The war on flags: The opposition to state-sponsored LGBTQ+ symbols

2024/01/01 by Alberto López Ortega · 1 voice · 5 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Computer science #FLAGS register #Gender Politics and Representation #History #LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy #Law #Opposition (politics) #Political science #Politics #Populism, Right-Wing Movements

paper · pdf · doi:10.1177/20531680241240824

published in Research & Politics 11(1) (SAGE Publishing)

openalex publication_date 2024/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

Negativity against LGBTQ+ and gender equality symbols is escalating across Western European countries, including those at the forefront of sexual modernism. Drawing on data from Spain, this paper theorizes and finds that state-sponsored LGBTQ+ symbols receive significantly more negativity than other aspects of LGBTQ+ issues related to general and specific attitudes toward formal rights. The negativity is primarily explained by support for Vox, a radical right-wing party, and age. The study provides insights into the complexities of public opinion surrounding LGBTQ+ symbols, offering a nuanced understanding of the challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community in terms of acceptance and visibility. Furthermore, it highlights the influence of political affiliations and generational factors in shaping these attitudes.

Citations

• Value Shift: Immigration Attitudes and the Sociocultural Divide
• Instrumentally Inclusive: The Political Psychology of Homonationalism

Cited by

• Generations of pride? LGBTQ+ rights, sexuality, and voting behaviour in Spain
• Allies on the streets but illiberal in the sheets? Gender and the public vs. private inclusion of sexual minorities
• Not So Sexually Modern After All: Homonegativity and Prejudice Against Open and Age-Gap Relationships
• Social Influence in the Public Expression of LGBTQ+ Support: The Case of Rainbow Flags in Residential Neighborhoods of a European City

Discussions

• The radical right love to talk about flags but it's everyone else who is obsessed with "identity politics", right? 👀 Right?! doi.org/10.1177/2053... [bsky, 66 points, 4 comments]

Related

• Generations of pride? LGBTQ+ rights, sexuality, and voting behaviour in Spain
• “This Is a Union of Values”: The Rise of the LGBTI Rights Norm as Part of the EU’s Identity Construction
• Pride amid Prejudice: The Influence of LGBT+ Rights Activism in a Socially Conservative Society
• Social Influence in the Public Expression of LGBTQ+ Support: The Case of Rainbow Flags in Residential Neighborhoods of a European City
• Replication of “Instrumentally Inclusive: The Political Psychology of Homonationalism” (Turnbull-Dugarte and López Ortega 2024)