This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by HEREK, G. M. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by HEREK, G. M. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

The Context of Anti-Gay Violence

Notes on Cultural and Psychological Heterosexism

University of California, Davis

Hate crimes against lesbians and gay men occur within a broader cultural context that is permeated by heterosexism. Heterosexism is defined here as an ideological system that denies, denigrates, and stigmatizes any nonheterosexual form of behavior, identity, relationship, or community. It operates principally by rendering homosexuality invisible and, when this fails, by trivializing, repressing, or stigmatizing it. This article focuses upon the nexus between cultural heterosexism and individual prejudice against lesbians and gay men. Key components of the ideologies of sex and gender from which heterosexism derives are identified: (a) the personal-public dichotomy, (b) the stigmatization of particular forms of sexuality, and (c) the linkage of heterosexuality to gender-role conformity. Supported by these ideological underpinnings, cultural heterosexism fosters individual anti-gay attitudes by providing a ready-made system of values and stereotypical beliefs that justify such prejudice as "natural." By imbuing homosexuality with a variety of symbolic meanings, cultural heterosexism enables expressions of individual prejudice to serve various psychological functions. Further, by discouraging lesbians and gay men from coming out to others, heterosexism perpetuates itself. Recent social trends that may affect the ideology of heterosexism are identified, and their potential for reducing anti-gay prejudice is discussed.

Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Vol. 5, No. 3, 316-333 (1990)
DOI: 10.1177/088626090005003006


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. Green and V. Grant `Gagged Grief and Beleaguered Bereavements?' An Analysis of Multidisciplinary Theory and Research Relating to Same Sex Partnership Bereavement Sexualities, June 1, 2008; 11(3): 275 - 300. [Abstract] [PDF]

				E. W. Tucker and M. Potocky-Tripodi Changing Heterosexuals' Attitudes Toward Homosexuals: A Systematic Review of the Empirical Literature Research on Social Work Practice, March 1, 2006; 16(2): 176 - 190. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. Carmody Sexual Ethics and Violence Prevention Social Legal Studies, June 1, 2003; 12(2): 199 - 216. [Abstract] [PDF]

				B. R. Ragins, J. M. Cornwell, and J. S. Miller Heterosexism in the Workplace: Do Race And Gender Matter? Group Organization Management, March 1, 2003; 28(1): 45 - 74. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. NOELLE The Ripple Effect of the Matthew Shepard Murder: Impact on the Assumptive Worlds of Members of the Targeted Group American Behavioral Scientist, September 1, 2002; 46(1): 27 - 50. [Abstract] [PDF]

				B. D. Adam Theorizing Homophobia Sexualities, November 1, 1998; 1(4): 387 - 404. [Abstract]

				G. M. Powell-Cope Heterosexism and Gay Couples with HIV Infection West J Nurs Res, August 1, 1998; 20(4): 478 - 496. [Abstract] [PDF]

				L. A. Fontes Introduction The Family Journal, January 1, 1996; 4(1): 72 - 72. [Abstract]