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Essentialist Beliefs About Homosexuality: Structure and Implications for Prejudice

University of Melbourne

Sheri R. Levy

State University of New York at Stony Brook

The structure of beliefs about the nature of homosexuality, and their association with antigay attitudes, were examined in three studies (Ns = 309, 487, and 216). Contrary to previous research, three dimensions were obtained: the belief that homosexuality is biologically based, immutable, and fixed early in life; the belief that it is cross-culturally and historically universal; and the belief that it constitutes a discrete, entitative type with defining features. Study 1 supported a three-factor structure for essentialist beliefs about male homosexuality. Study 2 replicated this structure with confirmatory factor analysis, extended it to beliefs about lesbianism, showed that all three dimensions predicted antigay attitudes, and demonstrated that essentialist beliefs mediate associations between prejudice and gender, ethnicity, and religiosity. Study 3 replicated the belief structure and mediation effects in a community sample and showed that essentialist beliefs predict antigay prejudice independently of right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, and political conservatism.

Key Words: antigay attitudes • authoritarianism • essentialism • homosexuality • prejudice

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 32, No. 4, 471-485 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0146167205276516


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