Are You Straight, Gay, or Somewhere Between? | Psychology Today

Contents:

• ARE YOU STRAIGHT, GAY, OR SOMEWHERE BETWEEN?
• KEV SPACEY DEFENDS COMG OUT AS GAY AFTER BEG ACCED OF SEXUAL MISNDUCT: ‘I WAS UNR A LOT OF PRSURE’

ARE YOU STRAIGHT, GAY, OR SOMEWHERE BETWEEN?

In recent years, the ia that sexual orientatn exists on a ntuum om homosexual to heterosexual wh varyg gre of bisexualy -between (ntuy) and that one’s preference for men vers women n shift overtime and ntext (sexual fluidy) has been on the ascendancy wh amia, LGBTIQ + activism, and popular culture. Reflectg this trend, a recent YouGov poll found that Amerins are now evenly spl on whether they view sexual orientatn as a ntuum (40%) vers as a gay/straight bary (42%)6—suggtg the notn of the sexual orientatn ntuum has now permeated the broar culture, 70 years on om Aled Ksey first troducg the Ksey Sle7. Typilly, is found that believg homosexualy to be blogilly termed and immutable, rather than chosen or malleable, is associated wh more acceptance of sexual mori, prumably bee gay/lbian dividuals are seen as ls blameworthy for their sexuali8, 9, 10, 11.

KEV SPACEY DEFENDS COMG OUT AS GAY AFTER BEG ACCED OF SEXUAL MISNDUCT: ‘I WAS UNR A LOT OF PRSURE’

On the other hand, viewg sexual orientatn as existg bary gay/straight tegori predicts more prejudice, perhaps bee leads gay/lbian dividuals to be seen as more fundamentally different8, 10. Relatedly, heterosexual mal more so than heterosexual femal, are motivated to mata rigid distctns between themselv and homosexual dividuals of the same genr—and exprs more homophobic attus when this distctivens is threatened28— orr to assert their heterosexualy.

MaterialsDemographicsParticipants dited their age, ethnicy, religsy, polil orientatn, birth sex, prent genr inty, and sexual orientatnA 9-pot Ksey-type ntuum31, was ed to asss sexual orientatn (1 = exclively heterosexual, 2 = almost exclively heterosexual, 3 = mostly heterosexual, 4 = heterosexual-leang bisexual, 5 = bisexual, 6 = homosexual-leang bisexual, 7 = mostly homosexual, 8 = almost exclively homosexual, 9 = exclively homosexual).

” at both pre and orientatn uncertatySexual orientatn uncertaty was measured g the sexual orientatn uncertaty subsle (4 ems) of the Lbian Gay Bisexual Inty Sle32 wh ems adapted for heterosexuals. Experimental manipulatnThe wordgs ed the ntuo and discrete ndns were closely matched—wh both g the same template—but wh specific aspects of sentenc changed to reflect eher sexual orientatn as existg on a ntuum or as existg three discrete tegori (heterosexual, bisexual, or homosexual). First, to pacify ncerns that our ntuo manipulatn may not have aquately primed ntuy, was revised to emphasize the existence of potentially fe gradatns of sexual orientatn between exclively heterosexual and exclively homosexual, rather than merely the existence of addnal termediate tegori (i.