The effect of gender and male distinctiveness threat on prejudice against homosexuals.

Abstract

Positive distinctiveness threat is central for understanding ingroup bias, but its role in gender differences in the expression of sexual prejudice is not yet satisfactorily elucidated. We analyzed this issue by proposing that sexual prejudice is a defensive reaction to ensure intergroup distinctiveness, so that heterosexual men are more prejudiced against homosexuals than heterosexual women because they strive more for positive distinctiveness. In Study 1 (N = 232), we found that men exhibited more prejudice against gay men than lesbians, while women did not significantly differentiate their prejudice against these target groups. In Study 2, we manipulated the target group of prejudice (gay men vs. lesbians) in a sample of heterosexual men (N = 79) and confirmed that they differentiated more between heterosexual men and gay men than between heterosexual women and lesbians. In Study 3 (N = 177), we manipulated the threat to the distinctiveness between the ingroup (i.e., heterosexual men and heterosexual women) and the outgroup (i.e., gay men and lesbians) and demonstrated that the perceived distinctiveness mediates the relationship between gender and sexual prejudice in men but not in women. Finally, in Study 4 (N = 75), we manipulated the distinctiveness threat for men and women and measured sexual prejudice by using an implicit measure. The results showed more implicit prejudice in men than in women when intergroup distinctiveness was threatened (vs. affirmed). Our results have important implications for understanding sexual prejudice by shedding light on the role played by the distinctiveness threat of gender differences in expressing homophobia.

Media representation matters: The effects of exposure to counter-stereotypical gay male characters on heterosexual men’s expressions of discrimination

“…The present results align with the ingroup distinctiveness threat hypothesis based on social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1986), as well as with recent findings showing that distinctiveness threat is particularly important for heterosexual men (Vieira de Figueiredo & Pereira, 2021), and confirm that distinctiveness threat increases when a relevant outgroup is perceived as too similar to the ingroup (e.g., Jetten et al, 1996Jetten et al, , 1997Roccas & Schwartz, 1993). In this work, we relied on perceived stereotypicality as an indicator of the gay male character's prototypicality and perceived intergroup similarity, as the literature has demonstrated a link between stereotypicality and prototypicality (e.g., Blair et al, 2002), as well as between stereotypes, intergroup similarity, and distinctiveness (e.g., Gardner et al, 1994;Haslam et al, 1998;Lalonde, 2002).…”

Exposure to continuous or fluid theories of sexual orientation leads some heterosexuals to embrace less-exclusive heterosexual orientations

“…Such a prediction is supported by evidence that indicates that perceiving sexual orientation as discrete is associated with greater anti-gay prejudice 8 . On the other hand, a recent study found that when heterosexual men are exposed to information that blurs the distinction between themselves and homosexual men, they enact greater homophobia, to re-establish their distinctiveness 28 . Future research clarifying how continuous and fluid notions of sexual orientation impact sexual prejudice is therefore of the upmost importance.…”

“…Contrary to our Hypotheses 2A, women appeared no more likely than men to report non-exclusive heterosexuality following exposure to informational accounts. At face value this is surprising given considerable evidence the female sexual orientation is more malleable than male sexual orientation 21 , 22 , 37 , and given that heterosexual men are likely to experience greater internal resistance 28 , and greater social backlash 24 , 30 , to adopting a non-exclusive heterosexual orientation. However, a closer look at Study 1 may explain why we did not observe gender differences in these effects.…”

“…A significant body of literature demonstrates that males experience anxiety when faced with threats to their masculinity and engage in efforts to re-assert their masculine status 27 . Relatedly, heterosexual males more so than heterosexual females, are motivated to maintain rigid distinctions between themselves and homosexual individuals of the same gender—and express more homophobic attitudes when this distinctiveness is threatened 28 —in order to assert their heterosexuality. In sum, these findings lead us to predict that heterosexual males will be less likely to embrace continuous or fluid theories of sexual orientation than heterosexual females.…”

Evoking gender distinctiveness threat in cisgender women lowers their support for gender-inclusive bathroom policies

“…These items tapped into a classic conceptualization of distinctiveness threat as arising from the perception that an outgroup is too similar to or not sufficiently distinct from the ingroup (Branscombe et al, 1999). Distinctiveness threat is typically manipulated by implying that an ingroup is highly similar to a comparison outgroup (Jetten et al, 1997, 2004; Plante et al, 2015; Spears et al, 1997; Vieira de Figueiredo & Pereira, 2021). Accordingly, we sought to assess the perception that transgender women are not considered or treated as sufficiently distinct from cisgender women.…”