2017/06/30 by Daniel C. Lewis, Andrew R. Flores, Donald P. Haider‐Markel +5 · 3 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Gender Politics and Representation #LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy
paper · doi:10.1177/1065912917717352
openalex publication_date 2017/06/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15
The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community includes a diverse set of groups, including distinct groups based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity, but it is not clear whether the public makes distinctions in their attitudes toward these subgroups. If they do, what factors motivate individuals to evaluate gays and lesbians differently from transgender people? This study analyzes Americans’ attitudes toward these communities, and it evaluates their support for nondiscrimination protections. We find that public attitudes are significantly more negative toward transgender people and policies pertaining to them than they are toward gay men and lesbians and related policies. The analyses reveal that differences in these attitudes are associated with social contact effects, variation in cognitive consistency, elite cues, and the varying magnitudes of key political factors, such as religiosity and partisanship.