Less of a man? Masculine honor beliefs influence perceptions of hypothetical sons (and their fathers) coming out as gay

Abstract

Masculine Honor Beliefs comprise an ideology that it is acceptable for people (especially men) to defend their reputation through violent or aggressive measures. Previous research has shown that this ideology is associated with more disparagement of, and social distancing from, gay or effeminate men. However, little research has examined how men higher in masculine honor beliefs perceive their son coming out as gay, as well as how third-party observers perceive a father whose son comes out as gay. Across two studies (total N = 464) we examined the influence masculine honor beliefs had on a participants' levels of support or rejection toward their son coming out as gay in a hypothetical vignette scenario (Study 1) and how third-party observers perceived both the (hypothetical) father and son after the son came out (Study 2). Consistent with our hypotheses, higher levels of masculine honor beliefs were associated with more sexual prejudice, more negative perceptions of the sons who came out as gay in the vignettes (and their fathers), and stronger expectations for the father to reject the son's identity. Further, fathers experienced significantly greater negative self-directed affect highlighting the importance of studying masculinity as a factor of negative attitudes toward gay men.