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Male Narcissism and Attitudes Toward Heterosexual Women and Men, Lesbian Women, and Gay Men: Hostility toward Heterosexual Women Most of All

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Abstract

The present study investigated links between heterosexual men’s narcissism and attitudes toward heterosexual and non-heterosexual women and men. Male narcissism was predicted to be associated with hostility toward heterosexual women more than toward other groups, indicating investment in patriarchal power more than in conservative gender ideology or nonspecific disdain toward all people. Hierarchical regression analyses of responses from 104 male undergraduates (95% Caucasian) from Ohio in the U.S. supported the hypothesis that men’s narcissism is related most robustly to hostility toward women, rather than to equivalent derogation of all groups. Moreover, men’s narcissism is not merely a maker of traditional gender ideology, but instead is associated with favorable attitudes toward lesbian women and is unrelated to attitudes toward gay men.

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Acknowledgement

The author thanks David DeLong and two anonymous reviewers for providing helpful feedback on previous drafts of this paper; Lynzee Abel and Erica Salisbury for assistance with data collection; and Julie Cremeans-Smith, Lee Fox-Cardamone, Deborah A. Jones, Robin Lashley, and Brad Shepherd for permitting the recruitment of research participants from their classes.

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  1. Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA

    Scott W. Keiller

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Correspondence to Scott W. Keiller.

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Keiller, S.W. Male Narcissism and Attitudes Toward Heterosexual Women and Men, Lesbian Women, and Gay Men: Hostility toward Heterosexual Women Most of All. Sex Roles 63, 530–541 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9837-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9837-8

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