Sex Differences in Affective Responses to Homoerotic Stimuli: Evidence for an Unconscious Bias Among Heterosexual Men, but not Heterosexual Women

Abstract

Antigay bias is a well-documented social problem among heterosexual men, though heterosexual women display a lesser tendency toward this bias. Startle eye blink has been established as a valid measure of the affective component of antigay bias in heterosexual men. In the current study, a sample of 91 heterosexual women and 87 heterosexual men were exposed to a variety of sexual photographic stimuli accompanied by startle probes. Heterosexual men who expressed more bias against gay men using a social distance measure (i.e., discomfort with being in close quarters with a gay man) displayed a startle response consistent with greater negative affect (e.g., fear and disgust) toward gay male stimuli, while those with less self-reported antigay bias did not display a physiological bias against gay men, and none of these men showed a relationship between bias against lesbians and physiological responses while viewing lesbian images. There were no such physiological manifestations of antigay bias in heterosexual women while viewing lesbian or gay male images, even among those who self-reported such bias. It appears that heterosexual women do not tend to have the same affective response toward homosexuals that some heterosexual men experience.

Appetitive Responses to Sexual Stimuli Are Attenuated in Individuals with Low Levels of Sexual Desire

“…This contrast yielded a moderate effect size (PRE = .11). Consistent with two previous reports (Mahaffey, Bryan, & Hutchison, 2005a, 2005b, startle magnitude was also significantly lower when viewing same-sex stimuli as compared to neutral stimuli, F (1, 151) = 6.20, p < .05, showing a smaller effect (PRE = .04). The difference between oppositesex and same-sex stimuli was not statistically significant (p > .05).…”

Changing Attitudes Through Social Influence: Does Social Distance Matter?

“…Since same-sex targets elicit the most robust antigay attitudes (e.g., Mahaffey, et al, 2005b), all groups were same-sex groups, such that female participants always rated a "lesbian female" target and male participants always rated a "gay male" target. A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t 14 14 friends/peers for advice, but ultimately, we have the final say.…”

“…Men are generally more likely to hold antigay attitudes than are women (for a review, see Kite & Whitley, 1996). Men report more discomfort around gay men, express less willingness to grant human rights, foster less of a belief that homosexuality has a genetic basis (Johnson, Brems, and Alford-Keating, 1997), and show a less positive physiological response toward images of gay men, than women do toward images of gay men or lesbians (Mahaffey, Bryan, & Hutchison, 2005a;2005b). On the other hand, women are generally found to adhere more to social norms than men (Pettigrew 1959;1991).…”

What Accounts for Heterosexual Women’s Negative Emotional Responses to Lesbians?: Examination of Traditional Gender Role Beliefs and Sexual Prejudice

“…Previous research on emotional responses to sexual minorities has employed sexually graphic stimuli as an analogue for real life exposure to gay men or lesbians (e.g., Bernat et al 2001;Mahaffey et al 2005). Although results from these studies made significant contributions to this literature, these stimuli possess low ecological validity.…”