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A commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in medical education requires addressing both explicit and implicit biases based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics and the intersectionality with other identities. Heterosexism and heteronormative attitudes contribute to health and healthcare disparities for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning, intersex, asexual individuals. Student, trainee, and faculty competencies in medical education curricula regarding the care of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning, intersex, asexual patients and those who are gender nonconforming or born with differences of sex development allow for better understanding and belonging within the clinical learning environment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning, intersex, asexual learners and educators. The Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics issued a call to action to achieve a future free from racism and bias through inclusivity in obstetrics and gynecology education and healthcare, which led to the creation of the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Guidelines Task Force. The task force initially addressed racism, racial- and ethnicity-based bias, and discrimination in medical education and additionally identified other groups that are subject to bias and discrimination, including sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristic identities, persons with disabilities, and individuals with various religious and spiritual practices. In this scholarly perspective, the authors expand on previously developed guidelines to address sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics bias, heterosexism, and heteronormative attitudes in obstetrics and gynecology educational products, materials, and clinical learning environments to improve access and equitable care to vulnerable individuals of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning, intersex, asexual community. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To test whether internalized heterosexism, a form of minority stress, heightens the effect of hazardous or harmful alcohol use on frequency of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration among sexual minority and same-sex-attracted men. Method: We recruited participants online via Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Inclusion criteria were adult cisgender men living in the United States who identified as a sexual minority (i.e., gay, bisexual) or who endorsed being sexually attracted to men and who reported a male partner in the preceding year. Participants (N = 198) completed self-report questionnaires measuring sexual orientation and attraction, internalized heterosexism, IPV perpetration (sexual, physical, and psychological), and hazardous or harmful alcohol use. Results: Hazardous or harmful alcohol use and internalized heterosexism were associated with frequency of IPV perpetration. Internalized heterosexism moderated the effect of hazardous or harmful alcohol use on IPV perpetration, such that greater hazardous or harmful alcohol use and higher levels of internalized heterosexism were associated with the greatest rates of IPV perpetration. Results were consistent for each type of IPV (sexual, physical, and psychological). Conclusions: Our findings highlight the association between high levels of internalized heterosexism, magnified by the presence of hazardous or harmful alcohol use, and physical, sexual, and psychological IPV. Alleviating internalized heterosexism is a potential target for decreasing IPV in this at-risk population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the experiences of lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) students' (N = 9, aged 19–24) of sexual harassment via semistructured interviews. Data were analysed using a thematic analysis. Three overarching themes emerged: (a) the paradox of men's unwanted sexual attention, (b) the negative impact on relationships, and (c) the LGBTQ* community as a refuge. The women reported enduring unwanted heteronormative sexual attention, and heterosexist and homophobic harassment which forced some to conceal their sexuality. Support for the LGBTQ* community was central in developing confidence to call-out harassment. The findings call for the inclusion of LBQ-specific messages in sexual violence awareness and prevention interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distinct developmental features of emerging adulthood (18–29 years old) expose individuals in this life stage to unique mental health challenges. These developmental and mental health outcomes can be further nuanced based on gender and sexuality. Drawing from an online survey sample of 768 young Filipino female undergraduate students, this cross-sectional study examines how emerging adulthood markers, psychological distress outcomes (i.e., depression and anxiety), and their relationships differ between heterosexual (n = 524) and sexual minority (n = 244) women. Aside from demographic data, key variables were measured using the Inventory of Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA-8), and the depression and anxiety domains of the Kessler Psychological Distress scale (K10). Results suggest that sexual minority female students report significantly higher negativity/instability in emerging adulthood, depression, and anxiety compared to heterosexual counterparts (p < 0.05). Moreover, results demonstrate how the nature of the predictive relationship of emerging adulthood markers with depression and anxiety varies between heterosexual and sexual minority respondents. Findings highlight sexual orientation as a gradient linked to developmental and mental health outcomes among emerging adult women, emphasizing the need to integrate gender-inclusive and -specific strategies to promote positive development and mental well-being among emerging adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nearly two-thirds of new HIV infections are attributed to primary partners, necessitating a greater understanding of relationship context of HIV transmission among sexual minority men. Sexual agreements, which are the explicit decisions couples