…The lack of provider trust and access to affordable screening and treatment exponentially increases the degree of HIV risk in the sexual networks of SMM. Lack of culturally and medically competent providers on issues relating to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, asexual, intersex, and others (LGBTQ+) health ( Institute of Medicine, 2011 ; Nowaskie & Sowinski, 2019 ) and individual-/community-level factors, such as heteronormative assumptions stemming from group-based, cisgender, heterosocial hierarchies ( Parrott, 2009 ; Ray & Parkhill, 2021 ), have resulted in mistrust and misinformation about health risks ( Jaiswal et al, 2020 ; Ramos et al, 2019 ) and have perpetuated racism and discrimination among minoritized groups ( Arscott et al, 2020 ; Quinn et al, 2019 ), leading to experiences of internalized homophobia.…”