Male Role Endorsement Explains Negative Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Among Students in Mexico More Than in Germany

Abstract

Anti-gay attitudes vary across cultures because the larger social context plays a role in attitude formation. Psychological correlates of these attitudes have been investigated in the United States and Europe. Endorsement of traditional gender roles has emerged from that research as a central correlate, next to religiosity and personal contact with lesbians/gay men. In a cross-sectional study, we tested whether these correlates are relevant in Mexico, characterized as an androcentric culture in which both gender-role traditionalism and religiosity are high, using a college-age student sample (N = 63). Because we relied on self-reports, the motivation to appear nonprejudiced was also assessed. We found typical gender differences in attitudes toward gay men. In bivariate tests, anti-gay attitudes were related to male role endorsement, contact with lesbians/gay men, and religiosity. In a multivariate analysis, variance in attitudes was explained by male role endorsement; personal contact or religiosity did not explain additional variance. In a German comparison sample (N = 112), male role endorsement played a smaller role. Variance in anti-gay attitudes in the German sample was also related to personal contact, religiosity, and the motivation to appear nonprejudiced. We discuss the centrality of (male) gender-role endorsement in cultures with high gender-role traditionalism.

Adoption by Lesbians and Gay Men in Europe: Challenges and Barriers on the Journey to Adoption

“…In line with previous studies, these findings suggest that gay men experience more self-doubt and questioning during decision making on the route to parenthood compared to lesbian women (Berkowitz & Marsiglio, 2007;Gianino, 2008). Gay fathers in the sample seemed to feel less legitimate than lesbians in their parental project, and this reflects the general social attitude considering male homosexuality as less acceptable than female homosexuality (Costa & Davies, 2012;Steffens, 2005;Steffens, Jonas, & Denger, 2014). In particular, men in the sample seem to be greatly influenced by gender role traditionalism (Borrillo, 2000;Davies, 2004), in which they consider the maternal figure indispensable for the development of children and consequently their family structure as deficient.…”

Correlates of Sexual Violence Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Tijuana, Mexico

“…Although varying definitions of sexual violence make it difficult to make direct comparisons, this prevalence of sexual violence in the past year is similar to at least one study of MSM in India (Newman et al, 2008). These findings point to the dangerous and oppressive situation that exists for MSM in Mexico and other LMIC where same-sex relationships remain socially and culturally unacceptable (Steffens, Jonas, & Denger, 2015; Verduzco, 2014). Several factors that were hypothesized to have an association with sexual violence emerged as significant, including history of childhood sexual abuse, adult experiences of homophobia, depression, hostility symptoms, and living arrangement.…”

When does activating diversity alleviate, when does it increase intergroup bias? An ingroup projection perspective

“…Gender belief systems have been identified as an important factor explaining attitudes towards lesbians and gay men [60, 64]. One might suspect that indicating how prototypical heterosexual girls/boys and lesbian girls /gay boys are for their gender group in general is nothing but an alternative operationalization of this known construct.…”

“…Participant gender influences attitudes towards lesbians and gay men (e.g. [60]). Therefore, gender was included either as a factor or as a covariate in the analyses below, with linear relationships between covariates and dependent variables as well as homogeneity of regressions tested and confirmed.…”