Reading Response: gay rights scholarly article

Title: "Public Opinion About Lesbians and Gay Men" by Gregory M. Herek
Published in 2002

     I decided to investigate this article because someone had mentioned the difference in public perception between lesbians and gay men during the hour in class brainstorm. There were parts of this article and its findings which surprised me, while other findings struck me as sadly typical reactions towards homosexuality within society.

     The article mentions that at one time atheists and communists were deemed as a higher threat to society than gay people. The article cites the 1970's as a time when gay rights first became a mainstream cultural issue. The article refers to several different types of surveys and studies being conducted to gauge the level of homophobia or acceptance within society, specific to the role that gender plays in differing responses. The article reports that the surveys done focused on a response to human rights for gay people whereas the studies which are more scientific focused more on behavior responses viewing gay men and lesbians both as separate entities and individuals.

     The main focus of the article was the differences between heterosexual men and women in their perceptions and reactions to homosexuality. The article suggest that some of the discomfort towards homosexuality came from society's expectations of gender norms and gender conformity. This plays off the stereotypes of the feminine gay men and masculine lesbians.

     The author suggests that "attitudes toward homosexuality may reflect an individuals attitude towards his or her own sexuality" (pg. 43). This suggests that discrimination and fear among heterosexual individuals towards gay individuals is in part due to their own experience of homosexual desire or homosexual experience. (Have these people not heard of the Kinsey scale?) Some people also feel threatened because experiencing such desire goes against how they have framed themselves within their own mind interfering with their self-concept.

     I was surprised to find out that gay men are portrayed as pedophiles (pg. 46). How dumb can people get?! That's one of the most ignorant things I've ever heard...weird!

     It is interesting to note that under the category of "civil rights attitudes" people were more willing to accept the idea of civil rights for gay people in the "abstract" sense, yet they were unwilling to support it if it involved putting laws in place to protect such rights.

     In studies where information about lesbians was presented (first to a heterosexual male), they were less likely to have a negative reaction than if information about gay men was presented first.  If the latter was presented first, then the heterosexual male presented a negative attitude towards both homosexual groups.

     The article concluded (in a rather redundant manner) that female heterosexuals were more likely to hold a positive view of homosexual individuals. The studies indicated that there is a greater amount of discomfort for heterosexuals around someone of the same gender who is gay. This finding was stronger when considering heterosexual males. The largest gender gap identified by the article was that heterosexual males have a negative reaction towards gay men, where women are less likely to.