make about sexual behaviors allowed inside and outside of their relationship, have been primarily studied among adult sexual minority men. Little work has sought to understand how adolescent sexual minority men utilize and navigate sexual agreement conversations. In this qualitative study, we explored adolescent sexual minority men's motivations for having these conversations, how they define different types of agreements (e.g., monogamous, non-monogamous), and the topics most commonly discussed in their conversations. We conducted thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with 30 partnered, HIV-negative, adolescent sexual minority men ages 15–19 years. Participants reported similar reasons, definitions, and desires for creating sexual agreements as those reported in the adult literature. Novel to this population was the influence of stigma and heterosexism on the participants' choice of sexual agreement type. Like adult sexual minority men, participants used sexual agreement conversations to respond to life events; however, the adolescents in our sample, when talking with their partners, led with the context of developmentally specific events such as leaving for college or attending a school dance. Those with more relationship experience often described having intentional, explicit sexual agreement conversations. Study findings suggest that content focused on sexual agreements is important for HIV prevention interventions designed with adolescent sexual minority men, especially young men who have less relationship experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual orientation and gender identity are fundamental aspects of every individual's life, protected within the framework of human rights. Unfortunately, both categories persist as recurring grounds for discrimination, violence, and oppression, at times perpetuated even by normative regulations. In this context, education plays a crucial role in emphasizing values such as coexistence, diversity, cooperative learning, and empathy to prevent heterosexism. Educators, therefore, must have training that ensures the creation of safe, reliable, and protective learning environments for all students. It is imperative that every student has the right to develop and socialize without fear of exclusion. The focus of this study is to analyze the consensus and acceptance among experts regarding the factors influencing gender identity in the educational context, using the neutrosophic statistical method. As a result, it was concluded that a reform of current regulations is necessary, coupled with the implementation of human rights training programs, to eradicate deeply rooted prejudices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual orientation and gender identity are fundamental aspects of every individual's life, protected within the framework of human rights. Unfortunately, both categories persist as recurring grounds for discrimination, violence, and oppression, at times perpetuated even by normative regulations. In this context, education plays a crucial role in emphasizing values such as coexistence, diversity, cooperative learning, and empathy to prevent heterosexism. Educators, therefore, must have training that ensures the creation of safe, reliable, and protective learning environments for all students. It is imperative that every student has the right to develop and socialize without fear of exclusion. The focus of this study is to analyze the consensus and acceptance among experts regarding the factors influencing gender identity in the educational context, using the neutrosophic statistical method. As a result, it was concluded that a reform of current regulations is necessary, coupled with the implementation of human rights training programs, to eradicate deeply rooted prejudices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bisexual orientation in the context of long-term relationships comes with a unique set of challenges, especially when that relationship is mixed gender. The cultural belief that bisexual orientation is unstable or temporary paired with the presentation of a partnership that grants heterosexual privilege can be a complex place to exist for bisexual individuals. This experience was examined in semi-structured interviews of 55 bisexual people in a mixed-gender relationship. Participants were an average of 29 years of age and ranged in age from 21 to 48. Reflexive thematic analysis resulted in the identification of three major themes and two subthemes. The major themes were: (1) cultural assumptions of bisexual orientation, (2) bi-negativity/biphobia, and (3) bi-invisibility. These findings highlight the complexity of existing day-to-day as a bisexual person in a mixed-gender relationship. The implications of these findings for individuals, clinicians, and communities and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young adults have gone from consulting matchmakers to app-makers, as they seek ways to meet sexual and romantic partners. Each dating application is constructed in a distinctive manner, creating unique "sexual fields" on each platform. In this study, I consider the affordances of four dating applications—the structure of profiles, available search filters, and application features—in order to understand how dating applications construct sexual fields and emphasize different forms of erotic and romantic capital. I find that which qualities constitute capital differs depending on the platform politics of the application, and the sexual fields vary according to the intended audience and outcome of the rules for interactions on the app. Such an analysis reveals how forces of heterosexism, racism, and classism operate in modern partner-seeking, both romantic and sexual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there is growing documentation of pregnancy among sexual minority women, little research has focused on their perceptions and experiences of conflict between sexual minority identity and pregnancy. Because of this, this study used Social Identity Theory and qualitative descriptive analysis to explore the following questions: do sexual minority women perceive sexual minority identity and pregnancy as in conflict; and if so, from where does this conflict arise and how do