Invited talk at te University of Liége

1. “Sexual Prejudice and Attitudes
toward Same-Sex Parented
Families”
Pedro Alexandre Costa, PhD

2. Outline
• Stereotype, prejudice, stigma, and
discrimination.
• Sex, gender, gender identity, sexual
identity, sexual orientation.
• Combating prejudice.
• Same-sex parented families: diversity and
demographics.
• Scientific evidence on same-sex parented
families.
• Sexual prejudice and same-sex families.

3. Exercice
How do you define Stereotype?
How do you define Prejudice?
How do you define Discrimination?
How do you define Stigma?

4. Stereotypes
Beliefs about individuals (good or bad)
bad) that are generalized to a social
social group.
Prejudice
Negative beliefs toward individuals
who belong to a particular social
group.
Discrimination
Different and negative treatment of
individuals who belong to a particular
social group.
Cognitive-based
Affective-based
Action-based

5. What is stigma?
“Stigma refers to the negative regard and inferior
status that society collectively accords to the
people who possess a particular characteristic or belong to
a particular group or category. Inherent in this definition is
the fact that stigma constitutes shared knowledge about
which attributes and categories are valued by society,
which ones are denigrated, and how these valuations vary
across situations. Sexual stigma is a particular instance of
this phenomenon. It is the stigma attached to any
nonheterosexual behavior, identity, relationship, or
community. In other words, it is socially shared knowledge
about homosexuality’s devalued status relative to
heterosexuality.”
(Herek, 2009)

6. Sexual Prejudice
Sexual Prejudice is understood
as part of the internalized
sexual stigma, (i.e., the
adoption of a social system of
beliefs and values about a
group of people), in this case,
Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual,
(LGB) people. “Sexual prejudice
is internalized sexual stigma
that results in the negative
evaluation of sexual minorities”.
(Herek, 2009)

7. What is Sexual Prejudice?
"Prejudice is an antipathy based on faulty and
inflexible generalization. It may be felt or expressed. It
may be directed toward a group or an individual of
that group".
(Allport, 1954)
“Compulsory heterosexuality”: Society’s restrictions to
individuals’ gender expressions and behaviors.
Because compulsory heterosexuality is explicitly
gendered, individuals’ are prescribed to which class
of individuals (males or females) they should be
attracted to.
(Rich, 1983)

8. “Anti-Gay” Prejudice

9. Roots of Prejudice
 Socialization – social learning and modeling.
Social Identity theory – social divisions: in-group
versus out-group.
 Cognitive processes – categorization:
information processing, decision making.
 Scapegoat theory – anger placement.

10. Levels of Sexual Prejudice
Individual
 Community
 Institutional (heterosexism)

11. Sexual Attitude
An enduring mental representation of a
person, place, or thing that evokes an
emotional response and related
behavior
Measure of sexual prejudice.

12. Measurement of Attitudes
- Index of Homophobia (IHP) (Hudson & Ricketts,
1980);
- Kite Homosexuality Attitude Scale (Kite &
Deaux, 1986);
- Attitudes Toward Lesbian and Gay Men–
Revised (ATLG-R) (Herek, 1988);
- Multidimensional Attitudes Toward
Homosexuality Scale (LeMar & Kite, 1998);
- Affective Reactions toward Gay Men and
Lesbians (Costa & Davies, 2012).

13. Who is targeted?

14. Gender nonconformity
Individuals who are perceived as
transgressing normative gender roles and
behaviors.
Targets of stigma, prejudice and
discrimination.

16. Individual Differences in Sexual
Prejudice
1. Social Conservatism
2. Religiosity
3. Sex and Gender
4. Etiological Beliefs
5. Other

17. 1. Social Conservatism
o Authoritarian Personality: rigid thinkers who obey
authority, see the world as b&w, and enforce strict
adherence to social rules and hierarchies (Adorno et
al., 1950); Right-Wing Authoritarianism (Altemeyer,
1996).
o Social Dominance Orientation: people who view the
social world hierarchically are more likely than
others to hold prejudices toward low-status groups.
This is especially true of people who want their own
group to dominate and be superior to other groups
(Pratto, Sidanius, Stallworth, & Malle, 1994).

