Outing
Daniel Chomsky & Scott Barclay
Journal of Homosexuality, October 2013, Pages 1389-1408
Abstract:
The attention and prominence given to issues in media outlets may affect the importance citizens attribute to them, so the actors who influence mass media coverage decisions may have political power in society generally. This article seeks to measure the relative influence of journalists, social trends, events, government officials, editors, and owners on the New York Times coverage of lesbians and gays from 1960 to 1995. Although many factors affected the nature and frequency of such coverage, the findings of this article show that the owners of the Times exerted decisive influence. Documentary evidence reveals that the Times' owners actively intervened to suppress coverage of lesbians and gays until 1987, even as reporters and editors recognized that increased social visibility made them newsworthy. Statistical analysis confirms that, although some actual events and statements of officials attracted attention from the newspaper throughout the period, they were more likely to generate prominent coverage after 1987 when the stories were consistent with the enthusiasms of the owners.
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“Doing Fear”: The Influence of Hetero-femininity on (Trans)women's Fears of Victimization
Jill Yavorsky & Liana Sayer
Sociological Quarterly, Fall 2013, Pages 511–533
Abstract:
Through 26 in-depth interviews with male-to-female transsexuals (transwomen), this study examines transwomen's perceptions of safety, pre- and post-transition. The majority reported higher levels of fear and believed they would be unable to fight off an attacker post-transition even though most were large statured and were socialized as males. Exposure to heterosexual practices and to cultural messages depicting women as physically weak and sexually vulnerable, and transwomen's embodiment of hetero-femininity play a central role in increasing their fears. Their experiences as women are powerful enough to override decades of prior male experiences and expose the socially constructed nature of fear and bodily agency.
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Mara Cadinu, Silvia Galdi & Anne Maass
European Journal of Social Psychology, October 2013, Pages 471–481
Abstract:
Do people align their self-concepts to the environment? It was predicted that low-status (homosexuals), but not high-status group members (heterosexuals), respond to environmental cues by shifting the type of self-categorization and self-stereotyping. In the presence (vs. absence) of environmental cues to sexual orientation, homosexual individuals felt more talented for typically homosexual jobs and showed greater self-stereotyping on typically homosexual traits (Experiment 1). Using implicit measures of self-categorization and self-stereotyping, we observed parallel findings for homosexuals, but not for heterosexuals (Experiment 2). Results are discussed in relation to research on stigma, with particular attention to the potential benefits for low-status group members of changing their implicit self-concept flexibly across situations.
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Marco Brambilla & David Butz
Social Psychology, Fall 2013, Pages 311-319
Abstract:
Two studies examined the impact of macrolevel symbolic threat on intergroup attitudes. In Study 1 (N = 71), participants exposed to a macrosymbolic threat (vs. nonsymbolic threat and neutral topic) reported less support toward social policies concerning gay men, an outgroup whose stereotypes implies a threat to values, but not toward welfare recipients, a social group whose stereotypes do not imply a threat to values. Study 2 (N = 78) showed that, whereas macrolevel symbolic threat led to less favorable attitudes toward gay men, macroeconomic threat led to less favorable attitudes toward Asians, an outgroup whose stereotypes imply an economic threat. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding the role of a general climate of threat in shaping intergroup attitudes.
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Tracie Stewart et al.
Basic and Applied Social Psychology, September/October 2013, Pages 418-425
Abstract:
We introduced facial electromyography as a tool for predicting advantaged group members' engagement in antidiscrimination action on behalf of a disadvantaged outgroup. Heterosexual men's corrugator supercilii (brow “frowning” muscles) activity while viewing videos of male–male and male–female couples interacting was measured. Corrugator (negative affect) response to male–male versus male–female targets, but not self-reported attitudes toward gay men, predicted number of flyers calling for action to reduce antigay violence and discrimination that participants privately took to distribute. Our discreet behavioral measure mirrored real-life collective action possibilities such as voting against laws prohibiting same-sex marriage in the privacy of one's voting booth.
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Male Androphilia in the Ancestral Environment
Doug VanderLaan, Zhiyuan Ren & Paul Vasey
Human Nature, forthcoming
Abstract:
The kin selection hypothesis posits that male androphilia (male sexual attraction to adult males) evolved because androphilic males invest more in kin, thereby enhancing inclusive fitness. Increased kin-directed altruism has been repeatedly documented among a population of transgendered androphilic males, but never among androphilic males in other cultures who adopt gender identities as men. Thus, the kin selection hypothesis may be viable if male androphilia was expressed in the transgendered form in the ancestral past. Using the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample (SCCS), we examined 46 societies in which male androphilia was expressed in the transgendered form (transgendered societies) and 146 comparison societies (non-transgendered societies). We analyzed SCCS variables pertaining to ancestral sociocultural conditions, access to kin, and societal reactions to homosexuality. Our results show that ancestral sociocultural conditions and bilateral and double descent systems were more common in transgendered than in non-transgendered societies. Across the entire sample, descent systems and residence patterns that would presumably facilitate increased access to kin were associated with the presence of ancestral sociocultural conditions. Among transgendered societies, negative societal attitudes toward homosexuality were unlikely. We conclude that the ancestral human sociocultural environment was likely conducive to the expression of the transgendered form of male androphilia. Descent systems, residence patterns, and societal reactions to homosexuality likely facilitated investments in kin by transgendered males. Given that contemporary transgendered male androphiles appear to exhibit elevated kin-directed altruism, these findings further indicate the viability of the kin selection hypothesis.
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Relationship quality among Swiss women in opposite-sex versus same-sex romantic relationships
Nathalie Meuwly et al.