sexual minority women experience it? Participants included 21 lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer and other non-heterosexual cisgender women, a third of whom had previously been pregnant. Themes captured internally located conflict, including participants who saw pregnancy as irrelevant and those who experienced pregnancy as acceptable for sexual minority women; imposed conflict from healthcare contexts, including both health provider assumptions and imposed conflict on reproductive autonomy; and ambivalence. Overall, few participants noted internalised conflict between their sexual minority identity and pregnancy. Instead, sexual minority women experienced ambivalence or imposed conflict between their sexual minority identities and pregnancy from their health providers, although this imposed conflict was not limited to sexual orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about how sexual minority couples cope with experiences of discrimination related to sexual orientation, and whether such processes are different from the management of general life stressors. Using self-report and observational methods, we investigated differences in couple support processes by stressor type. A sample of 84 sexual minority couples (M age = 25.4 years, SD = 4.0) completed self-report measures and two video-recorded discussions (one sexual orientation-related discrimination stressor and one general life stressor not related to sexual orientation) that were coded for observed dyadic coping and social support behavior. In self-report models, more frequent stressors experienced by either partner, regardless of type, were related to more negative dyadic coping behavior and more positive partner social support provision. Discrimination stressors were uniquely related to less positive evaluations of dyadic coping behavior, but this result did not hold when accounting for covariates and could have been confounded by age. In observed models, we found no differences in positive dyadic coping or positive social support behavior across stressor discussions, but we found significantly less negative dyadic coping behavior during discrimination stressor discussions. Future work should examine how adaptive support processes may influence relationship functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When heterosexism and cisgenderism leads to social exclusion at work, it negatively affects the well‐being of LGBTQ+ people. To measure this phenomenon, the authors constructed a specific job quality index based on a sample of 1,761 LGBTQ+ Quebec workers recruited as part of the UNIE‐LGBTQ survey (2019–2020). The index was created using factor scores; it comprises 16 indicators and covers five dimensions. It has acceptable internal consistency and is moderately associated with LGBTQ+ job satisfaction. Its conceptual validity is bolstered by the fact that it reflects anticipated differences between groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) individuals face unique stressors related to their sexual and gender identities that have a detrimental impact on their mental health. Nonetheless, studies have not yet investigated these minority stressors among LGBTQ+ individuals from Spain. The limited availability of standardized tools/ instruments to measure minority stressors in Spanish makes it challenging to explore these experiences among Spanish speaking individuals. The present study aimed to examine the factor structure of the Daily Heterosexist Experiences Questionnaire (DHEQ) among LGBTQ+ adults from Spain, compare rates of minority stressors across diverse gender and sexual orientations, and examine the impact of daily heterosexist experiences (henceforth referred to as heterosexist experiences) on symptoms of depression and suicidal behavior. The sample was composed of 509 LGBTQ+ identifying adults in the age range of 18 to 60 years old. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good fit for the six dimensions of the DHEQ scale. Individuals identified as transgender or reporting a minority sexual orientation (i.e., asexual, pansexual) indicated higher levels of exposure to heterosexist experiences. Moreover, those with higher levels of heterosexist experiences had higher symptoms of depression and suicide behavior. The present study provides a tool for examining minority stressors in Spanish speaking LGBTQ+ adults. Assessing for minority stressors may aid in the identification of risk and protective factors when working with LGBTQ+ treatment seeking adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Of all the issues explored in anthropological, social and behavioral sciences, homosexuality perhaps is most controversial and has evoked more arguments and strong feelings in the general public. Homosexuality is often associated wit anger, love, intimacy, hostility, strong negative attitudes (e.g., severe discrimination and violence), and compassion. This subject involves many things: gender identity and orientation, a way of behaving intimately, a wide range of sexual preferences, a stigma, and a badge of pride and self-assertion. One objective of this paper is to clarify the meanings of homosexuality as well as its psychological, behavioral, and social correlates. Most research on homosexuality has taken the individual as the focus of analysis. A. C. Kinsey's pioneering work investigated the sexual behaviors of the individual and used biographical information to locate the person on a continuum from exclusive homosexuality to exclusive heterosexuality. Other individualistic approaches include studies of the homosexual identity, personality characteristics, subjective well-being, and life histories of gay men and lesbians. Sociocultural analyses, typically undertaken by anthropologists, historians, and sociologists, focus on the societal patterns of homosexuality. Sociocultural researchers seek to describe and explain societal reactions to homosexuality, cultural and subcultural variations in homosexuality, social rules and institutions that regulate homosexuality, etc. In contrast, a relationship perspective takes as the central phenomenon of interest the sexual and romantic relationships that occur between same-sex partners. During the past decades, the prevalence of negative