Homohysteria: Useful Construct? Or an Unnecessary Splitting of Hairs?

In this commentary to McCormack and Anderson (, this issue), I offer my reaction to a relatively new construct-homohysteria-that characterizes heterosexual men's negative attitudes and affective reactions toward gay men in the context of gendered (traditional) behaviors. I propose that similar to ot...

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Published in:Sex Roles Vol. 71; no. 3-4; pp. 137 - 141
Main Author: Negy, Charles
Format: Opinion
Published: Springer Nature Aug2014
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        au: Negy, Charles
        affil: Department of Psychology, University of Central Florida, Orlando 32816 USA
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        United States
        Attitudes toward homosexuality
        Heterosexual men
        Gender role
        Heterosexism
        Homophobia
        Genderism
        Prejudices
        Attitude (Psychology)
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          Homophobia
          Genderism
          Prejudices
          Attitude (Psychology)
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      keyword:
        Attitudes
        Discrimination
        Gendered Behaviors
        Homonegativity
        Prejudice
        Sexual Orientation
        Attitudes
        Discrimination
        Gendered Behaviors
        Homonegativity
        Prejudice
        Sexual Orientation
      ab: In this commentary to McCormack and Anderson (, this issue), I offer my reaction to a relatively new construct-homohysteria-that characterizes heterosexual men's negative attitudes and affective reactions toward gay men in the context of gendered (traditional) behaviors. I propose that similar to other forms of 'isms' used in both academia and the general community (e.g., racism, sexism), little is to be gained by continuing to splinter established terms such as heterosexism or homophobia. More specifically, I argue that by creating new terms for prejudice against gays and lesbians-terms that simply reflect either different degrees or motives of heterosexism-we risk muddling research findings and ultimately trivializing the pernicious phenomenon of prejudice and discrimination against the LGBT community. I also argue that in the absence of empirical support for the validity of homohysteria (as a distinct construct from heterosexism or homophobia), those embracing this new term are investigatively putting the cart before the horse.
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    language: English
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