scholarly journals The Trouble with Inversion: An examination of science and sexual orientation

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-87
Author(s):  
Rebekah Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Conceptual Scheme ◽  
Standard State ◽  
Structural Research

Although some are excited about the possibility of using current scientific research into the biological causes of sexual orientation to ground rights claims, I argue that basing rights claims on this research is unwise because this research, specifically the hormonal, genetic, and structural research, is organized around the inversion assumption, a conceptual scheme within which some aspect of the biology of gay men and lesbians is thought to be inverted along sex lines. While there are many reasons to worry about the use of the inversion assumption, I focus on problems that arise from a further set of claims that must be assumed in order to make the use of the inversion assumption coherent. This further set of assumptions includes the claims (1) that heterosexuality is the standard state and that (2) this standard state is sexually-dimorphic and (3) deterministic. I argue that this set of assumptions is problematic because it results in ideological consequences that are both sexist and heterosexist.

scholarly journals Sexual orientation predicts men’s preferences for sexually dimorphic face-shape characteristics: a replication study.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Kenji Medeiros Shiramizu ◽  
Ciaran Docherty ◽  
Lisa Marie DeBruine ◽  
Benedict C Jones
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Romantic Partners ◽  
Replication Study ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Face Shape ◽  
Shape Characteristics

Many researchers have proposed that straight men prefer women’s faces displaying feminine shape characteristics at least partly because mating with such women will produce healthier offspring. Although a prediction of this adaptation-for-mate-choice hypothesis is that straight men will show stronger preferences for feminized versus masculinized versions of women’s faces than will gay men, only one previous study has directly tested this prediction. Here we directly replicated that study by comparing 623 gay and 3163 straight men’s preferences for feminized versus masculinized versions of faces. Consistent with the adaptation-for-mate-choice hypothesis of straight men’s femininity preferences, we found that straight men showed significantly stronger preferences for feminized female faces than did gay men. Consistent with previous research suggesting that gay men place a premium on masculinity in potential romantic partners, we also found that gay men showed significantly stronger preferences for masculinized versions of male faces than did straight men. Together, these findings indicate the sexual orientation contributes to individual differences in men’s face preferences.

scholarly journals Sexual orientation predicts men’s preferences for sexually dimorphic face-shape characteristics: A replication study

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. e0242262
Author(s):  
Victor Shiramizu ◽  
Ciaran Docherty ◽  
Lisa M. DeBruine ◽  
Benedict C. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Romantic Partners ◽  
Replication Study ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Face Shape ◽  
Shape Characteristics

Many researchers have proposed that straight men prefer women’s faces displaying feminine shape characteristics at least partly because mating with such women will produce healthier offspring. Although a prediction of this adaptation-for-mate-choice hypothesis is that straight men will show stronger preferences for feminized versus masculinized versions of women’s faces than will gay men, only one previous study has directly tested this prediction. Here we directly replicated that study by comparing 623 gay and 3163 straight men’s preferences for feminized versus masculinized versions of faces. Consistent with the adaptation-for-mate-choice hypothesis of straight men’s femininity preferences, we found that straight men showed significantly stronger preferences for feminized female faces than did gay men. Consistent with previous research suggesting that gay men place a premium on masculinity in potential romantic partners, we also found that gay men showed significantly stronger preferences for masculinized versions of male faces than did straight men. Together, these findings indicate the sexual orientation contributes to individual differences in men’s face preferences.

The impact of demographic factors on the way lesbian and gay employees manage their sexual orientation at work

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (9) ◽  
pp. 992-1015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Köllen
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Demographic Factors ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Coping Resources ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Lesbian And Gay ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Way

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence demographic factors have on the way lesbians and gay men manage their sexual orientation at work. Design/methodology/approach – Based on data taken from a cross-sectional survey of 1,308 gay and lesbian employees working in Germany, four regression models are proposed. The means of handling one’s homosexuality at work was measured by the 31 items containing Workplace Sexual Identity Management Measure from Anderson et al. (2001). Findings – Results indicate that being in a relationship is related to increased openness about one’s homosexuality at work. Furthermore, it appears that the older and the more religious lesbian and gay employees are, the more open (and therefore less hidden) about their sexuality they are. Having a migratory background is related to being more guarded about one’s sexual orientation, whereas personal mobility within the country is not related to the way one manages one’s sexual orientation at work. Lesbians tend to be a little more open and less guarded about their homosexuality compared to gay men. Research limitations/implications – The focus of this research (and the related limitations) offers several starting and connecting points for more intersectional research on workforce diversity and diversity management. Practical implications – The study’s findings indicate the need for an intersectional approach to organizational diversity management strategies. Exemplified by the dimension “sexual orientation”, it can be shown that the impact each dimension has for an employee’s everyday workplace experiences and behavior in terms of a certain manifestation of one dimension of diversity can only be understood in terms of its interplay with other dimensions of diversity. Originality/value – It is shown that manifestations of demographic factors that tend to broaden the individual’s coping resources for stigma-relevant stressors lead to more openness about one’s homosexuality in the workplace.

scholarly journals Emotion and Gender Typicality Cue Sexual Orientation Differently in Women and Men

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 2547-2560
Author(s):  
R. Thora Bjornsdottir ◽  
Nicholas O. Rule
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Emotional Expression ◽  
Positive Emotion ◽  
Role Expectations ◽  
Emotional Expressions ◽  
Gender Typicality ◽  
Gender Role Expectations ◽  
Gender Inversion ◽  
And Gender

Abstract Heterosexual individuals tend to look and act more typical for their gender compared to gay and lesbian individuals, and people use this information to infer sexual orientation. Consistent with stereotypes associating happy expressions with femininity, previous work found that gay men displayed more happiness than straight men—a difference that perceivers used, independent of gender typicality, to judge sexual orientation. Here, we extended this to judgments of women’s sexual orientation. Like the gender-inversion stereotypes applied to men, participants perceived women’s faces manipulated to look angry as more likely to be lesbians; however, emotional expressions largely did not distinguish the faces of actual lesbian and straight women. Compared to men’s faces, women’s faces varied less in their emotional expression (appearing invariably positive) but varied more in gender typicality. These differences align with gender role expectations requiring the expression of positive emotion by women and prohibiting the expression of femininity by men. More important, greater variance within gender typicality and emotion facilitates their respective utility for distinguishing sexual orientation from facial appearance. These findings thus provide the first evidence for contrasting cues to women’s and men’s sexual orientation and suggest that gender norms may uniquely shape how men and women reveal their sexual orientation.

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