Sectn 2: Views of Gay Men and Lbians, Roots of Homosexualy, Personal Contact wh Gays | Pew Rearch Center

Contents:

• JT ONE GAY ACQUATANCE N CHANGE HEARTS AND MDS ON LGBTQ RIGHTS, STUDY FDS
• KNOWG JT ONE GAY PERSON N SHIFT PEOPLE'S ATTUS ABOUT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
• AS MORE AMERINS HAVE NTACTS WH GAYS AND LBIANS, SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE RIS
• SECTN 2: KNOWG GAYS AND LBIANS, RELIG CONFLICTS, BELIEFS ABOUT HOMOSEXUALY
• HOW TO COME OUT AS GAY OR LBIAN
• CHANGG ATTUS ON SAME SEX MARRIAGE, GAY FRIENDS AND FAY
• KNOWG JT ONE GAY PERSON SHIFTS ATTUS
• SECTN 2: VIEWS OF GAY MEN AND LBIANS, ROOTS OF HOMOSEXUALY, PERSONAL CONTACT WH GAYS
• PEOPLE WH GAY AND LBIAN ACQUATANC TEND TO SUPPORT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
• IS FLIRTG BETWEEN GAY AND STRAIGHT MEN OKAY?
• SYNONYMS FOR GAY ACQUATANCE
• ELLT PAGE REUNTS THE TIME A FAMO ACQUATANCE TOLD HIM BEG GAY "DON'T EXIST"

JT ONE GAY ACQUATANCE N CHANGE HEARTS AND MDS ON LGBTQ RIGHTS, STUDY FDS

A new study nfirms what many have already known anecdotally: Havg at least one gay or lbian acquatance not only mak straight people more likely to support gay rights, but also mak them more acceptg of gay people phenomenon is known as "ntact theory, " acrdg to Daniel DellaPosta, the study's thor and an assistant soclogy profsor at Pennsylvania State Universy. DellaPosta, who is gay, said he has both a "personal and amic tert" the topic and was spired to rearch after fdg data that showed acceptance of homosexualy grew five-fold between 1973 and 2016. DellaPosta said his study, tled “Gay Acquatanchip and Attus Toward Homosexualy: A Conservative Tt, " is the first to provi an empiril examatn of how straight people are affected by tangential relatnships wh gay and lbian people.

In orr to do this, he pared data om the 2006, 2008 and 2010 General Social Survey (GSS), which sce 1972 has been gatherg thoands of Amerins' opns on a range of social analysis, which has sce been published the peer-reviewed journal Soci, found that “rponnts who were acquated wh at least one gay or lbian person 2006 exhibed greater shifts toward creased acceptance of homosexualy and gay marriage 2008 and 2010. He said his analysis showed that straight people wh no gay iends who enunter a gay or lbian dividual superficially, like a grocery store or on the subway, uld have their prejudic "rerced. "DellaPosta also found that while “olr, polilly nservative” straight people were the on most likely to be agast same-sex marriage 2006, they were also the on most likely to change their views on homosexualy and gay rights upon gag a gay or lbian acquatance subsequent Owen, a spokperson for PFLAG, the first and largt anizatn for LGBTQ people, their fay and alli, said “the data bears out what we’ve known anecdotally.

KNOWG JT ONE GAY PERSON N SHIFT PEOPLE'S ATTUS ABOUT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

” This philosophy dat back to at least the begng of the gay rights movement of the '60s and '70s and one of s pneerg lears, Harvey Milk, whom DellaPosta said spired his, who was assassated San Francis 40 years ago, famoly enuraged gay people to e out a letter that was only ma public after his ath. This page provis accurate rmatn for those who want to better unrstand sexual orientatn and the impact of prejudice and discrimatn on those who intify as lbian, gay, or bisexual.

AS MORE AMERINS HAVE NTACTS WH GAYS AND LBIANS, SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE RIS

Public opn studi over the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s routely showed that, among large segments of the public, lbian, gay, and bisexual people were the target of strongly held negative attus.

SECTN 2: KNOWG GAYS AND LBIANS, RELIG CONFLICTS, BELIEFS ABOUT HOMOSEXUALY

The associatn of HIV/AIDS wh gay and bisexual men and the accurate belief that some people held that all gay and bisexual men were fected served to further stigmatize lbian, gay, and bisexual people. Dpe the persistence of stereotyp that portray lbian, gay, and bisexual people as disturbed, several s of rearch and clil experience have led all mastream medil and mental health anizatns this untry to nclu that the orientatns reprent normal forms of human experience.