18. 2. Religiosity
o Most forms of religiosity – fundamentalism,
religious service attendence, orthodoxy,
self-rated religiosity, and intrinsic
orientation – are related in various
degrees to sexual prejudice (Whitley,
2009).
o Atheism and spirituality (not affiliated with
any religion) are more accepting of
homosexuality (Barringer et atl., 2013).

19. 3. Sex & Gender
o Sex: Males more prejudiced than females due to
gender roles.
o Sex: Male homosexuality is a worse
transgression than female homosexuality.
o Sexism: High correlation between sexism and
sexual prejudice.
o Gender-role beliefs: Tradicional gender-role
beliefs and “tradicional family values” associated
with sexual prejudice.

20. 4. Etiological beliefs
o Controllability of homosexuality: people who
believe that homosexuality is acquired,
learned, or chosen hold more prejudicial
attitudes (Weiner, 1979, 1985).
o Biological essencialism: people who believe
that homosexuality is innate and biologically
determined hold more positive attitudes
(Altemeyer, 2001).

21. 5. Other
o Age
o Geography
o Education
o Social attitudes

22. Combating Prejudice
Even longer-lasting reductions in
prejudice are possible when people are
made aware of inconsistencies in their
values, attitudes, and behaviors.
Allport’s contact hypothesis: value of
intergroup contact in reducing
prejudice.

23. Interpersonal Contact Theory
Optimal conditions:
- Equal group status,
- Common goals;
- Intergroup cooperation;
- Social norms.
(Allport, 1954)
However, these conditions are optimal but not essencial….
- Amount of contact – Familiarity becomes liking (Pettigrew &
Tropp, 2006)
- Affective processes – Empathy versus Anxiety

24. Motivation for overcoming prejudice
o Internal motivation to respond without
prejudice: based on a belief that
prejudicial attitudes are wrong;
o External motivation to respond without
prejudice: based on social policing,
“politically incorrect”.
(Plant & Devine, 1998)

25. Same-Sex Parented
Families

26. Same-Sex Parented Families
Characterizes families headed by two
fathers, two mothers, but also by single gay
men, lesbians, and bisexual men and
women.
“Homoparentalité”
Homo = equal (same sex)

27. Diversity in Family Arrangements
Lesbian-led families
• Post-divorce or
reconstituted
• Assisted reproductive
technologies
• Private artificial
insemination
• Adoption
Gay-led families
• Post-divorce of
reconstituted
• Surrogacy
• Private sperm donation
• Adoption

28. How many families?
EUA (Bryant & Demian, 1994) EUA (Gates, 2013)
- 1 in 5 lesbians; - 1 in 3 lesbians;
- 1 in 9 homens gay men - 1 in 6 gay men.
More than 125,000 same-sex couples are raising an estimated
220,000 biological, step, or adopted children.
An estimated 3 million LGBT individuals have had a child.
Portugal (Costa, Pereira, & Leal, 2013)
- 1 in 10 lesbians
- 7 in 100 homens gay men.
Over 15,000 LGBT individuals who have had children.

29. Scientific Evidence
Child Development
o Emotional development (self-esteem, well-being,
psychological adjustment);
o Behavioral adjustment (problem behaviors);
o Cognitive development (intelectual competences,
school outcomes);
o Gender identity & Sexual identity

30. Scientific Evidence
Parenting Competences
o Psychological adjustment (well-being, health or
mental health problems);
o Parental investment (parenting desire, attachement);
o Dyadic adjustment (couple’s communication and
support, dyadic satisfacion).

31. Sexual Prejudice and Same-Sex
Families
Why study sexual prejudice regarding same-sex
families?
What does PARENTING have to do with
SEXUALITY?

