Portuguese Adolescents' Attitudes Toward Sexual Minorities: Transphobia, Homophobia, and Gender Role Beliefs

Pedro Alexandre Costa,Michelle Davies

doi:10.1080/00918369.2012.724944

Abstract

Research has shown that negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men are common and widespread in Western societies. However, few studies have addressed attitudes toward transgender individuals. In addition, although research has shown that homophobic harassment and bullying is highly common among adolescents, little is known about adolescent's attitudes toward sexual minorities. This study aimed to fill these gaps in knowledge, by investigating adolescents' attitudes toward transgender individuals and possible attitudinal correlates of those attitudes. Participants (N = 188; 62 males and 126 females) were recruited in high schools in Lisbon, Portugal. Age ranged from 15 to 19 years (M = 17; SD = .96). Participants completed a questionnaire booklet measuring attitudes toward transgender individuals, lesbians, and gay men, and gender role beliefs. Results revealed that attitudes toward transgender individuals were significantly correlated with all attitude measures. Specifically, it was revealed that those participants who endorsed negative attitudes toward transgender individuals were also endorsing of negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men and tended to adhere to traditional gender roles. A significant gender effect was found with males being more negative toward sexual minorities than females, but these negative attitudes were more extreme toward gay men than toward lesbian women. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Highlights

Discrimination and prejudicial attitudes are common topics in psychological research
Results showed that Affective Reactions Toward Gay Men was a strong predictor of genderism and transphobia, which confirms and extends previous research (Davies, 2000; Leitenberg & Slavin, 1983; Hill & Willoughby, 2005)
This finding confirms that transphobia and homophobia are important dimensions of a whole negative attitude toward people who show some level of gender nonconformism

Summary

Introduction

Discrimination and prejudicial attitudes are common topics in psychological research. Transgenderism covers a wide spectrum of people who do not conform to prescribed gender roles and behaviors. It includes people who behave in ways perceived as legitimate of the opposite sex, who cross-dress, or people who undergo sex reassignment surgery (Bullough, 2006). It is widely accepted that traditional societal values have restricted individuals’ gender expressions and behaviors, affecting the way gender nonconformist individuals form their sense of identity, including how gender identity, sexual identity, and sexual preferences are formed in adolescence. Rich (1983) proposed that compulsory heterosexuality is explicitly gendered, responsible for determining how individuals are supposed to behave (being more feminine or more masculine) and to which class of individuals (males or females) they should be attracted to Socially accepted sexual scripts determine desired gender behaviors in sexual and romantic relationships (Simon & Gagnon, 1986). Rich (1983) proposed that compulsory heterosexuality is explicitly gendered, responsible for determining how individuals are supposed to behave (being more feminine or more masculine) and to which class of individuals (males or females) they should be attracted to

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