"Gay Equals White"? Racial, Ethnic, and Sexual Identities and Attitudes Toward LGBT Individuals Among College Students at a Bible Belt University

While past research has certainly explored a variety of correlates of attitudes toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals, the current study is among the first in an emerging line of inquiry that examines attitudes toward each of these groups separately utilizing an intersect...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of sex research 2018-10, Vol.55 (8), p.995-1011
Main Author: Worthen, Meredith G. F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African Americans
American Indians
Attitudes
Bible
Bisexuality
College students
Ethnic identity
Ethnicity
Family relations
Gays & lesbians
Gender roles
Heterosexuality
Homosexuality
Indigenous peoples
Intersectionality
Lesbianism
LGBTQ people
Pacific Islander people
Patriarchy
Race
Racial identity
Religiosity
Sexual orientation
Social identity
Student attitudes
Transgender persons
White people
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Summary:While past research has certainly explored a variety of correlates of attitudes toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals, the current study is among the first in an emerging line of inquiry that examines attitudes toward each of these groups separately utilizing an intersectional framework with special attention to racial, ethnic, and sexual identities. Using a college sample of students from the Bible Belt of the United States (N = 1,940), I investigated the roles of racial and ethnic identities (Caucasian/White, African American/Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American/Alaskan Native, other race, and Hispanic/Latinx), religiosity, patriarchal gender norms, parental perspectives, and the intersections among these identities and experiences as they relate to attitudes toward LGBT individuals among heterosexual (n = 1,551) and LGB respondents (n = 389). This moves beyond explorations of White heterosexual people's attitudes about "homosexuals" (i.e., away from a focus only on gayness and Whiteness) and expands to include non-White LGB people's LGBT attitudes. Overall, results indicate that racial, ethnic, and sexual identities play a significant role in southern college students' LGBT attitudes, and these patterns are further complicated by interacting cultural experiences with religiosity, patriarchy, and family dynamics. Campus policy and program implications are provided.
ISSN:0022-4499
1559-8519
DOI:10.1080/00224499.2017.1378309