Evidence for the Sexuality-as-Gendered Framework From Interpersonal Contact

Abstract

People’s beliefs about sexual minorities are intertwined with their beliefs about gender (i.e., the sexuality-as-gendered framework), leading to the prediction that the amount of friendly contact with sexual minorities will be related to one’s beliefs about gender. We test this prediction across two studies (total N = 860), to show that reported friendships with sexual minorities relate not only to beliefs about sexual minorities, but also to attitudes toward people who are gender atypical, beliefs about traditional gender roles and norms, and endorsement of different versions of sexism. Our findings indicate that the sexuality-as-gendered framework involves not only people’s cognitions in terms of beliefs and attitudes, but also the types of interpersonal relationships they maintain.

Keywords

gender roles sexuality/sexual orientation contact sexism conservatism

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