Ambivalent Homoprejudice towards Gay Men: Theory Development and Validation

Myriad social groups are targets of hostile and benevolent (i.e., ambivalent) prejudice. However, prejudice towards gay men is typically conceptualised as hostile, despite the prevalence of benevolence towards gay men in popular media. This paper aims to compare gay men with other targets of ambivalent prejudice (i.e., women and elderly people), and draw upon the stereotype content and microaggressions literatures in order to develop a theory of ambivalent homoprejudice. The resultant framework, comprising repellent; adversarial; romanticised; and paternalistic homoprejudice was investigated using seven focus groups of heterosexuals and gay men (N = 22) and the findings were consistent with stereotype content theory. Directions for future research into the deleterious effects of ambivalent Homoprejudice and possible empowering interventions are discussed.