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Attitude Toward Gay Men in an Italian Sample: Masculinity and Sexual Orientation Make a Difference

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Abstract

The present research investigates differences between heterosexuals and gay men in their attitudes toward effeminate and masculine gay men. More specifically, the role of internalized sexual stigma and perceived masculinity were considered to explain emotive reaction toward gay men with gender conforming and non-conforming behaviors. Results showed that effeminate gay men, that is those who enact gender non-conforming behaviors, elicited more negative emotions compared to masculine gay men both in gay and heterosexual respondents with no difference in intensity. Moreover, such negative reactions toward effeminate gay men were more extreme among gay men with high internalized sexual stigma and among heterosexuals with high self-perception of feminine traits. Implications and limitations are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi, 78-00185, Rome, Italy

    Marco Salvati, Salvatore Ioverno, Mauro Giacomantonio & Roberto Baiocco

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  1. Marco Salvati
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  2. Salvatore Ioverno
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  3. Mauro Giacomantonio
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  4. Roberto Baiocco
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Correspondence to Roberto Baiocco.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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Salvati, M., Ioverno, S., Giacomantonio, M. et al. Attitude Toward Gay Men in an Italian Sample: Masculinity and Sexual Orientation Make a Difference. Sex Res Soc Policy 13, 109–118 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-016-0218-0

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