Is Essentialism Essential? Reducing Homonegative Prejudice by Targeting Diverse Sexual Orientation Beliefs

Fry, Kevin M.; Grzanka, Patrick R.; Miles, Joseph R.; DeVore, Elliott N.

doi:10.1007/s10508-020-01706-x

Cited by 13 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…Furthermore, many Italian conservative and religious people still strongly contest same-sex couples and same-sex parents’ rights (e.g., Baiocco et al, 2020 ). The biology vs. choice (or nature vs. culture) debate remains a point of serious contention within the LGBT+ community for its possible consequences on sexual prejudice and gay rights ( Fry et al, 2020 ). Within scholarly debates, there are divergent positions on the aetiology of sexual orientation ( De Cecco & Elia, 1993 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of sexual prejudice and aetiology beliefs in the Italians’ attitudes toward adoption by same-sex couples

et al. 2022

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Research found that those who believe sexual orientation is inborn have generally positive attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women. However, other studies have also found that these beliefs could include negative eugenic ideas. This study aims to investigate the role of people’s beliefs about the aetiology of sexual orientation in attitudes toward adoption for both gay and lesbian couples in Italy. We hypothesized that this relationship would be mediated by sexual prejudice. To test the predictions, 256 Italian heterosexual participants were asked to answer questions on a scale about their beliefs regarding the aetiology of sexual orientation, sexual prejudice, and attitudes toward adoption by same-sex couples. Results confirmed that the relationship between aetiology beliefs and support for adoption by gay and lesbian couples was fully mediated by sexual prejudice. These results suggest that the belief that sexual orientation is controllable may serve to justify one’s prejudice and, in turn, result in a lower support for same-sex couples’ adoption.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of sexual prejudice and aetiology beliefs in the Italians’ attitudes toward adoption by same-sex couples

et al. 2022

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“…But these findings may critically inform prejudice reduction efforts by incorporating a range of beliefs about sexual orientation into education and social justice advocacy efforts for sexual minorities. For example, recently published work by Fry et al (2020) suggests that emphasizing social constructionist beliefs about sexual orientation is at least as effective as "born this way" beliefs in reducing negative attitudes toward sexual minority individuals in an experimental setting (see also Suhay & Garretson, 2018). Longitudinal work is imperative to investigate the extent to which broader uptake of social constructionist beliefs-or, conversely put, the reduction of discreteness, homogeneity, and informativeness beliefs-might durably reduce negative attitudes toward sexual minority individuals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, these sexual orientation beliefs could be shaped by political affiliation, and not the other way around. More experimental and longitudinal (> two time points) research is needed to investigate not only the directional relationship between sexual orientation beliefs and attitudes but the extent to which these relationships may be mediated by other salient social dynamics including identity and ideology (e.g., Fry et al, 2020; Suhay & Garretson, 2018). Our work here has focused primarily on beliefs about sexual orientation as opposed to beliefs about gender identity and expression.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Meanwhile, Fritzlen, Phillips, March, Grzanka, and Olson (2020) recently observed that straight people who were led to believe they had some relatively high amount of same-sex attraction exhibited reduced levels of prejudice but only if they believed in the naturalness of sexual orientation. On the other hand, in an experiment with a U.S.-representative sample, Suhay and Garretson (2018) provided participants with scientific information about the biological or social basis of sexual orientation and observed changes in reported beliefs—but not attitudes (see also Fry, Grzanka, Miles, & DeVore, 2020).…”

Section: Essentialism and Sexualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Do beliefs about sexual orientation predict voting behavior? Results from the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Grzanka

Zeiders

Spengler

et al. 2020

Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity

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Research has shown that beliefs about sexual orientation, including the naturalness, discreteness, and informativeness of sexual orientation categories, are associated with varying levels of sexual prejudice. Less is known about how these and other sexual orientation beliefs may correspond with broader social and political attitudes, including party affiliation and voting behavior. The present study explored voting intention and political party affiliation, as well as other constructs not directly associated with sexuality, among a sample of emerging adults (N ϭ 286) immediately prior to the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Using a person-centered statistical approach, we replicated sexual orientation belief profiles found in prior research and observed significant associations between belief profiles and intentions to vote for certain candidates, as well as party affiliation, ambivalent sexist attitudes, and number of reported lesbian, gay, and bisexual friends. Notably, "born this way"-type beliefs in the innateness and immutability of sexual orientation did not significantly distinguish respondents' support for presidential candidates or political party affiliation. We situate these results within existing research on essentialist beliefs and point to implications of these findings for ongoing research, clinical work, and advocacy for sexual minority rights. Public Significance StatementThis research explores the relationships between what people believe sexual orientation is (e.g., the idea that sexual orientation is inborn) and their political attitudes. This work can inform how psychologists research and conduct advocacy for sexual minority rights.

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“…An example is the denial that prejudice or discrimination still occurs or the belief that there is too much attention for it in the media. Such indirectly expressed prejudice has been called “modern prejudice” or, specifically in the LGBT context, “modern homonegativity” (Fry et al, 2020 ; Morrison & Morrison, 2003 , 2011 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Effects of a Real-Life Contact Intervention on Prejudice Toward LGBT People

et al. 2021

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Prejudice against sexual and gender minorities (e.g., LGBT people) is quite prevalent and is harmful. We examined an existing—and often-used—contact intervention in pre-existing groups in an educational setting and assessed its effectiveness in reducing different forms of LGBT negativity. We focused particularly on modern LGBT negativity: a relatively subtle form of prejudice, involving ambivalence, denial, and/or the belief that there is too much attention for LGBT prejudice. We used a mixed design in which condition (experimental vs. control group) was the between-participants factor, which was randomized at the group level, and time (pretest vs. posttest vs. follow-up) was the within-participants factor (N = 117). Interventions were video recorded and the behavior of LGBT educators and participants was coded. Participants responded positively to the intervention, especially to the LGBT educator’s “coming-out story.” Exploratory analysis of the video data indicated that the perceived effectiveness of the intervention was higher in groups where participants were more engaged, although caution is necessary in interpreting this finding. The most important measure indicated that modern LGBT negativity decreased in the intervention groups directly after the intervention, but returned to baseline levels one week later. However, in the control condition, modern LGBT negativity had increased over time. Taken together, this suggests that an actual reduction in modern LGBT negativity was short-lived (i.e., the intervention effect disappeared within 7 days).

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Is Essentialism Essential? Reducing Homonegative Prejudice by Targeting Diverse Sexual Orientation Beliefs

Cited by 13 publications

References 40 publications

The role of sexual prejudice and aetiology beliefs in the Italians’ attitudes toward adoption by same-sex couples

The role of sexual prejudice and aetiology beliefs in the Italians’ attitudes toward adoption by same-sex couples

Do beliefs about sexual orientation predict voting behavior? Results from the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Assessing the Effects of a Real-Life Contact Intervention on Prejudice Toward LGBT People

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