0014: Ten Years of Grero, Origin Story, Homophobia Study

[andkon]

Homophobia study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8772014 and https://my.psychologytoday.com/files/u47/Henry_et_al.pdf

[david_j_stewart]

The study on homophobia you quote intrigues me because I worked at the University of Georgia during the time period of the study, and would have bumped into these guys on the street, on the bus, in the cafeteria... I find it interesting that the researchers had trouble finding exclusively heterosexual subjects who were NOT homophobic to some extent. Like all university towns, alternative lifestyles were more generally accepted at UGA than in the surrounding region; it was here that the B-52s and R.E.M. got their start, so you know there were plenty of high-visibility examples for students to experience. Could it be that the permissive local culture gave well-adjusted men permission to experiment, thus taking them out of the "exclusively hetersexual" pool? But then you have to wonder why a guy who has absolutely no interest in other guys would bother experimenting. Which means a permissive culture would just reveal the latent tendencies that already exist.

If undergraduate psychology students are representative of the general population (a dicey proposition at best) then it stands to reason that the proportion of male students who are both exclusively heterosexual and totally non-homophobic is very low. I wouldn't be surprised to discover if 2% of the male population is exclusively homosexual, that an equal percentage is exclusively and clinically heterosexual. What can we say about the rest? Obviously, that 95% of all males experience at least some arousal in the presence of aroused males.

But then, every woman knows that all men are sluts... But it does point out that a high proportion of the adult males in this culture are repressed in some way. And that can't be good from a mental health perspective, nor can it be good for society as a whole.

[andkon]

The study on homophobia you quote intrigues me because I worked at the University of Georgia during the time period of the study, and would have bumped into these guys on the street, on the bus, in the cafeteria... I find it interesting that the researchers had trouble finding exclusively heterosexual subjects who were NOT homophobic to some extent. Like all university towns, alternative lifestyles were more generally accepted at UGA than in the surrounding region; it was here that the B-52s and R.E.M. got their start, so you know there were plenty of high-visibility examples for students to experience. Could it be that the permissive local culture gave well-adjusted men permission to experiment, thus taking them out of the "exclusively hetersexual" pool?

If so, they didn't admit to it. The study picked only self-described exclusive heterosexuals, in practice and thought. Anyone who admitted to same-sex sex or same-sex desires would have been eliminated from consideration.

But then you have to wonder why a guy who has absolutely no interest in other guys would bother experimenting. Which means a permissive culture would just reveal the latent tendencies that already exist.

The study mentions the university's Psychology Department Research Subject Pool. I imagine people submit their name for consideration for any study so it's not as if the subjects specifically picked the study themselves.

However it's not surprising that few straight men exist who are completely non-homophobic because few men are inherently straight to begin with so there must be some subconscious unease. That sounds a bit circular, but witness the ancient world in Chapter 1 and the cultures profiled in Chapter 6.

If undergraduate psychology students are representative of the general population (a dicey proposition at best) then it stands to reason that the proportion of male students who are both exclusively heterosexual and totally non-homophobic is very low. I wouldn't be surprised to discover if 2% of the male population is exclusively homosexual, that an equal percentage is exclusively and clinically heterosexual. What can we say about the rest? Obviously, that 95% of all males experience at least some arousal in the presence of aroused males.

But then, every woman knows that all men are sluts... But it does point out that a high proportion of the adult males in this culture are repressed in some way. And that can't be good from a mental health perspective, nor can it be good for society as a whole.

Amen.

[david_j_stewart]

I appreciate the response :)

The study mentions the university's Psychology Department Research Subject Pool. I imagine people submit their name for consideration for any study so it's not as if the subjects specifically picked the study themselves.

I really don't know how the subjects entered the study pool. When I was part of a follow-up study a couple of years later, I simply answered a vaguely-worded advertisement in the campus newspaper. Since these subjects received partial course credit the implication is that these were students taking psychology courses. I think you're right; the normal approach is to reveal nothing about the study itself until afther the student agrees to be part of the study pool.

Anyone who admitted to same-sex sex or same-sex desires would have been eliminated from consideration.

Quite true. The report does not actually say what proportion of the study pool was chosen for the laboratory portion of the study. Chances are, all of the exlusively hetero respondants were given the opportunity to be fitted for the penile plethysmography.

The authors were hesitant to say that simple "unease" with gay porn is equivalent to homophobia. I don't see a real difference: it seems to me that overt hostility doesn't appear in a vacuum, it has to start from feeling uneasy in the presence of man-on-man intimacy, and be blown out of proportion by trauma, self-loathing, or some other indoctrination.

[andkon]

I appreciate the response :)

Likewise!

I really don't know how the subjects entered the study pool. When I was part of a follow-up study a couple of years later, I simply answered a vaguely-worded advertisement in the campus newspaper. Since these subjects received partial course credit the implication is that these were students taking psychology courses. I think you're right; the normal approach is to reveal nothing about the study itself until afther the student agrees to be part of the study pool.

Do you know if the study was ever published? Also, did they filter out non-heteros? (If so, how did you end up in it?)

Anyone who admitted to same-sex sex or same-sex desires would have been eliminated from consideration.

Quite true. The report does not actually say what proportion of the study pool was chosen for the laboratory portion of the study. Chances are, all of the exlusively hetero respondants were given the opportunity to be fitted for the penile plethysmography.

The authors were hesitant to say that simple "unease" with gay porn is equivalent to homophobia. I don't see a real difference: it seems to me that overt hostility doesn't appear in a vacuum, it has to start from feeling uneasy in the presence of man-on-man intimacy, and be blown out of proportion by trauma, self-loathing, or some other indoctrination.

I imagine most of it is a fear of what others will think. And it's not such an easy identity to maintain since heterosexuality is a fragile prescription of what humans should be, not a description of what they are. The early Christians took for granted that most men did like other men (some fundamentalists still do) so that lingering idea that one could infected with the gay must create anxiety. How do I avoid the gayness? Bark at the gays! Take a look at a quote from Catcher in the Rye:

He said it didn't matter if a guy was married or not. He said half the married guys in the world were flits [50's slang for homosexual] and didn't even know it. He said you could turn into one practically overnight, if you had all the traits and all. He used to scare the hell out of us. I kept waiting to turn into a flit or something.

The 1950's were more honest. The "born that minority way" stuff muddies the waters now and makes it difficult to see where homophobia comes from. These men have a genuine, if subconscious, fear of acting on their (same-)sexual attractions. What will others think if I want to suck a cock? I won't be part of the in-group. I recall a Sopranos episode with a similar, albeit completely heterosexual, problem. All the tough mobsters performed cunnilingus on their women, but they all went to lengths to deny it as it was a sign of effeminacy.