One Way or the Other
Laura Barron & Michelle Hebl
Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, forthcoming
Abstract:
Except for some U.S. states and localities, gay men and lesbians are largely unprotected from employment discrimination. In debate over national legislation (Employment Non-Discrimination Act), some legislators have questioned the efficacy of antidiscrimination legislation. To address this issue, we conducted three studies. In Study 1, we documented public awareness of sexual orientation employment antidiscrimination laws by contacting 111 households in areas that do and do not offer city-wide protective laws. In Study 2, we examined the discrimination directed toward applicants who portrayed themselves as gay (lesbian) or nongay while applying for 295 retail jobs in neighboring cities with or without legislation. In Study 3, we conducted a lab experiment in which prior to interviewing a gay or lesbian confederate applicant for a management position, 229 participants were led to believe that their area either does or does not have sexual orientation antidiscrimination legislation. Our results, taken as a whole, reveal that public awareness of sexual orientation laws is heightened in communities with (vs. without) legislation (Study 1), that gay/lesbian applicants experience decreased discrimination when they have protective legislation (Study 2), and that reduced discrimination still occurs when legal awareness is randomly assigned and manipulated in a laboratory setting (Study 3). We discuss the theory behind these findings and aim to inform legislative debate with some of the first-known empirically based research estimates for the likely efficacy of pending national legislation (i.e., Employment Non-Discrimination Act).
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Gendered or Ungendered? The Perception of Children in Ancient Israel
Kristine Henriksen Garroway
Journal of Near Eastern Studies, April 2012, Pages 95-114
Abstract:
This article incorporates children into the field of gender studies by using mortuary contexts to examine the gendering process of infants and children within the geographical region of ancient Israel during the Middle Bronze II (ca 1900-1550 b.c.e.) and Second Temple (ca 50 b.c.e.-50 c.e.) periods. Such a study is necessary because gender studies of this region have by and large ignored the importance of children. The paper begins with an overview of gender theory and childhood and follows with a discussion of two case studies in mortuary contexts. The data gleaned from the burials reveal a tension in the way the gender of children was represented. It appears that in both time periods children (ages 3-12 years) were in the process of being gendered, while infants (ages birth-2 years) were seen as genderless or "other."
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Group Cohesion without Group Mobilization: The Case of Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals
Patrick Egan
British Journal of Political Science, July 2012, Pages 597-616
Abstract:
Group identities that are chosen, rather than inherited, are often associated with cohesive political attitudes and behaviours. Conventional wisdom holds that this distinctiveness is generated by mobilization through processes such as intra-group contact and acculturation. This article identifies another mechanism that can explain cohesiveness: selection. The characteristics that predict whether an individual selects a group identity may themselves determine political attitudes, and thus may account substantially for the political cohesion of those who share the identity. This mechanism is illustrated with analyses of the causes and consequences of the acquisition of lesbian, gay or bisexual identity. Seldom shared by parents and offspring, gay identity provides a rare opportunity to cleanly identify the selection process and its implications for political cohesion.
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Male Team Sport Hazing Initiations in a Culture of Decreasing Homohysteria
Eric Anderson, Mark McCormack & Harry Lee
Journal of Adolescent Research, July 2012, Pages 427-448
Abstract:
In this longitudinal ethnographic research, we report on 7 years of hazing rituals on two separate men's sports teams at one university in the United Kingdom. Using 38 in-depth interviews alongside naturalistic observations of the initiation rituals, we demonstrate that hazing activities have changed from being centered around homophobic same-sex activities to focusing on extreme levels of alcohol consumption. We show that whereas same-sex activities once occurred paradoxically to prohibit them, today these initiations open up the possibility of same-sex behaviors for young men in the life stage of emergent adulthood.
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Gender threats and men's antigay behaviors: The harmful effects of asserting heterosexuality
Jennifer Bosson et al.
Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, Pages 471-486
Abstract:
Whereas recent work on gender role violations suggests that asserting their heterosexuality may diminish the harmful effects of gender threats (versus gender affirmations) on men's antigay reactions, predictions derived from social identity theory suggest that asserting heterosexuality can exacerbate the negative effects of a gender threat on antigay reactions. Two studies tested these competing hypotheses. In Study 1, gender threatened versus affirmed men sent more intense noise blasts at a gay partner, but only if they asserted their heterosexuality. In Study 2, men high in sexual prejudice who underwent a gender threat sat farther from a gay confederate than gender affirmed men, but only if they asserted heterosexuality. Discussion considers the theoretical and practical implications of these findings, and highlights directions for future research.
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Konstanze Meindl et al.
Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, 22 June 2012, Pages 2457-2463
Abstract:
During human ontogeny, testosterone has powerful organizational and activational effects on the male organism. This has led to the hypothesis that the prenatal environment (as studied through the second-to-fourth digit ratio, 2D : 4D) is not only associated with robust adult male faces that are perceived as dominant and masculine, but also that there is an activational step during puberty. To test the latter, we collected digit ratios and frontal photographs of right-handed Caucasian boys (aged 4-11 years) along with age, body height and body weight. Using geometric morphometrics, we show a significant relationship between facial shape and 2D : 4D before the onset of puberty (explaining 14.5% of shape variation; p = 0.014 after 10 000 permutations, n = 17). Regression analyses depict the same shape patterns as in adults, namely that the lower the 2D : 4D, the smaller and shorter the forehead, the thicker the eyebrows, the wider and shorter the nose, and the larger the lower face. Our findings add to previous evidence that certain adult male facial characteristics that elicit attributions of masculinity and dominance are determined very early in ontogeny. This has implications for future studies in various fields ranging from social perception to life-history strategies.
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Factors Associated with Higher Fecundity in Female Maternal Relatives of Homosexual Men
Andrea Camperio Ciani et al.
Journal of Sexual Medicine, forthcoming
Introduction: Recent evidence suggests that sexually antagonistic genetic factors in the maternal line promote homosexuality in men and fecundity in female relatives. However, it is not clear if and how these genetic factors are phenotypically expressed to simultaneously induce homosexuality in men and increased fecundity in their mothers and maternal aunts.
Aims: The aim of the present study was to investigate the phenotypic expression of genetic factors that could explain increased fecundity in the putative female carriers.
Methods: Using a questionnaire-based approach, which included also the Big Five Questionnaire personality inventory based on the Big Five theory, we investigated fecundity in 161 female European subjects and scrutinized possible influences, including physiological, behavioral, and personality factors. We compared 61 female probands who were either mothers or maternal aunts of homosexual men. One hundred females who were mothers or aunts of heterosexual men were used as controls.
Main Outcome Measures: Personality traits, retrospective physiological and clinical data, behavior and opinions on fecundity-related issues were assessed and analyzed to illustrate possible effects on fecundity between probands and control females.
Results: Our analysis showed that both mothers and maternal aunts of homosexual men show increased fecundity compared with corresponding maternal female relatives of heterosexual men. A two-step statistical analysis, which was based on t-tests and multiple logistic regression analysis, showed that mothers and maternal aunts of homosexual men (i) had fewer gynecological disorders; (ii) had fewer complicated pregnancies; (iii) had less interest in having children; (iv) placed less emphasis on romantic love within couples; (v) placed less importance on their social life; (vi) showed reduced family stability; (vii) were more extraverted; and (viii) had divorced or separated from their spouses more frequently.
Conclusions: Our findings are based on a small sample and would benefit from a larger replication, however they suggest that if sexually antagonistic genetic factors that induce homosexuality in males exist, the factors might be maintained in the population by contributing to increased fecundity greater reproductive health, extraversion, and a generally relaxed attitude toward family and social values in females of the maternal line of homosexual men.
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Doretta Caramaschi et al.
Psychoneuroendocrinology, forthcoming
Background: Testosterone is the key hormone for the development of male reproductive organs and secondary sexual characteristics. In addition, testosterone is associated with behavioural traits, including sexual behaviour and social dominance. The level of circulating testosterone in the human body is determined by genetic and environmental factors. Twin studies have shown moderate to high heritability in adolescence and adulthood, but heritability in early childhood has not been investigated. This study aimed at disentangling the genetic and environmental contributions to testosterone levels soon after birth.
Methods: Using a sample of 314 twin pairs, saliva testosterone levels were measured at 5 months after birth. Quantitative genetic modelling was used to assess genetic and environmental contributions to the variation in testosterone levels.
Results: Variation in testosterone levels was explained by common (56.6%) and unique (43.4%) environmental factors.
Conclusions: Taken together, these data from the largest study of twin testosterone levels suggest that, in contrast to findings in adulthood, environmental factors determine the interindividual variability in testosterone levels in early infancy. This may have consequences for the development of sex-related behaviour during childhood and calls for studies designed to unravel specific genetic and environmental factors involved in this process.
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Michael Lombardo et al.
Biological Psychiatry, forthcoming
Background: Sex differences are present in many neuropsychiatric conditions that affect emotion and approach-avoidance behavior. One potential mechanism underlying such observations is testosterone in early development. Although much is known about the effects of testosterone in adolescence and adulthood, little is known in humans about how testosterone in fetal development influences later neural sensitivity to valenced facial cues and approach-avoidance behavioral tendencies.
Methods: With functional magnetic resonance imaging we scanned 25 8-11-year-old children while viewing happy, fear, neutral, or scrambled faces. Fetal testosterone (FT) was measured via amniotic fluid sampled between 13 and 20 weeks gestation. Behavioral approach-avoidance tendencies were measured via parental report on the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Rewards questionnaire.
Results: Increasing FT predicted enhanced selectivity for positive compared with negatively valenced facial cues in reward-related regions such as caudate, putamen, and nucleus accumbens but not the amygdala. Statistical mediation analyses showed that increasing FT predicts increased behavioral approach tendencies by biasing caudate, putamen, and nucleus accumbens but not amygdala to be more responsive to positive compared with negatively valenced cues. In contrast, FT was not predictive of behavioral avoidance tendencies, either through direct or neurally mediated paths.
