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You don't know where he's been: Sexual promiscuity negatively affects responses toward both gay and straight men
Published in Psychology of Men and Masculinities:
https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000270
Abstract:
Sexual promiscuity is a common stereotype of gay men, as well as a component of traditional masculine ideology. Working from an affordance management approach, we manipulated traits indicating sexual promiscuity, femininity, and masculinity and measured their effects on heterosexual men and women’s responses toward both gay and heterosexual men. In Study 1, women reported increased negativity toward sexually promiscuous gay men; men reported consistent negativity toward gay men across traits. Women and men reported increased negativity toward sexually promiscuous heterosexual men. Study 2 replicated these effects and included measures of threat. Women’s increased negativity toward sexually promiscuous gay men was mediated by perceived disease threats. Men reported decreased negativity toward masculine gay men, mediated through reduced gender role violation. Women and men reported increased negativity toward sexually promiscuous heterosexual men; these effects were not fully mediated by threat measures. These findings suggest that sexual promiscuity increases women’s negativity toward gay men and women and men’s negativity toward heterosexual men, underlying a need to explore attitudes and inferences associated with sexual promiscuity.