Google, Tell Me. Is He Gay?: Masculinity, Heterosexuality, and Gendered Anxieties in Google Search Queries about Sexuality

Abstract

How can we really know how accepting people are of same-sex sexual identities? Responses in surveys and interviews are prone to social desirability bias. In this article, we offer a new proxy for this concern: the relative prevalence of Google search queries demonstrating concern over gay/lesbian sexual identities. Theories of gender have long suggested a strong relationship between masculinity and heterosexuality. Likewise, sociological research shows a consistent pattern of femininity being devalued culturally, particularly when enacted by boys and men. And, scholarship on the relationship between gender and sexuality suggests that boys’ and men’s heterosexuality is more precarious compared to that of girls and women. Using Google Trends analysis, we illustrate what these theories posit on a larger scale than previous research has been able to establish. Specifically, we show that gender-specific Google search queries concerned with the status of individuals as gay/lesbian show patterned bias toward masculine searches. We put these search data into context by comparing search frequencies with other popular searches associated with the gender-specific statuses we analyze, and argue that these data offer a new kind of support for three interrelated theories of gender and sexual identity and inequality.

Intersections between Sexual Identity, Sexual Attraction, and Sexual Behavior among a Nationally Representative Sample of American Men and Women

“…The argument put forth is that men's -but not women's -heterosexuality is an especially privileged identity that is easily lost if engaging in same-sex sexual behavior. Along the same lines, a study by Mishel et al (2018) analyzes Google Trends data, and finds that people turn to Google to ask whether their sons, dads, boyfriends, husbands, brothers, and other boys/men are "gay" at consistently higher rates than analogous searches regarding their daughters, moms, girlfriends, wives, sisters, or other girls/women. Mishel et al (2018) argue that because men's heterosexuality is seen as more precarious and more difficult to uphold than women's heterosexuality, it follows that people would question the heterosexuality of men and boys in their life more frequently than the women and girls they know.…”

Cohort Increases in Sex with Same-Sex Partners: Do Trends Vary by Gender, Race, and Class?

“…Ethnographic research supports the conclusion as well; ridiculing someone by calling him a “fag” is common among male youth, but it is much less common to ridicule girls by calling them “dykes” (Pascoe 2007). Indeed, recent analyses of Google searches shows that “Is my son gay?” or “Is my husband gay?” are much more common searches than “Is my daughter gay?” or “Is my wife gay?” suggesting more concern over men and boys being gay compared to women and girls (Mishel, Bridges, and Caudillo 2018; Mishel and Caudillo 2017). The greatest stigma seems reserved for men who appear effeminate and identify as gay or engage in sex with same-sex partners, especially those being the receptive partner in anal sex.…”

“…or "Is my wife gay?" suggesting more concern over men and boys being gay compared to women and girls (Mishel, Bridges, and Caudillo 2018;Mishel and Caudillo 2017). The greatest stigma seems reserved for men who appear effeminate and identify as gay or engage in sex with same-sex partners, especially those being the receptive partner in anal sex.…”

Intersections between Sexual Identity, Sexual Attraction, and Sexual Behavior among a Nationally Representative Sample of American Men and Women

“…The argument put forth is that men's-but not women's-heterosexuality is an especially privileged identity that is easily lost if engaging in same-sex sexual behavior. Along the same lines, a study by Mishel et al (2018b) analyzes Google Trends data, and finds that people turn to Google to ask whether their sons, dads, boyfriends, husbands, brothers, and other boys/men are "gay" at consistently higher rates than analogous searches regarding their daughters, moms, girlfriends, wives, sisters, or other girls/women. Mishel et al (2018b) argue that because men's heterosexuality is seen as more precarious and more difficult to uphold than women's heterosexuality, it follows that people would question the heterosexuality of men and boys in their life more frequently than the women and girls they know.…”

“…Along the same lines, a study by Mishel et al (2018b) analyzes Google Trends data, and finds that people turn to Google to ask whether their sons, dads, boyfriends, husbands, brothers, and other boys/men are "gay" at consistently higher rates than analogous searches regarding their daughters, moms, girlfriends, wives, sisters, or other girls/women. Mishel et al (2018b) argue that because men's heterosexuality is seen as more precarious and more difficult to uphold than women's heterosexuality, it follows that people would question the heterosexuality of men and boys in their life more frequently than the women and girls they know. My findings seem to be consistent with this theory, in that, my results illustrate that men and women self-identify in alignment with the notion that men's heterosexuality is more precarious than women's heterosexuality.…”