Repealing “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”: The Impact of Stereotypes on Attitudes toward Homosexuals in the Military

Abstract

On December 22, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010. This decision appears to coincide with public opinion as a December 2010 Gallup Poll reports that 67 percent of respondents would support openly gay or lesbian individuals serving in the military. Nevertheless, many Republican Congressmen and presidential candidates continue to express support of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” To that end, this research investigates media priming, stereotypes of gays and lesbians, and other factors that may impact support for gay men and lesbians in the military. We use a survey-based experiment drawn from a mid-sized regional university in the southeast where the collection of attitudes toward gays and lesbians preceded the collection of atti- tudes toward homosexuals in the military. Our research points to the media’s ability to prime evalua- tions of gays in the military and suggests that stereotypes of homosexuals are powerful predictors of attitudes toward homosexuals serving in the military. We also find that personal familiarity with gay men/lesbians is related to support for homosexuals serving in the military.