Attitudes Toward Bisexual Men and Women in a University Context: Relations with Race, Gender, Knowing a Bisexual Man or Woman and Sexual Orientation

Imagine that: examining the influence of sport‐related imagined contact on intergroup anxiety and sexual prejudice across cultures

“…Pettigrew and Tropp's () meta‐analysis showed that it is possible to apply the contact hypothesis to a wide variety of groups and settings, and convincingly established the basic premise that intergroup contact helps to reduce prejudice (see also Binder et al., ). Though considerably fewer studies have focused on the relationship between contact and sexual prejudice, the results are consistent with contact theory premises, as contact with LGBT individuals holds a negative association with sexual prejudice (Cunningham & Melton, , ; De Bruin & Arndt, ; Smith, Axelton, & Saucier, ).…”

Comparing perceived experiences of prejudice among self-identified plurisexual individuals

“…What is certain is that both sexual orientation and contact with bisexual individuals account for a significant amount of the variance in both heterosexual and lesbian/gay individuals' attitudes towards bisexual individuals (de Bruin & Arndt, 2010). Furthermore, gender differences in anti-bisexual attitudes parallel those in antilesbian/gay attitudes: bisexual men tend to be viewed more negatively than bisexual women, and this discrepancy is greater among both heterosexual and gay men than among heterosexual and lesbian women (de Bruin & Arndt, 2010;Eliason, 1997Eliason, , 2000Herek, 2002;Mohr & Rochlen, 1999;Yost & Thomas, 2012).…”

Contact with bisexual individuals reduces binegativity among heterosexuals and lesbian women and gay men

“…Binegativity involves two stereotypes which are unique to the experience of bisexuals: (i) the stereotype that bisexuality is an illegitimate and unstable sexual identity (e.g., bisexuals are: confused about their sexual identities, experimenting, or in transition to or in denial of a true homosexual identity); and (ii) the stereotype that bisexuals are sexually irresponsible (e.g., sexually obsessed, carriers of sexually transmitted infections, and incapable of monogamous relationships; Brewster & Moradi, ; Mohr & Rochlen, ). Further, unlike homonegativity, which is expressed from a single source (heterosexuals), binegativity is dual‐sourced (e.g., Brewster & Moradi, ), making it difficult for bisexuals to find an accepting and supportive community (Bruin & Arndt, ; Firestein, ; Hutchins & Ka'ahumanu, ; Rust, ). Together, this literature demonstrates that binegativity is distinct from homonegativity; thus, research models that assume that the experiences and consequences of binegativity are similar to those of homonegativity may be inadequate.…”

“…Attitudes toward bisexuals vary based on the gender of the rater (heterosexual individual reporting his/her attitudes) and the target (bisexual men or women). Overall, heterosexual men report lower perceptions of the stability of bisexuality and lower tolerance of bisexuals compared to heterosexual women (Bruin & Arndt, ; Morrison, Harrington, & McDermott, ; Yost & Thomas, ). This pattern is similar to gender differences in attitudes toward sexual minorities in general, with heterosexual men reporting more negative attitudes toward sexual minorities compared to heterosexual women (e.g., Kite & Whitley, ).…”

“…Two studies have examined contact between heterosexual and bisexual individuals, finding that heterosexual undergraduates who report knowing a bisexual individual also indicate more positive attitudes toward bisexuals (Bruin & Arndt, ; Mohr & Rochlen, ). However, these studies measured whether participants knew a bisexual individual with a single item, binary response.…”