Is homophobia associated with homosexual arousal?
At the risk of mimicking Kai von Fintel's Geek Notes, I want to tout Google's (beta version of an) academic search tool, Google Scholar. I have to say, the results are excellent, and there is no need for Boolean query operators, mapping search terms to pre-chosen keywords, inclusion/exclusion of subheadings, etc., as is the case with most commercial academic databases. There are a few features that I'm not nuts about (e.g. the results consist of both actual documents that match your keywords, as well as documents that cite documents that are relevant to your keywords, and there is no way to ask for just one or the other), but overall, I'm sold. Especially in light of my latest discovery: Years ago, I read about a study at the University of Georgia where they got a bunch of subjects, administered a questionnaire to determine the subjects' level of homophobia, showed them all sexually explicit material which included homosexual images, and then measured the degree of penile engorgement (i.e. whether they get hard while watching the gay porn). The interesting result was that the homophobes stiffened up much more often than their tolerant counterparts.
Anyway, I always thought this was a brilliant study with a perfect result, providing an interesting explanation of some of the psychological underpinnings of anti-gay sentiment (i.e. suppression of a shame-inducing element of the self). But I always wondered if this study was real - I mean, the results seem almost too neat and tidy.
So, this morning, I typed "homophobia arousal" into Google Scholar and immediately found the study! And guess what? The summary I had read was dead on. So there you go: The next time some jackass homophobe is yammering on, take pity - he's really a frustrated closet case, jealous of all the hot gay love his prejudices are making him miss out on.
Here's the abstract of the study:
The authors investigated the role of homosexual arousal in exclusively heterosexual men who admitted negative affect toward homosexual individuals. Participants consisted of a group of homophobic men (n = 35) and a group of nonhomophobic men (n = 29); they were assigned to groups on the basis of their scores on the Index of Homophobia (W. W. Hudson & W. A. Ricketts, 1980). The men were exposed to sexually explicit erotic stimuli consisting of heterosexual, male homosexual, and lesbian videotapes, and changes in penile circumference were monitored. They also completed an Aggression Questionnaire (A. H. Buss & M. Perry, 1992). Both groups exhibited increases in penile circumference to the heterosexual and female homosexual videos. Only the homophobic men showed an increase in penile erection to male homosexual stimuli. The groups did not differ in aggression. Homophobia is apparently associated with homosexual arousal that the homophobic individual is either unaware of or denies.
Anyway, I always thought this was a brilliant study with a perfect result, providing an interesting explanation of some of the psychological underpinnings of anti-gay sentiment (i.e. suppression of a shame-inducing element of the self). But I always wondered if this study was real - I mean, the results seem almost too neat and tidy.
So, this morning, I typed "homophobia arousal" into Google Scholar and immediately found the study! And guess what? The summary I had read was dead on. So there you go: The next time some jackass homophobe is yammering on, take pity - he's really a frustrated closet case, jealous of all the hot gay love his prejudices are making him miss out on.
Here's the abstract of the study:
The authors investigated the role of homosexual arousal in exclusively heterosexual men who admitted negative affect toward homosexual individuals. Participants consisted of a group of homophobic men (n = 35) and a group of nonhomophobic men (n = 29); they were assigned to groups on the basis of their scores on the Index of Homophobia (W. W. Hudson & W. A. Ricketts, 1980). The men were exposed to sexually explicit erotic stimuli consisting of heterosexual, male homosexual, and lesbian videotapes, and changes in penile circumference were monitored. They also completed an Aggression Questionnaire (A. H. Buss & M. Perry, 1992). Both groups exhibited increases in penile circumference to the heterosexual and female homosexual videos. Only the homophobic men showed an increase in penile erection to male homosexual stimuli. The groups did not differ in aggression. Homophobia is apparently associated with homosexual arousal that the homophobic individual is either unaware of or denies.
posted by Jason at 9:09 AM
2 Comments:
i wouldn't let no queer touch my johnson with no tools. those dudes were queerbos for doing the study. -jason tiger
Heterosexuals are part of the the old "sex for procreation" crowd. We're a dying breed, yo.
Homosexuals are "in" and also "rad" or "sick" as the kids might say. They are "crazy sick" as the hippest kids would say, no diggity.
Funny how the hip kids and Jerry Falwell tend to agree on their terminology, innit? It's like Dubya calling Hussein "Saddam" as if he knew him personally or something. Or like when he calls Saddam "wicked" when he really means "evil" instead of a synonym for "cool."
Anyway, seriously...the modified Hudson and Ricketts scale focuses on religious and social prejudice to score homophobia and therefore most homophobes in that study would be equally phobic of lesbian coupling as of male-male coupling. So the "taboo" theory isn't as likely as the arousal-guilt-shame theory. Another possibility however is that the homophobes are more sexually focused, physiologically and therefore psychologically. So their negative attitude towards homosexuality is probably matched by an equally OVER-enthusiastic attitude towards heterosexuality, and all sexual activity causes a similar physiologic reaction.
Anyway, the most important fact re: the study is that it took place in a Confederate state. Peace out on that shit.
¡Viva la raza de la piel mezclada y morena, subiendo como una morea de angustía sobre las colonialistas!
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