stereotypes against homosexuality has been reduced substantially in most Western societies. Nevertheless, concern remains about the occurence of negative stereotyping attitudes and homophobia in some segments of the general population. Therefore, homosexuality will be analyzed in relation to heterosexism, homophobia, and sexual prejudice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Sexual orientation and gender identity are essential aspects of a person's life and are under the protection framework of human rights. However, both categories continue to present themselves as a repeated reason for acts of discrimination, violence, and oppression, even through normative subjection. Education must highlight values such as coexistence, diversity, cooperative learning, and empathy to prevent heterosexism. Teachers must have training that guarantees safe, trustworthy, and safe learning spaces for all students, where they have the right to develop and socialize without exclusion. That is why the study is focused on analyzing the consensus and acceptance of experts on the factors that affect gender identity in the educational field based on the analysis of the neutrosophic statistical method. It was concluded that a reform of the current regulations should be carried out and training programs on human rights should be implemented to eliminate entrenched prejudices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This exploratory study investigated attitudes toward gay men and lesbians among the general student population of a midsized university, paying special attention to differences in demographic measures and attitudes across campus recreational sport participants and nonparticipants. Specifically, the study sought to investigate differences in attitudes toward gay men and lesbians among the following groups: campus recreational sporting participants/nonparticipants, differing religious affiliations, socioeconomic status classifications, and participant self-identified sexual orientation. This study used a modified version of the Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men scale administered in person to acquire attitudinal scores and demographics of respondents. Multivariate analysis of variance statistical testing procedures were used, revealing significant differences in attitudes of campus recreational sport participants based on religion, and sexual orientation. Overall, participants who identified as Evangelical Christian held more negative attitudes toward nonnormative sexualities than Roman Catholic or nonreligious participants, and participants who identified as heterosexual held more negative attitudes than gay or lesbian participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study explores the workplace discrimination LGB social workers experience in Greece. All participants reported an array of microaggressions, committed mostly by colleagues. Microaggressions are subtle forms of discrimination, intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile or derogatory messages. Participants employed a variety of coping strategies: remaining passive, confronting the enactor of the microaggression and being self-protective. Their cognitive reactions ranged from accepting microaggressions as a part of LGB person's life to empowering themselves and talking back to perpetrators or even coming out if they had been in the closet. Implications for anti-discrimination workplace policies and social work are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Not only does teaching about gender and sexuality diversity lead to some very interesting and often emotionally evocative, pedagogical exchanges; it can also create challenging issues for teachers and students alike. This article focuses on what happens when a module that addresses compulsory heterosexuality and schooling is broached in an undergraduate sociology class. More importantly, it offers an analysis of the critical incidents and tensions that pay specific attention to how power, knowledge, and emotion feature in teaching and learning. Using antioppressive and affect theories, this article offers an analysis of how we might understand pedagogical practice, especially as it relates to addressing the power of normative heterosexuality in a university classroom. With reflections emerging from the module, I argue for more sociological theorization and analysis of the role of affect in pedagogies that seek to advance liberatory teaching and learning in the area of anti-heterosexism education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hooking up, which refers to a sexual encounter (ranging from kissing to penetrative sex) between individuals who are not in a committed relationship, is an increasingly normative form of sexual exploration among emerging adults. Past research has focused on hookups within a heteronormative context, and some of this work has examined hookups as a way to cope with distress. Building on this work, we examined the role of hookups as a means for lesbian and bisexual women to cope with minority stress through increasing connection and engagement with the LGBTQ (lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer or questioning) community. A nationally recruited sample of 520 lesbian and bisexual women ages 18 to 25 years completed questionnaires regarding their hookup behaviors as part of a longitudinal study. Childhood sexual abuse, posttraumatic stress symptoms, alcohol use, minority stress, and involvement and connectedness with the LGBTQ community were also assessed. First, regression analyses were used to examine baseline predictors of hookup behaviors reported at a 12-month follow-up. Findings revealed that alcohol use was associated with a greater likelihood of any subsequent hookups, and individuals reporting more minority stress subsequently hooked up with more partners. Second, hookup behaviors at 12 months were examined as predictors of outcomes at a 24-month follow-up, after controlling for baseline variables. Findings revealed that hookup behaviors were associated with reduced minority stress as well as increased involvement with and connectedness to the LGBTQ community, suggesting hookups may serve a protective function. Overall, findings support the notion that, for sexual minority