Conclusions: This work suggests that testosterone in humans acts as a fetal programming mechanism on the reward system and influences behavioral approach tendencies later in life. As a mechanism influencing atypical development, FT might be important across a range of neuropsychiatric conditions that asymmetrically affect the sexes, the reward system, emotion processing, and approach behavior.
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Social networks and risk for depressive symptoms in a national sample of sexual minority youth
Mark Hatzenbuehler, Katie McLaughlin & Ziming Xuan
Social Science & Medicine, forthcoming
Abstract:
The aim of the study was to examine the social networks of sexual minority youths and to determine the associations between social networks and depressive symptoms. Data were obtained from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally representative cohort study of American adolescents (N = 14,212). Wave 1 (1994-1995) collected extensive information about the social networks of participants through peer nomination inventories, as well as measures of sexual minority status and depressive symptoms. Using social network data, we examined three characteristics of adolescents' social relationships: (1) social isolation; (2) degree of connectedness; and (3) social status. Sexual minority youths, particularly females, were more isolated, less connected, and had lower social status in peer networks than opposite-sex attracted youths. Among sexual minority male (but not female) youths, greater isolation as well as lower connectedness and status within a network were associated with greater depressive symptoms. Moreover, greater isolation in social networks partially explained the association between sexual minority status and depressive symptoms among males. Finally, a significant 3-way interaction indicated that the association between social isolation and depression was stronger for sexual minority male youths than non-minority youths and sexual minority females. These results suggest that the social networks in which sexual minority male youths are embedded may confer risk for depressive symptoms, underscoring the importance of considering peer networks in both research and interventions targeting sexual minority male adolescents.
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Dual Minority Stress and Asian American Gay Men's Psychological Distress
Yung-Chi Chen & Georgiana Shick Tryon
Journal of Community Psychology, July 2012, Pages 539-554
Abstract:
The present study investigated the direct and additive effects of racial minority stress and sexual minority stress on the psychological well-being among a community sample of 139 Asian American gay men. Self-esteem was tested to see whether it moderated or mediated the effects of perceived dual minority stress on psychological distress. Results revealed that sexual minority stress predicted self-esteem and both were predictors of psychological distress. Racial minority stress did not predict psychological distress. Contrary to the minority stress model existing in the current literature, the added disadvantages of racial/ethnic minority status did not increase Asian American gay men's psychological distress. Self-esteem did not mediate or moderate the relationships between minority stresses and psychological distress. These findings highlight the robust effects of stresses related to one's homosexuality on psychological well-being and suggest that self-esteem may not always protect against multiple discriminations for Asian American gay men.
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Meredith Worthen, Susan Sharp & Forrest Rodgers
Criminal Justice Review, June 2012, Pages 239-261
Abstract:
Research examining attitudes toward the death penalty has led to a variety of theoretical and practical implications that continue to inform both research and policy. While many studies have examined how race, class, and gender are related to attitudes toward the death penalty, there is a complete lack of literature regarding sexual orientation and attitudes toward the death penalty. This is quite surprising since demographic research suggests that gay and lesbian individuals (compared to heterosexual individuals) have significantly higher levels of education and may be much more likely to align with liberal politics (two things that have been found to be correlated with a lack of support for the death penalty). Furthermore, studies suggest that gender differences in attitudes toward capital punishment can be related to the fact that women are socialized to be more empathic than men; however, it is unclear how these gender differences in empathic concern may be related to death penalty attitudes among gay and lesbian individuals. In this exploratory analysis using the General Social Survey (years 2002 and 2004), the authors investigate gay and lesbian individuals' attitudes toward the use of the death penalty. Preliminary findings indicate that similar to heterosexuals, the majority of gay and lesbian individuals support the death penalty; however, being a gay man exerts a significant negative effect on death penalty support. Furthermore, both empathic concern and political beliefs entirely mediate the effects of gender and sexual orientation on attitudes toward the death penalty.
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No evidence for sexual dimorphism of facial width-to-height ratio in four large adult samples
Carmen Lefevre et al.
Evolution and Human Behavior, forthcoming
Abstract:
Sexual dimorphism in physical appearance may be an important cue in both intra- and intersex competition. Recently, the facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) has been proposed as a novel sexually dimorphic morphologic measure, with men suggested to have a higher fWHR than women. Currently, however, the status of fWHR as a sexually dimorphic trait is unclear. Here we tested for sexual dimorphism in fWHR, as well as in three additional, previously reported facial measures, in four (three Caucasian and one African) independent samples. In three of the four samples, no significant sex differences in fWHR were observed. In one sample, males showed a significantly lower (rather than higher) fWHR than females (this effect was no longer significant after controlling for body mass index). By contrast, significant and large sex differences were observed in all four samples for each of the three previously validated facial metrics, namely, (a) lower face/face height, (b) cheekbone prominence, and (c) face width/lower face height. These results provide strong evidence against the claim that fWHR, at least as measured from the surface of the face, is sexually dimorphic.