Document Type
Article
Abstract
In this study, we aimed to define heterosexism—a form of sexual stigma that accounts for interpersonal attitudes and institutionalized ideology—in a multi-dimensional way, centering on LGBTQ+ people’s experiences. We draw from an ambivalent theory of prejudice and focus on heterosexism, or an ideology that stigmatizes nonheterosexual behaviors, identities, relationships, and communities. We aimed to learn how LGBTQ+ people would narrate their experiences of heterosexism within a benevolent and hostile framing. In a qualitative online study, LGBTQ+ participants (N = 77; 49% White) reviewed definitions of and recalled encounters with benevolent and hostile heterosexism, providing examples of how heterosexism manifests in their lives. In our analysis, we identified themes of benevolent (positive stereotypes, assumptions of heterosexuality, conditional “acceptance”) and hostile heterosexism (verbal and physical violence, invalidation, hostile ideologies). We discuss the utility of an ambivalent prejudice framework for understanding heterosexism that builds from LGBTQ+ people’s accounts.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Publication Info
Published in Journal of Homosexuality, Volume 73, Issue 3, 2025, pages 611-637.
Rights
© 2025 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
APA Citation
Matsick, J. L., Palmer, L., Oswald, F., Kruk, M., & Ye, K. (2025). Illustrations of benevolent and hostile heterosexism in LGBTQ+ people’s lives. Journal of Homosexuality, 73(3), 611–637. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2025.2480780