women, hookups may operate as a means of coping and connection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research demonstrates that both proximal personal characteristics (e.g., outness, emotion dysregulation) and distal stressors (e.g., heterosexism) may be associated with harmful alcohol use among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals. No study has systematically examined the factors linking LGB identity outness to harmful alcohol use. The current cross-sectional study bridges this gap by testing a sequential mediation model wherein heterosexist experiences (HE) and emotion dysregulation (ER) were hypothesized to mediate the relationship between outness and alcohol use. Participants were 264 LGB emerging adults in the age range of 18-29 years (M/SD = 25.46/2.74; 16.7% lesbian, 23.1% gay, 60.2% bisexual). Findings showed that 8.3% scored above a cutoff indicating harmful alcohol use. Findings supported the hypothesized serial mediation linking low levels of outness with harmful alcohol use via HE and ER, with a significant serial indirect effect (B = −.002, CI = −.004 — −.0004) and indirect effects via both HE (B = −.01, CI = −.02 – −.002) and ER (B = −.01, CI = −.02 – −.003). Heterosexist experiences and emotion dysregulation are potential links in the association between outness and harmful alcohol use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do some heterosexual people react in a negative manner when pondering or experiencing romantic or sexual overtures from persons of their same-sex, whereas other heterosexual people react more positively? To answer this question, this cross-sectional, correlational study examined individual difference predictors of heterosexual people's responses to romantic or sexual overtures from same-sex persons. Our sample comprised 306 men and 307 women, ages 18–35 years, who were recruited from Mechanical Turk and identified as cisgender and heterosexual. Our hypotheses were premised on the theoretical construct of reactive group distinctiveness. Specifically, we explored predictors of heterosexual individuals' negative perceptions of same-sex overtures. We found that more negative reactions to same-sex overtures were uniquely predicted by old-fashioned sexual prejudice, modern sexual prejudice, and desire to be perceived as gender conforming, via the mediators of social distance from same-sex sexual minority individuals and desire to be perceived as heterosexual. Gender moderated these relationships inconsistently. These findings indicate that two classes of individual differences—sexual prejudice and gender conforming reputation desire—are uniquely associated with heterosexual persons' reactions to overtures from same-sex persons. We explain how these findings evidence the process of reactive group distinctiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bullying is a phenomenon that has been generating a great scientific interest during the last decade. However, there is still a large gap in research aimed at studying the bullying that is caused by the LGBT-phobia and the values of heterosexism. Nowadays, there are different anti-discrimination policies that promote tolerance and respect for sexual diversity. Nevertheless, people with non-normative orientation and sexual identity show greater vulnerability to suffer harassment and they have to face all kinds of challenges every day. Therefore, some authors have focused on conducting research with specific samples of LGBT people. To make us aware of the magnitude with which this phenomenon affects them, studies on the prevalence of bullying have shown a high use of homophobic insults regardless of orientation and sexual identity. In this sense, Mayock, Bryan, Carr & Kitching (2009) found that 40 % of the participants in their study had been victims of verbal attacks of a homophobic nature. In addition, recent reviews of epidemiological studies show that between 51 % and 80 % of LGBT people have suffered bullying due to their affective-sexual orientation and gender / sexual identity throughout their lives (Generelo, Garchito-rena, Montero, & Hidalgo, 2012; Mayock et al., 2009; Martxueta & Etxeberria, 2014). In relation to cyberbullying, a recent systematic review yields data from 10.5 % to 71.3 % of victims of this type of phenomenon in the LGBT collective (Abreu & Kenny, 2017). There are studies that relate this phenomenon to mental health but there is less evidence about the relation between LGBT-phobic bullying, and personality characteristics and traits. In this line, it has been observed that LGBT-phobic bullying is related to anxiety, depression, traumatic stress, school absenteeism, suicidal ideation and suicide, drug use, criminal behavior, sexual risk behaviors, among other consequences (Birkett, Espe-lage & Koenig, 2009; Collier, 2014; Ferlatte et al., 2015; Gegenfurtner & Gebhardt, 2017; Martxueta, 2014; Mayock et al., 2009; Shields, Whitaker, Glassman, Franks & Howard, 2012; Tucker et al., 2016). Other researchers have observed that Emotional Intelligence (Garai-gordobil & Oñederra, 2010) and empathy (Nolasco-Hernández, 2012) are related to lower levels of bullying perpetration and that, in addition, being a victim of bullying affects the satisfaction with life and self-esteem negatively (Estévez, Martínez-Ferrer & Musitu, 2006; Povedano, Hendry, Ramos & Varela, 2011). However, less research analyzes diffe- rent personal variables and their relationship with LGBT-phobic bullying. Thus, the aim of this study is to carry out a review of the researches that analyze personality traits and characteristics in the LGBT community, and especially the connection between LGBT-phobic bullying and these variables. For this purpose, a systematic review has been carried out in the main databases of Psychology. The results of this review suggest that: (1) LGBT people show higher levels of empathy and lower levels of life satisfaction, psychological well-being and happiness; (2) empathy negatively correlates with the perpetration of LGBT-phobic bullying, and (3) being victim of this phenomenon is related with lower levels of self-esteem. This review has revealed that there is little evidence about this issue. The results indicate that LGBT people have a greater empathy that would positively