Helpful rpons of a therapist treatg an dividual who is troubled about her or his same sex attractns clu helpg that person actively pe wh social prejudic agast homosexualy, succsfully rolve issu associated wh and rultg om ternal nflicts, and actively lead a happy and satisfyg life. The phrase “g out” is ed to refer to several aspects of lbian, gay, and bisexual persons’ experienc: self-awarens of same-sex attractns; the tellg of one or a few people about the attractns; wispread disclosure of same-sex attractns; and intifitn wh the lbian, gay, and bisexual muny. Th, is not surprisg that lbians and gay men who feel they mt nceal their sexual orientatn report more equent mental health ncerns than do lbians and gay men who are more open; they may even have more physil health problems.

Lbian, gay, and bisexual youth who do well spe strs—like all adolcents who do well spe strs—tend to be those who are socially petent, who have good problem-solvg skills, who have a sense of tonomy and purpose, and who look forward to the future.

HOW TO COME OUT AS GAY OR LBIAN

If they are a heterosexual relatnship, their experienc may be que siar to those of people who intify as heterosexual unls they choose to e out as bisexual; that se, they will likely face some of the same prejudice and discrimatn that lbian and gay dividuals enunter. Although parable data are not available, many sgle lbians and gay men are also parents, and many same-sex upl are part-time parents to children whose primary rince is elsewhere. For example, are the children of lbian or gay parents more vulnerable to mental breakdown, do they have more behavr problems, or are they ls psychologilly healthy than other children?

The picture that emerg om this rearch shows that children of gay and lbian parents enjoy a social life that is typil of their age group terms of volvement wh peers, parents, fay members, and iends. There is no scientific support for fears about children of lbian or gay parents beg sexually abed by their parents or their parents’ gay, lbian, or bisexual iends or acquatanc. In summary, social science has shown that the ncerns often raised about children of lbian and gay parents, ncerns that are generally ground prejudice agast and stereotyp about gay people, are unfound.

Overall, the rearch dit that the children of lbian and gay parents do not differ markedly om the children of heterosexual parents their velopment, adjtment, or overall well-beg. Lbian, gay, and bisexual people who want to help rce prejudice and discrimatn n be open about their sexual orientatn, even as they take necsary preutns to be as safe as possible. When lbians, gay men, and bisexual people feel ee to make public their sexual orientatn, heterosexuals are given an opportuny to have personal ntact wh openly gay people and to perceive them as dividuals.

CHANGG ATTUS ON SAME SEX MARRIAGE, GAY FRIENDS AND FAY

Antigay attus are far ls mon among members of the populatn who have a close iend or fay member who is lbian or gay, pecially if the gay person has directly e out to the heterosexual person. A new study suggts knowg jt one gay person n change people's survey data, a soclogist at Penn State Universy found that havg a gay acquatance n change people's opns on same-sex relatnship don't have to be a ep nnectn, "ntact effect" is when our relatnships wh people change our this tance, the effect is larger when people have a low probabily of havg a gay or lbian acquatance the first place.

Even the most fleetg of social teractns n have an impact on someone's perceptns, acrdg to a new soclogil study om Penn State DellaPosta, assistant profsor of soclogy and an affiliate of the Instute for CyberScience, nducted a study which found that people who had at least one gay acquatance were more likely to change their mds to be favour of same-sex marriage, and bee more acceptg of gay people rearch volved data om the 2006, 2008, and 2010 edns of General Social Survey, which is a survey of Amerin people's opns on a range of issu, cludg gay marriage. The rults also showed how acceptance has changed over time, wh jt 11% of Amerins 1973 agreeg that "homosexualy is not wrong at all, " and that number risg to 52% more: Your bra is wired to be prejudiced towards strangers — but psychologists say there's a way to trick yourself out of DellaPosta said that soclogists have long hypothised that when people form relatnships wh each other, n change their attus about certa issu — known as the "ntact effect. Though the vast majory of Amerins say they know gays or lbians, jt over a quarter (28%) say they know “a lot” of people who are gay or lbian, while 43% say they know some and 17% say they only know one or two gays or lbians.

KNOWG JT ONE GAY PERSON SHIFTS ATTUS

While large majori of almost all mographic and partisan groups say they know someone who is gay or lbian, there are differenc both the number of gay and lbian acquatanc people have and whether people say they have close fay members or iends who are gay.

Millennials are among the most likely of any mographic or partisan group to say they know a lot of people who are gay or lbian: Nearly four--ten (38%) say so, pared wh fewer Gen Xers (28%), Boomers (22%) and Silents (15%).

