The Impact Of Masculinity Threats On Evaluations Of Other Men Based On Femininity And Sexuality Of The Target

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Threats to masculinity have been suggested to promote anti-gay attitudes and discrimination among men. Research has yet to examine if it is gay men’s’ sexuality or perceived femininity that prompts the discriminatory responses. We examine how threats to masculinity impact heterosexual men’s’ evaluation and helping response to a masculine or feminine target who is gay or straight. Heterosexual male participants first completed a “personality test” and either received masculinity-threatening feedback or no feedback. Participants then indicated their evaluation of and helping intentions towards one of four targets: a feminine gay man, feminine straight man, masculine gay man, or masculine straight man. There was a significant 3-way interaction (threat x sexuality x masculinity/femininity) which suggested that, when threatened, heterosexual men evaluated the feminine gay men less favorably and expressed lower helping intentions compared to those in the control condition. Implications for masculinity threat and stereotype congruency theory are discussed.