affect both their own person and their environment. Nevertheless, the discrimination they suffer from day to day and the difficulty of finding their place in a heteronormative society negatively affect psychological well-being, happiness, satisfaction with life and self-esteem. It is essential to generate a scientific basis in order to carry out prevention and intervention programs. Finally, it is worth highlighting the lack of processing of these data in a meta-analysis as a limitation of this research. Therefore, further investigation in this line is suggested to reveal information that could be relevant in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted an experiment to assess whether targeting multiple beliefs about sexual orientation (SO) may be more effective in reducing homonegativity than focusing only on beliefs about its biogenetic origins. Participants (116 women, 85 men) were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions or a control condition. Those in the treatment conditions read essays summarizing: (1) research suggesting SO has biogenetic origins, (2) research suggesting SO is socially constructed and refuting beliefs about the discreteness, homogeneity, and informativeness of SO categories; or (3) research suggesting SO is biogenetic and research suggesting SO categories are socially constructed and not necessarily discrete, homogenous, or informative. We predicted participants in the conditions that targeted multiple beliefs related to the social construction of SO, not just its biogenetic origins, would exhibit the strongest reductions in beliefs about the discreteness, homogeneity, and informativeness of SO categories, and in homonegativity. We also predicted these participants would exhibit the greatest increases in support for gay and lesbian civil rights. We observed hypothesized shifts in SO beliefs across all experimental conditions. While there was a small main effect of time on homonegative prejudice, there was no main effect of condition and no changes in support for gay and lesbian civil rights. However, post hoc analyses suggested the two conditions addressing social constructionist beliefs accounted for most of the observed prejudice reduction. Implications for more comprehensive educational and social interventions designed to promote social justice for sexual minorities are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing from the literature on sexual stigma, the principal aim of this study was to investigate predictors of heterosexual's internalization of negative attitudes regarding lesbian and gay parenting and the mediating role of beliefs in the controllability of homosexuality. A Portuguese sample of 1,430 heterosexual women and 502 heterosexual men responded to an online questionnaire about attitudes toward lesbian and gay parenting. Structural equation modeling was used to explore attitudinal predictors and mediation analysis. Mediation analyses revealed that sexual prejudice toward same-gender-parented families was predicted by gender, age, education, and religiosity, in that heterosexual men, those who were older, had less education, and were more religious held significantly more negative beliefs about lesbian and gay parenting, as well as lower perception of benefits associated with lesbian and gay parenting. Further, etiological beliefs mediated the effects of gender, age, and religiosity on sexual attitudes, highlighting the importance of the perception of controllability of homosexuality in justifying sexual prejudice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates a possible relationship between perceived and self-ascribed gender identity and the respective acoustic correlates in a group of young heterosexual adult speakers. For the production study, a sample of 37 German speaking subjects (20 males, 17 females) filled out a questionnaire to assess their self-ascribed masculinity/femininity on two scales. A range of acoustic parameters (acoustic vowel space size, fundamental frequency, sibilant spectral characteristics) were measured in speech collected from a picture describing task. Results show that male speakers judging themselves to be less masculine exhibited larger vowel spaces and higher average fundamental frequency.For the perception experiment, a group of 21 listeners (11 males, 10 females) judged masculinity of single word male stimuli drawn from the collected speech sample. A significant correlation between speakers’ self-ascribed and listeners’ attributed gender identity was found with a stronger relationship for female listeners. Acoustic parameters used by listeners to attribute gender identity include those used by speakers to index masculinity/femininity.The investigation demonstrates the importance of including self-ascribed gender identity as a potential source of inter-speaker variation in speech production and perception even in a sample of heterosexual adult speakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stereotypes, prejudices, and discriminatory behaviors directed toward people based on their sexual orientation vary broadly. Existing perspectives on sexual prejudice argue for different underlying causes, sometimes provide disparate or conflicting evidence for its roots, and typically fail to account for variances observed across studies. We propose an affordance management approach to understanding sexual prejudice, which weds the fundamental motives theory with the sociofunctional threat-based approach to prejudice to provide a broader explanation for the causes and outcomes of sexual prejudice and to explain inter- and intragroup prejudices more broadly. Prejudices arise as specific emotions designed to engage functional behavioral responses to perceived threats and opportunities (i.e., affordances) posed by different sexual orientation groups, and interact with the perceiver's chronic or temporarily activated fundamental motives (e.g., parenting, mating), which determine the relevance of certain target affordances. Our perspective predicts what stereotype content is likely to direct specific affective and behavioral reactions (i.e., the stereotypes that relay threat- and opportunity-relevant information) and when the affordance-emotion-behavior link is likely to engage (i.e., when those