Does Believing Homosexuality Is Innate Increase Support for Gay Rights
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6328233 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gregory B Lewis (0000-0003-2691-6888, Georgia State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 669-693 |
| Publication date | 2009-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Policy Studies Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0190-292X • E-ISSN: 1541-0072 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1541-0072.2009.00330.x |
| OpenAlex | W2025317584 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 40 |
| References cited | 25 |
Why are Americans who believe homosexuality is innate more likely to support the rights of lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals (LGBs)? Attribution theory suggests that people are more likely to support LGB rights if they do not blame LGBs for their sexual orientation. Alternatively, moral condemnation of homosexuality may lead both to belief that homosexuality is a choice and opposition to LGB rights, while acceptance of LGB rights may lead to a belief in a biological basis for homosexuality as part of a constellation of tolerant beliefs. Using logit analysis on individual‐level data from 24 national surveys conducted since 1977, I find that the link between belief in a biological basis for homosexuality and support for LGB rights is strong and growing for almost all groups on almost all issues. The reason may have more to do with people shaping their origin beliefs to match their political and religious values, than with origin beliefs affecting support for LGB rights
Attribution · Biology and political orientation · Blame · Gay rights · Homosexuality · Human rights · Opposition (politics · Political science · Politics · Psychoanalysis · Sexual orientation · Law · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Psychology · Reproductive Health and Contraception · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology
Protecting the fabric of society? Heterosexual views on the usefulness of the anti-gay laws in Barbados, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago
Sexual Orientation, Controversy, and Science
Predictors of attitudes toward potentially having a lesbian, gay, or bisexual child among Chinese heterosexual adults
The evolution of Darwinian sexualities
Have we outgrown the ‘born this way’ rhetoric? Reflections on the subliminal messages associated with the innateness of sexual orientation
The case for demedicalizing stigma research
To Blame or Not to Blame
Young Africans’ representations of the origins of same-sex attraction and implications for sexual and mental health
What people with normative identities believe about sex, gender and sexual orientation
They called it the ‘abominable crime’
Social Workers and LGBT Policies
Attitudinal Shifts towards Homosexuality among Secondary School Students in Hong Kong over a Decade
Factors Affecting Heterosexual Attitudes to Same-Sex Marriage in Australia
The “Persuadable Middle” on Same-Sex Marriage
Will You Marry Us? Protestant Pastors’ Stances on Same-Sex Marriage
Homophobic Labeling in the Process of Identity Construction
Does Knowing Why Someone is Gay Influence Tolerance? Genetic, Environmental, Choice, and “Reparative” Explanations
Politicizing biology
Faith and Stigmatized Sexual Identities
Scrutinizing Immutability
Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gays Among American and Dutch Adolescents
Degrees of Acceptance
Does Closeness to Someone Who Is Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual Influence Etiology Beliefs About Homosexuality
A Remarkable Legacy
Causal Attributions and Parents' Acceptance of Their Homosexual Sons
Does Biology Justify Ideology? The Politics of Genetic Attribution
Scientific Communication about Biological Influences on Homosexuality and the Politics of Gay Rights
The Friends and Family Plan
Policy Narratives and Policy Processes
From Pathology to ‘Born Perfect
Sexual Orientation and Organizational Justice in the Federal Service
Endorsement for Civil Rights for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People Among Heterosexual College Students
Perceived Relationship Dissolution and Sexual Orientation of a Hypothetical Ex-Partner as a Threat to Identity
Ethics of genetic research on same-sex sexual behaviour
Etiology and Attitudes
Self-Perceived Origins of Attitudes Toward Homosexuality
Why is the History of Heterosexuality Essential? Beliefs About the History of Sexuality and Their Relationship to Sexual Prejudice
On the enduring relationship between masculinity and homophobia
Examining Public Opinion About LGBTQ-Related Issues in the United States and Across Multiple Nations
Evangelical Elites' Anti-Homosexuality Narratives as a Resistance Strategy Against Attribution Effects
A Linkage Between DNA Markers on the X Chromosome and Male Sexual Orientation
"Some of My Best Friends" Intergroup Contact, Concealable Stigma, and Heterosexuals' Attitudes Toward Gay Men and Lesbians
The Relationship of Heterosexuals' Attributions for the Causes of Homosexuality to Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men
A Difference in Hypothalamic Structure Between Heterosexual and Homosexual Men
An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion.
A Genetic Study of Male Sexual Orientation
Biological Explanation, Psychological Explanation, and Tolerance of Homosexuals
It's not a choice, it's the way we're built’
How Cohorts, Education, and Ideology Shaped a New Sexual Revolution on American Attitudes toward Nonmarital Sex, 1972–1998
Attribution Style and Public Policy Attitudes Toward Gay Rights
Black heterosexuals’ attitudes toward lesbians and gay men in the United States
Interpersonal contact and heterosexuals’ attitudes toward gay men
Beliefs About the Origins of Homosexuality and Support For Gay Rights
Same-Sex Marriage and Civil Unions
An attributional analysis of reactions to stigmas
America's Liberalization in Attitudes Toward Homosexuality, 1973 to 1998
Gay Rights in the States
Sexual Orientation Beliefs
Immutability, Science and Legislative Debate over Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Rights
The Stigma of Obesity
An Attribution Model of Public Discrimination Towards Persons with Mental Illness
| Unique citing works | 40 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2,67 |
| Citation span | 2011 - 2026 (16) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 39 |