Using a convenience sample of 157 undergraduates, this study explored the likeability ratings of target characters from selected film clips who were described as gay or heterosexual as they associated with a gay-described foil character (i.e., a character against which the target is compared). As predicted, male respondents who strongly endorsed anti-gay prejudice viewed gay-described targets m...

Recent scholarship suggests that the gay/lesbian idyllisation of rural places is an urban construct, constituted through metropolitan sensibilities, communities and imaginaries. We extend this work through examining the construction of Daylesford, Victoria, as a ‘gay/lesbian rural idyll’. Daylesford annually hosts ChillOut, Australia’s largest rural gay/lesbian festival, which underpins its idy...

Developmental theories of the biological basis of sexual orientation suggest that sexually differentiated psychological and behavioural traits should be linked with sexual orientation. Subgroups of gay men delineated by anal sex roles differ according to at least one such trait: gender expression. The present study assessed the hypothesis that handedness, a biologically determined sexually diff...

This study posits that although the South African government has shown an unprecedented commitment to acknowledging and upholding the human rights of lesbians and gay men, negative attitudes exist towards lesbians and gay men in university communities. A survey of 880 heterosexual students (356 men and 524 women) in a university community was conducted using the Attitudes Towards Lesbian and Ga...

The negative assessment of lesbian/gay relationships in Catholic circles is most often based on scanty information gathered from folklore, the commercial media, and a narrow, literal reading of Biblical texts. Assumptions are made about the personal adjustment of individual gay/lesbian persons and the quality of their relationships without recourse to actual lived experience. This survey of 263...

Gay affirmative practice models provide guidelines for behaviors and beliefs in social work practice with gay and lesbian individuals. The aim of this study was to develop a valid rapid assessment instrument to assess the extent to which social work practitioners engage in principles consistent with gay affirmative practice. The Gay Affirmative Practice Scale is a 30-item scale designed to asse...

housing for LGBT elders. Generations, 29(4), 65–70. de Vries, B. (2007). LGBT couples in later life: A study in diversity. Generations, 31(3), 18–23. de Vries, B., & Blando, J. A. (2004). The study of gay and lesbian lives: Lessons for social gerontology. In G. Herdt & B. de Vries (Eds.), Gay and lesbian aging: research and future directions (pp. 3–28). New York: Springer. de Vries, B., & Hocte...

Although research has made progress in elucidating the benefits exchanged within same- and opposite-sex friendships formed between heterosexual men and women, it is less clear why straight women and gay men form close relationships with one another. The current experiments begin to address this question by exploring a potential benefit hypothesized to be uniquely available to straight women and...

The family is one of the main areas of social life where the normalization of gay/lesbian identity is incomplete. Most research analyzes the individual and psychological aspects of how families respond to children's disclosure of a gay/lesbian identity, and ignores the social, cultural, and historical contexts. An examination of the cultural discourses, tools, and strategies that are available ...

Drawing from the theory of policy voting, this study examines the impact of opinions about gay rights on voting for presidential candidates. Qualitative analysis of the major party platforms and candidate campaign rhetoric from the six presidential elections held between 1988 and 2008 indicates that Democratic and Republican presidential candidates began openly expressing opposing positions on ...