threats and opportunities are directly relevant to the perceiver's current fundamental goal). This article synthesizes the extant sexual prejudice literature from an affordance management approach to demonstrate how fundamental goals interact with preexisting perceptions to drive perceptual, affective, and behavioral responses toward sexual orientation groups, and provides a degree of explanatory power heretofore missing from the prejudice literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationship between ambient workplace heterosexism, emotional reactions (i.e., fear and anger), and outcomes for sexual minority and heterosexual employees. Five hundred thirty‐six restaurant employees (68% female, 77% White) completed an online survey assessing the variables of interest. Results showed that greater experiences of ambient workplace heterosexism were associated with heightened fear and anger and, in turn, with heightened psychological distress (for fear) and greater physical health complaints, turnover intentions, and lowered job satisfaction (for anger). Fear also mediated the relationship between ambient workplace heterosexism and psychological distress. In addition, sexual orientation moderated the relationship between ambient workplace heterosexism and fear such that sexual minority employees reported more fear than heterosexuals with greater ambient heterosexism. These effects occurred after controlling for personal experiences of interpersonal discrimination. Our findings suggest that ambient workplace heterosexism can be harmful to all employees, not only sexual minorities or targeted individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 24 February 2012, then United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited Zambia for three days. His call to respect human rights and give protection to all people regardless of sexual orientation was received mostly with hostility by the Zambian public. The media was inundated with opposing press statements from both government and civil society persons and entities. Politicians, church leaders, and the public widely condemned Ban's advocacy for “gay rights”. Although the debate on homosexuality is not new in Zambia, there is a dearth of research on the subject. This paper seeks, modestly, to re-examine popular rationale for heterosexism to contribute to the resolution of one of the perennial problems colouring African political, social, and cultural discourse. By deconstructing the popular views and systematising the debate, the paper aims at providing a baseline and guideline for addressing the problem of heterosexism in Zambia. Without suggesting that Africa is homogenous, what happened in Zambia following Ban's visit could have predictably happened in many African countries, notably Uganda and Nigeria. This paper, however, uses Zambia as a point of reference. The paper relies on views indicating negative attitudes and beliefs that legislators, and policy makers, church leaders and ordinary citizens have toward homosexuality. These positions have been thematised into six major grounds for the sexual prejudices against homosexuality. These are subjected to logical and epistemic scrutiny. Ultimately, the arguments in support of heterosexism are shown to be untenable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Random webcam encounters first came into popular consciousness with the rise of Chatroulette in 2009. Since then, various websites have emerged based on a similar model, catering specifically to webcam based sexual practices. This article focuses on one of these sites, Dirtyroulette, and argues that it is an example of what I am calling 'post-porn heterosex'--defined by the increasing acceptance of pornography into heterosex. An examination of the dialectics of engagement on Dirtyroulette--the complex navigation of public and private, boredom and attention, exhibitionism and voyeurism, signal and noise, and randomness and consistency--reveals how users perform post-porn sex acts. For Dirtyroulette users the normative is not opposed to the nonnormative, and sex acts which appear transgressive or homosocial may be demonstrating how heterosex colonises emergent sexual practices and spaces. This article speculates as to why the site is not a space for antinormative sex, and why the majority of sex acts should be considered as post-porn heterosex. Dirtyroulette demonstrates that post-porn heterosex is more fluid than the public, symbolic and static images of heterosex that form the foundation of heterosexuality's 'natural' claims. This article asks: Does the visibility of Dirtyroulette provide a potential rupture in heterosex--does it produce opportunities in which the 'natural' claims of heterosex are contradicted by an image that is not fixed and does not have a foundational orientation? Or is a correlation between the symbolic image of heterosex and the gestures of heterosex no longer required for the maintenance of heterosexual culture? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational institutions, as well as political, social and scientific discourses, have contributed towards discrimination and violence against people with non-normative sexual orientations. Acts of violence among peers (bullying) motivated by homophobia occur on a frequent basis in school contexts. This study aims to identify the patterns in which homophobic bullying (victim identified) takes place in Portuguese schools using Multiple Correspondence Analysis. This study involved the application of a questionnaire to people of both sexes before obtaining a total of 171 participants reporting themselves as victims of homophobic bullying in schools. Following the identification of eight indicators and the selection of two dimensions, while also structuring the axes in accordance with the representation space, four patterns of homophobic bullying could be identified: masculine violence, feminine violence, violence with less perceived impact, and violence with greater perceived impact. These different patterns have allowed us to learn about the different ways in which peer violence takes place in schools and its possible effects. Among the main study conclusions, it is highlighted how male participants were victims of violence at an earlier age than female