Swiss Journal of Psychology, October 2013, Pages 229-233
Abstract:
Romantic relationship quality is an important factor for well-being. Most research on romantic relationships is based on heterosexual couples, but studies of different types of dyads showed that relationship functioning among same-sex couples is similar to that among heterosexual couples. However, a few studies suggest that lesbian partners are better communicators and more satisfied in their romantic relationships. The present study aimed to replicate these findings with a sample of Swiss couples, as most of the previous studies have been based on US-American samples. Eighty-two women who were currently in a romantic relationship with either a male or a female partner completed an online questionnaire about their relationship functioning. Compared to heterosexual women, lesbian women reported receiving better support from and experiencing less conflict with their female partners. They also showed a trend toward being more satisfied in their relationship. The study supports the notion that, relative to heterosexual couples, the quality of support and conflict interactions may be enhanced in female same-sex couples.
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Katherine Goldey, Lanice Avery & Sari van Anders
Journal of Sex Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
Research links explicit sexuality (e.g., physical attraction and pleasure) to high testosterone (T) and nurturance (loving contact) to low T. Engaging in sexual fantasy, which can include explicit sexual and nurturant elements, increases T in women but not in men. We examined whether individual differences in the explicit sexual and nurturant content of fantasy were linked with T or with estradiol (E2). In addition, we explored whether fantasy content differed or overlapped by gender/sex. Participants (26 women, 23 men) provided saliva samples for hormones before and after imagining a self-defined positive sexual encounter and responding to open-ended questions about the situation they imagined. We systematically content-coded responses for explicit sexual and nurturant content. In men, lower inclusion of nurturant content predicted larger T responses to fantasy. Fantasy content was not linked with T in women or with E2 in women or men. Women and men did not differ significantly in explicit sexual and nurturant content. Our findings suggest that individual experiences of fantasy as more or less nurturant affect T in men, provide support for the Steroid/Peptide Theory of Social Bonds, and highlight the value of integrating hormones and content analysis to investigate research questions relevant to sexuality and gender/sex.
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Oxytocin's impact on social face processing is stronger in homosexual than heterosexual men
Matthias Thienel et al.
Psychoneuroendocrinology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Oxytocin is an evolutionary highly preserved neuropeptide that contributes to the regulation of social interactions including the processing of facial stimuli. We hypothesized that its improving effect on social approach behavior depends on perceived sexual features and, consequently, on sexual orientation. In 19 homosexual and 18 heterosexual healthy young men, we investigated the acute effect of intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) and placebo, respectively, on the processing of social stimuli as assessed by ratings of trustworthiness, attractiveness and approachability for male and female faces. Faces were each presented with a neutral, a happy, and an angry expression, respectively. In heterosexual subjects, the effect of oxytocin administration was restricted to a decrease in ratings of trustworthiness for angry female faces (p < 0.02). In contrast, in homosexual men oxytocin administration robustly increased ratings of attractiveness and approachability for male faces regardless of the facial expression (all p ≤ 0.05), as well as ratings of approachability for happy female faces (p < 0.01). Results indicate that homosexual in comparison to heterosexual men display higher sensitivity to oxytocin's enhancing impact on social approach tendencies, suggesting that differences in sexual orientation imply differential oxytocinergic signaling.
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Disparities in Health Insurance Among Children With Same-Sex Parents
Gilbert Gonzales & Lynn Blewett
Pediatrics, October 2013, Pages 703 -711
Objectives: The objectives of this study were to examine disparities in health insurance coverage for children with same-sex parents and to investigate how statewide policies such as same-sex marriage and second-parent adoptions affect children’s private insurance coverage.
Methods: We used data from the 2008–2010 American Community Survey to identify children (aged 0–17 years) with same-sex parents (n = 5081), married opposite-sex parents (n = 1 369 789), and unmarried opposite-sex parents (n = 101 678). We conducted multinomial logistic regression models to estimate the relationship between family type and type of health insurance coverage for all children and then stratified by each child’s state policy environment.
Results: Although 77.5% of children with married opposite-sex parents had private health insurance, only 63.3% of children with dual fathers and 67.5% with dual mothers were covered by private health plans. Children with same-sex parents had fewer odds of private insurance after controlling for demographic characteristics but not to the extent of children with unmarried opposite-sex parents. Differences in private insurance diminished for children with dual mothers after stratifying children in states with legal same-sex marriage or civil unions. Living in a state that allowed second-parent adoptions also predicted narrower disparities in private insurance coverage for children with dual fathers or dual mothers.
Conclusions: Disparities in private health insurance for children with same-sex parents diminish when they live in states that secure their legal relationship to both parents. This study provides supporting evidence in favor of recent policy statements by the American Academy of Pediatricians endorsing same-sex marriage and second-parent adoptions.
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Male Bisexual Arousal: A Matter of Curiosity?
Gerulf Rieger et al.
Biological Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Conflicting evidence exists regarding whether bisexual-identified men are sexually aroused to both men and women. We hypothesized that a distinct characteristic, level of curiosity about sexually diverse acts, distinguishes bisexual-identified men with and without bisexual arousal. Study 1 assessed men's (N = 277) sexual arousal via pupil dilation to male and female sexual stimuli. Bisexual men were, on average, higher in their sexual curiosity than other men. Despite this general difference, only bisexual-identified men with elevated sexual curiosity showed bisexual arousal. Those lower in curiosity had responses resembling those of homosexual men. Study 2 assessed men's (N = 72) sexual arousal via genital responses and replicated findings of Study 1. Study 3 provided information on the validity on our measure of sexual curiosity by relating it to general curiosity and sexual sensation seeking (N = 83). Based on their sexual arousal and personality, at least two groups of men identify as bisexual.