A case of ‘de-immigrantization’: when sexual minority individuals lose immigrant status

Abstract

Individuals generally hold multiple, and sometimes stereotypically contrasted, group memberships which may change depending on uncontrollable contextual factors. For instance, if someone is a foreigner, there exist certain social stereotypes regarding their nationality which may influence others’ conceptualizations. However, how might an intersection of memberships, such as being both foreign and gay, affect natives’ perceptions of them when these stereotypes may not converge? Across four experiments, the stereotypes attributed to generalized and specific groups were examined to better understand intersectional prototypicalities. Results indicated certain cases in which immigrants may be “de-immigrantized”, or, perceived as less stereotypically immigrant. More specifically, Portuguese participants viewed gay immigrants as less prototypically immigrant, but did not view lesbian immigrants as less prototypically immigrant, bringing into question the complexity of double minority conceptualizations. Additionally, individuals from nationalities with a higher perceived percentage of gays or lesbians in their population (e.g., Brazil and France) were generally viewed as less prototypically immigrant than individuals from nationalities with a lower perceived percentage of gays or lesbians in their population (e.g., India and Japan). Conclusions provide support for intersectional theories and yield additional insights into the categorization of multiple minority groups on the basis of sexuality and nationality.