Cultural Beliefs About Manhood Predict Anti-LGBTQ+ Attitudes and Policies

This study tested whether differences in cultural beliefs about manhood can explain the large cultural variability in attitudes and social policies regarding sexual and gender minorities. If people believe manhood is an easily threatened, precarious social status (Vandello et al., 2008 ), then LGBTQ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sex roles 2023-05, Vol.88 (9-10), p.442-458
Main Authors: Vandello, Joseph A., Upton, Rebecca A., Wilkerson, Mariah, Kubicki, RJ, Kosakowska-Berezecka, Natasza
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
Attitudes
Bans
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Cross cultural studies
Cultural differences
Gays & lesbians
Gender
Gender inequality
Gender Studies
Heterosexuality
LGBTQ people
Masculinity
Medicine/Public Health
Minority & ethnic groups
Original Article
Prejudice
Psychology
Religiosity
Sexism
Sexuality
Social attitudes
Social status
Sociology
Threats
Transgender persons
Women
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Summary:This study tested whether differences in cultural beliefs about manhood can explain the large cultural variability in attitudes and social policies regarding sexual and gender minorities. If people believe manhood is an easily threatened, precarious social status (Vandello et al., 2008 ), then LGBTQ + groups may be targets of derogation as symbolic threats to masculinity and men’s distinctiveness. In a large pre-registered cross-cultural study of 62 countries, we tested whether country-level precarious manhood beliefs were associated with more negative attitudes, fewer rights, more restrictive laws, and less safety toward LGBTQ + groups. Hypotheses were largely supported, and these negative relationships generally held when controlling for religiosity, cultural tightness, traditional and security-related values, gender inequality, and sexism. Results suggest that the fates of societies’ most vulnerable gender and sexuality groups are related to societies’ beliefs about manhood.
ISSN:0360-0025
1573-2762
DOI:10.1007/s11199-023-01365-x