Racial preferences in sexual attraction among White heterosexual and gay men: Evidence from sexual arousal patterns and negative racial attitudes

Abstract

Racial preferences in sexual attraction are highly visible and controversial. They may also negatively impact those who are excluded. It is unclear whether these preferences are merely self-attributed or extend to patterns of experienced sexual arousal. Furthermore, some argue that racial preferences in sexual attraction reflect idiosyncratic personal preferences, while others argue that they are more systematically motivated and reflect broader negative attitudes toward particular races. In two studies, we examined these issues by measuring the sexual arousal patterns and negative racial attitudes of 78 White men in relation to their racial preferences in sexual attraction to White versus Black people. For both White heterosexual men (n = 40; Study 1) and White gay men (n = 38; Study 2), greater racial preferences in sexual attraction to White versus Black people of their preferred gender were associated with more subjective and genital arousal by erotic stimuli featuring White versus Black people of their preferred gender, and with more explicit and implicit negative attitudes toward Black people. Findings suggest that racial preferences in sexual attraction are reflected in patterns of sexual arousal, and they might also be systematically motivated by negative attitudes toward particular races.

Understanding queer Asian in/visibility via stereotype application.

“…Across all findings, gay and lesbian Asian people were seen as equally prototypical of gay communities, as were gay and lesbian White people. This finding is surprising given that stereotypes about one marginalized group (e.g., queer people) tend to rely on "default" dominant categories to inform other identities (e.g., the stereotypical queer person is thought to be a gay White man; Hsu et al, 2021;Johnson et al, 2012;Petsko & Bodenhausen, 2019b). Our results do suggest that the prototypical member of a racial minority group is assumed to be heterosexual (see also Oswald et al, 2021;Petsko & Bodenhausen, 2019b;Preddie & Biernat, 2021), lending credence to the perspective that gay and lesbian identities are more strongly stereotyped when aligned with certain (White) ethnicities and races (Preddie & Biernat, 2021;Semrow et al, 2020).…”

Use of sexual stimuli in research and clinical settings: expert opinion and recommendations

“…Attractiveness, however, is highly contingent upon cultural norms, such as Eurocentric beauty standards highly prevalent within Western cultures 57 favoring European features (e.g., light skin, straight hair) over non-Western features (e.g., dark skin, curly hair). Ideas of attractiveness are also influenced by racial homophily and attitudes, such that sexual arousal is greatest to films depicting actors of the same race as viewers, 58 , 59 and moderated by racial attitudes. 35…”