There are also divis by muny type: People who live urban areas (32%) are more likely to know a lot of people who are gay and lbian than those who live suburban (27%) or ral (20%) muni. About three-quarters (73%) of those who know a lot of gays and lbians – and two-thirds (66%) of those who have gay or lbian close iends or fay members – say they support same-sex marriage. There is far ls support for same-sex marriage among those wh few or no gay or lbian acquatanc, as well as among those who do not have close iends or fay members who are gay or lbian.

SECTN 2: VIEWS OF GAY MEN AND LBIANS, ROOTS OF HOMOSEXUALY, PERSONAL CONTACT WH GAYS

Conflict between relig beliefs and homosexualy is felt particularly strongly by whe evangelil Prottants, about seven--ten (72%) of whom say there is a nflict, cludg 64% who say there is “a lot” of nflict. Six--ten black Prottants say there is eher a lot (48%) or a ltle (12%) nflict between their relig beliefs and homosexualy, while 53% of Catholics feel that their relig beliefs and homosexualy are some nflict (38% say there is a lot of nflict).

PEOPLE WH GAY AND LBIAN ACQUATANC TEND TO SUPPORT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

When asked about possible reasons why people are gay or lbian, 47% say people are born gay or lbian, while slightly fewer (40%) say ’s jt the way some people choose to live; relatively few (7%) say beg gay or lbian is a rult of a person’s upbrgg.

College graduat are far more likely than those wh ls tn to say that people are born gay or lbian: 61% of llege graduat say this, pared wh 46% of those wh some llege experience and 39% of those wh no llege experience.

Comparable percentag of Democrats (55%) and pennts (53%) say people are born gay or lbian; about four--ten each group say ’s jt the way some people choose to live (37% of Democrats, 35% of pennts).

IS FLIRTG BETWEEN GAY AND STRAIGHT MEN OKAY?

By ntrast, about as many Republins say a gay or lbian person’s sexual orientatn n be changed (45%) as say nnot be changed (47%); views among Republins are ltle changed sce 2012. Adults wh no relig affiliatn are among the most likely to say that a gay person’s sexual orientatn nnot be changed: 79% exprs this view, while jt 18% say homosexualy n be changed. Most Amerins (57%) say they would not be upset if they had a child who told them he or she was gay or lbian; 39% say they would be upset about this, cludg 17% who say they would be very upset.

However, generatnal differenc reactns to the prospect of a gay child are much wir than opns about whether or not a gay person is born that way, or whether a gay person’s sexual orientatn n be changed. Younger generatns are more acceptg of homosexualy society: 78% of Millennials, 65% of Gen Xers and 55% of Boomers say homosexualy should be accepted, while Silents are spl (45% accepted, 42% disuraged). For stance, those who view homosexual behavr as a s – 45% of the public – overwhelmgly oppose gay marriage, as do those who see a major nflict between homosexualy and their own relig beliefs.

People who met and beme acquated wh at least one gay person were more likely to later change their mds about marriage equaly and bee more acceptg of gay and lbian people general, rearch shows.

SYNONYMS FOR GAY ACQUATANCE

For example, soclogists have bated whether knowg a person wh a different sexual orientatn n fluence attus on larger issu, such as the acceptance of gay rights and marriage equaly. “By takg people that 2006 basele who were acquated wh gay and lbian people and parg them wh other people who were siar all visible regards, cludg their measured attu toward same-sex marriage and gay and lbian people at that 2006 basele, who were not acquated wh gay and lbian people, you n get a really nservative tt of the ntact hypothis, ” says DellaPosta, who reports his fdgs the journal Soci. A majory of churchgoers report hearg about homosexualy om their clergy: 55% of those who attend servic at least once or twice a month say their clergy talk about issu related to homosexualy, and 41% say they discs laws regardg homosexuals.

The vast majory of regular churchgoers who hear about homosexualy church say the msage is a negative rather than a ntral or posive one: overall, 76% say their clergy disurage homosexualy, while 4% say clergy favor acceptance of ; only 16% say their clergy take no posn when they speak about the issue. But most of those who view as sful do not thk is any more sful than adultery; 44% overall (80% of those who thk is a s) say homosexual behavr and adultery are equally sful.

ELLT PAGE REUNTS THE TIME A FAMO ACQUATANCE TOLD HIM BEG GAY "DON'T EXIST"

Asked why some people are homosexual, 42% say is “jt the way that some people prefer to live, ” pared wh 30% who thk homosexualy is somethg people are born wh and 14% who believe velops bee of the way people are brought up. In general, better-ted people are more likely than those wh ls tn to see homosexualy as nate and unchangeable rather than a liftyle choice, though even among llege graduat there is nsirable divisn of opn.

More than half of highly mted whe evangelils (53%) and 60% of black Prottants say that homosexualy is jt a way that some people prefer to live, and jt 14% say is somethg that people are born wh.