32. Social Oppression
Legal Unequal access to marriage and parenting
rights;
Medical Prejudice in clinical settings; obstacles to the
social (co-)parent;
Psychological Managing “family secret”; support and
community responses; consequences of stigma
(internalization);
Educational Schools permeable to religion and
prejudice; peer harassment and bullying;
Society Structural stigma and inequalities,
discrimination; micro-agressions.
(Costa et al., 2013)

33. Decomposing arguments against same-sex
parenting
Under the guise of the “Child’s Best Interests”…
UNITED KINGDOM
- It is sinful
- It is unnatural
- Parents are selfish
- Inappropriate role models
- Children will be gay
- Children will be bullied
(Clarke, 2001)
PORTUGAL
- Traditional family values
- Homosexuality is a
pathology
- Moral inferiority of
homosexuality
- Complementary nature of
gender
- Parental incapacity
- Child will have emotional
and psychological problems
(Costa et al., 2013)

34. Quasi-experimental study
Case vignette (scenario)
“John and Will have been a couple for 10 years, committed to each
other and happy. However, they have a strong desire to be parents, and
because they can’t have children they decided to adopt. John and Will
both have a university degree, are professionally successful, and are
beloved by their families and friends. Both their parents are very
excited with the idea of becoming grandparents, and are available to
help them in whatever they need to welcome the child into the family.
John and Will have a two-bedroom apartment in the same city where
they work. Their friends and colleagues describe them as calm,
available and attentive persons, believing that they both possess the
qualities needed to be good parents. They have some child-caring
experience, especially with John’s nephews. After a lot of thought
about this, they initiated the adoption process and are going to the
meeting with the adoption worker. They are very excited to fulfill their
desire to be parents. They are waiting to be accepted as candidates to
adopt a child.” (Costa et al., 2013)

35. Are there any diferences?
When comparing the responses to the three case
vignettes:
1) Participants evaluated the same-sex couples less
favorably than they did diferent-sex couples
- 100% different-sex couples would CERTAINLY be good
parents
- 27% same-sex couples would CERTAINLY be good
parents;
2) Participants antecipated more psychological problems in
children adopted by a same-sex couple;
3) Participants antecipated more social adjustment
problems in children adopted by a same-sex couple;
4) Participants antecipated more social problems in
children adopted by a male couples than by a female

36. Sex
Age
Religious
beliefs
Political
leaning
Etiological
beliefs
Lesbian/
gay
friends
Nº lesbian/
gay friends
Individual diferences and
Beliefs
Homonegativity
.93
Negative
Perceptions
Same-Sex Families
(Costa et al., 2013)

37. Individual Sexual Prejudice in Europe
(Source: Commissioner for Human Rights,
2011)

38. Individual Sexual Prejudice in Europe
(Source: Commissioner for Human Rights,
2011)

39. Structural Sexual Prejudice in
Europe Same-sex Marriage allowed in 9 member states:
- Belgium, Iceland, France, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain,
Sweden, United Kingdom.
Registrated Partnerships allowed in 11 member states: Andorra,
Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary,
Ireland, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Switzerland.
Adoption allowed in 9 member states:
- Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Spain,
Sweden, United Kingdom.
Co-adoption alllowed in 12 member states:
- 9 + Austria, Finland, Germany.
Artificial Insemination allowed in 9 member states:
- Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Spain,
Sweden, United Kingdom.

40. Social Impact of Sexual
Prejudice
 Unequal and unfair treatment of sexual
minorities, in particular same-sex
parented families;
 Threat to family well-being and stability;
 Unprotection of children and youth with
gay or lesbian parents;

41. Psychological Impact of Sexual
Prejudice
 Minority Stress Model (Meyer, 1995)
Stress exposure
Health disparities
Mental disorders
 Self-Stigma (Herek, 2009)

42. Sexual Prejudice and Attitudes toward
Same-Sex Parented Families
Where do we go from here?
Thank you for your attention!
pcosta@ispa.pt