participant victims. Another key finding is the complete lack of cases in which the aggressors were only female. Finally, a common conclusion to all participants, encapsulates how none of the victims reported the violence to their families for fear of losing family support by revealing a non-heterosexual orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women’s sexual desire is a complex, multifaceted phenomenon. According to the biopsychosocial model of female sexual function, a comprehensive understanding of women’s sexuality requires awareness of the presence of and interaction between biological, psychological, interpersonal, and sociocultural factors. Other sexuality scholars in the field have similarly stressed this perspective, emphasizing that sexual desire in particular is impacted by medical, relational, psychological, and sociocultural influences. Given the influence of sociocultural variables like sexism and heterosexism on women’s lives, we sought to understand the impact of the sociocultural context on sexual desire in 31 bisexual, lesbian, and heterosexual women. Women ranged in age from 20 to 69 and answered a number of questions related to their experience of sexual desire and the ways in which desire related to their sexual identity. The semi-structured interviews focused on women’s retrospective, subjective accounts of their experiences. Using a consensual qualitative research approach and thematic analysis, the interviews revealed four themes and seven subthemes: (1) minority stress (heterosexist discrimination, stigmatized identities, coming out, impact of visible/safe spaces); (2) gender expectations (gendered relationship expectations, gender binary impacts, body image); (3) religion; and (4) taboo and changing cultural times. Participant responses suggest that the sociocultural context can influence the sexual desire of diverse women, supporting both sexual desire exploration and suppression of desire expression by context. Practice and advocacy considerations include understanding of the impact of systems of privilege and oppression (e.g., sexism, heterosexism, racism) on women’s sexual desire experiences and opportunities for supporting diverse women’s sexual empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bisexual individuals are at higher risk for poor mental health outcomes compared to heterosexual as well as lesbian and gay individuals and experience minority stressors, such as discrimination, from both heterosexual and sexual minority communities. However, there is little research examining the negative effects of bisexual-specific minority stressors on bisexual individuals' mental health as well as psychological factors that might help explain minority stressors' deleterious effects. This research examined the effects of distal minority stressors (i.e., anti-bisexual experiences from both heterosexual as well as lesbian and gay people) and proximal stressors (i.e., internalized heterosexism and sexual orientation concealment) on psychological distress and suicidality among bisexual adults (N = 503). Building on the relational framing of the minority stress model, we also tested one relational factor (i.e., loneliness) as a mediator of the associations between distal and proximal minority stressors and poor mental health (i.e., psychological distress and suicidality). Structural equation modeling analyses were used to test the mediating effects of loneliness on the associations between minority stressors and psychological distress and suicidality. Although distal and proximal minority stressors were not associated with each other, loneliness mediated the effects of distal and proximal minority stressors on psychological distress and suicidality. The results of this study underscore the importance of targeting bisexual-specific minority stressors as well as loneliness in preventive interventions to improve the mental health of bisexual individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following a study on gay and lesbian students’ experiences in a Social Work Department in Greece, this qualitative study explores faculty perspectives regarding lesbian and gay students in social work education. Perceptions of gay and lesbian students’ invisibility and low level of comfort were held in common by participants, although some faculty members referred to the more inclusive and accepting climate of the Social Work Department compared to other higher education Departments and Greek society in general. Most participants reported that same-sex sexuality issues are inadequately covered in the curriculum. Displays of heterosexist behaviour by students were reported by most participants and so were conflicts among students when same-sex sexuality issues were discussed in class. The lack of official anti-discrimination policies that include sexual orientation was highlighted. In the absence of a common strategy regarding the teaching of same-sex sexuality content, faculty determined on an individual level how and to what extent to discuss such issues in the classroom. At times the faculty appeared willing but not adequately prepared to approach gay and lesbian issues. Implications for social work education are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

While sexual minorities have produced large and efficacious social movements in many countries, there are few systematic studies on why gays and lesbians join these movements. To address this void, this study created a unique sample of activist and non-activist listservs to identify some factors that inspired greater involvement in protests for gay and lesbian equality (n = 285). Through the use of binary logistic regression, this study highlights the importance of several contextual, framing, and demographic variables on the protesting actions of sexual minorities. In particular, the act of protesting for gay and lesbian rights was predicted by involvement in voluntary groups, the concealment of sexual orientations, a concern over institutionalized heterosexism, and the internalizing several sorts of activist identities. Finally, racial background, but not gender, age, or economic factors, was associated with attendance at gay and lesbian rights demonstrations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]