Disgusted but not afraid: Feelings toward same-sex kissing reveal subtle homonegativity

Abstract

Overt sexual prejudice is declining, but heterosexuals who report little to no prejudice may still harbor subtle biases against gay men and lesbians. We examined implicit prejudice in a sample of 37 heterosexual college students who reported little or no sexual prejudice, using the Affect Misattribution Procedure (AMP) and psychophysiological measures of affect. Skin conductance, heart rate, and facial electromyographic responses were recorded as participants viewed photos of mixed- and same-sex couples kissing and rated them on valence, arousal, and disgustingness. Sexual prejudice was evident in implicit (AMP) ratings and explicit ratings of valence and disgustingness, but not in psychophysiological responses. Results suggest that implicit prejudice harbored by young adults who endorse low levels of sexual prejudice is more cognitively than emotionally based, unlike the fear-based reactions commonly described for racism. Limitations and future directions for research are discussed.

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“…Homophobia was associated with negativity in response to these displays of PDA amongst sexual minorities, which is in line with previous researchers' findings when examining attitudes toward displays of homosexual relationships and sex (Bernat et al, 2001;Kiebel et Parrott et al, 2006). When participants self-reported higher tolerance or acceptance toward sexual minorities, their results reflected higher tolerance as well.…”

“…Previous studies have consistently found that men are more explicitly sexually prejudiced than women (Kiebel et al, 2017;Monto & Supinski, 2014). Viewing gay erotica is associated with negative affect, anger-hostility, and feelings of fear in men who have self-reported being sexually prejudiced (Bernat, Calhoun, Adams, & Zeichner, 2001;Parrott, Zeichner, Hoover 2006).…”

“…Previous studies have attempted to determine how perceptions of homosexual PDA are influenced by the viewer's attitudes toward homosexuality (Kiebel, McFadden, & Herbstrith, 2017;O'Handley, Blair & Hoskin, 2017). Kiebel et al (2017) asked 45 female and 39 male college students in the United States to view images of gay men kissing, lesbians kissing, or heterosexual couples kissing. Test participants in this study reported little to no prejudice towards homosexuality.…”

“…This does not mean that heterosexual women do not harbor prejudice toward homosexuality; women have also been found to experience heightened anger toward viewing same-sex relationships in videos if they self-report being high in gender traditionalism (Parrott & Gallagher, 2008). Men tend to be more discriminatory toward gay men than lesbians, while women are more discriminatory toward lesbians (Kiebel et al, 2017).…”

Using the Generic Model of Psychotherapy to Develop a Culturally-Sensitive Approach to Psychotherapy With Sexual and Gender Minority Patients

“…Despite the great strides made in achieving social inclusion, depathologization, and the consequent destigmatization of sexual minorities, rejection, discrimination, and prejudice indexes remain high. In addition, more subtle or implicit forms of discrimination have emerged (Lingiardi et al, 2015;Kiebel et al, 2017;Vial, 2019) that continue to threaten the everyday lives of LGBT people and result in high stress levels for them (Barrientos et al, 2014). The studies published by Meyer (1995Meyer ( , 2003 on the Minority Stress Model have made it possible to generate a large body of evidence on how permanent victimization, discrimination, and homolesbotrans negativity cause LGBT people to display poorer mental health indicators than their heterosexual and cisgender peers (APA/Division 44, 2000;Meyer, 2003;Logie, 2012;Hatzenbuehler et al, 2013;Barrientos et al, 2014;Bidell and Stepleman, 2017).…”