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System Justification, Right-Wing Conservatism, and Internalized Homophobia: Gay and Lesbian Attitudes toward Same-Sex Parenting in Italy

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Abstract

Adopting a system justification perspective (Jost and Banaji 1994), we investigated the manner and extent to which gay men and lesbians might internalize a sense of inferiority when it comes to parenthood. In an Italian sample of gay and lesbian individuals, we found that gay men who scored high (versus low) on system justification and right-wing conservatism regarded same sex parents as less competent; these effects were mediated by internalized homophobia. Lesbian women, however, perceived lesbian parents as more competent than opposite sex parents, regardless of ideological orientations. For gay men the internalization of societal discrimination harms perceptions of parental competence, whereas for lesbians gender stereotypes about parenting trump the negative effects of bias related to sexual orientation. These findings suggest that men’s and women’s perceptions of their own bodies and capacities are strongly affected by sociocultural processes, including ideological processes.

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Acknowledgement

We thank Rick Andrews, Rachel Calogero, Irene Frieze, Erin Godfrey, Erin Hennes, Angelica Mucchi-Faina, Andrew Shipley, and two anonymous reviewers for providing superb feedback on earlier versions of this article. We are also grateful to the Associazione Italiana di Psicologia (A.I.P.) for occasioning a timely reunion involving two of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Istituzioni e Società, University of Perugia, Via Elce di sotto, 06123, Perugia, Italy

    Maria Giuseppina Pacilli

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Bari, Bari, Italy

    Alessandro Taurino

  3. Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA

    John T. Jost

  4. Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Jojanneke van der Toorn

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  1. Maria Giuseppina Pacilli
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Correspondence to Maria Giuseppina Pacilli.

Appendix

Appendix

Internalized homophobia scale

  1. (1)

    I will never be able to accept my sexual orientation until all the people in my life have accepted me. (Non sarò mai in grado di accettare il mio orientamento sessuale fino a quando le persone che mi circondano non mi avranno accettato).

  2. (2)

    Being (lesbian/gay) makes me feel insecure around straight people. (Essere gay/lesbica mi fa sentire insicuro quando sono tra persone etero).

  3. (3)

    I would rather be straight if I could (Se potessi/se fosse possibile, preferirei essere etero).

  4. (4)

    I can’t feel comfortable knowing that others judge me negatively for being lesbian/gay. (Mi sento a disagio sapendo che gli altri mi giudicano negativamente per il fatto che sono gay/lesbica).

  5. (5)

    I’m proud to be a part of the lesbian/gay community. (Sono orgoglioso/a di far parte della comunità gay/lesbica).*

  6. (6)

    I wish I were heterosexual. (Vorrei essere etero).

  7. (7)

    I’m proud to be a lesbian/gay men. (Sono orgoglioso/a di essere gay/lesbica).*

  8. (8)

    I think a lot about how my lesbianism/gayness affects the way people see me. (Penso molto a come il mio essere gay/lesbica influenza il modo in cui le persone mi vedono).

  9. (9)

    If you are not careful about whom you come out to, you can get very hurt. (Se non sei cauto rispetto a chi dichiari di essere omosessuale, rischi di essere molto ferito).

  10. (10)

    I often worry about whether others judge me for being lesbian/gay. (Mi preoccupo spesso che gli altri mi giudicano per il fatto che sono gay/lesbica).

  11. (11)

    Most of my friends are gay/lesbians. (La maggior parte dei miei amici sono gay/lesbiche).*

  12. (12)

    My feelings toward other gay/lesbians are often negative. (I miei sentimenti verso altri gay/lesbiche sono spesso negativi).

  13. (13)

    I can’t stand lesbians who are too butch. They make lesbians as a group look bad. (Non sopporto le lesbiche troppo mascoline. Danno un’immagine negativa delle lesbiche). I can’t stand gay men who are too effeminate. They make gay men as a group look bad. (Non sopporto i gay troppo effeminati. Danno un’immagine negativa dei gay).

  14. (14)

    Attending gay/lesbian events and organizations is important to me. (Per me è importante partecipare a eventi e organizzazioni gay/lesbiche).*

  15. (15)

    When interacting with members of the lesbian/gay community, I often feel different and alone, like I don’t fit in. (Quando mi relaziono con i membri della comunità gay/lesbica, spesso mi sento diverso/a e solo/a, come se non vi appartenessi).

  16. (16)

    Having gay/lesbian friends is important to me. (E’ importante per me avere amici gay/lesbiche).*

  17. (17)

    Being a part of the lesbian/gay community is important to me. (Per me è importante far parte della comunità gay/lesbica).*

  18. (18)

    If some gay/lesbians would change and be more acceptable to the larger society, gay/lesbians as a group would not have to deal with so much negativity and discrimination. (Se alcuni gay/lesbiche cambiassero e si rendessero più accettabili dalla società, la comunità gay non si troverebbe a lottare contro una forte avversione e discriminazione).

  19. (19)

    I am familiar with community resources for gay/lesbians, i.e., bar, clubs support groups, bars, etc. (Frequento luoghi di incontro per soli gay, ad es. bar/locali, discoteche, circoli ricreativo-culturali, arcigay, etc.)*

  20. (20)

    I try not to give signs that I am a gay/lesbian. I am careful about the way I dress and the places, people, and events I talk about. (Cerco di non far capire che sono gay/lesbica. Faccio attenzione al mio modo di vestire, ai luoghi e alle persone che frequento e agli eventi di cui parlo).

  21. (21)

    I am not worried about anyone finding out that I am a gay/lesbian. (Non mi preoccupa sapere che qualcuno possa scoprire la mia omosessualità).*

  22. (22)

    I’m proud to be a gay man/lesbian. (Sono orgoglioso/a di essere gay/lesbica).*

  23. (23)

    Social situations with other gay/lesbians make me feel uncomfortable. (Mi sento a disagio quando sono in pubblico con altri/e lesbiche/gay).

Attitudes concerning the parental competence of gays and lesbians

  1. (1)

    Gay/lesbian couples are able to care for their children in an adequate manner. (Una coppia di genitori omosessuali lesbiche/gay è capace di prendersi cura dei figli in modo adeguato).

  2. (2)

    Gay/lesbian couples are unable to guarantee to their children a healthy development. (Una coppia di genitori omosessuali lesbiche/gay è incapace di garantire ai figli uno sviluppo sano).*

  3. (3)

    Gay/lesbian couples are capable of providing their children with good social norms. (Una coppia di genitori omosessuali lesbiche/gay è capace di fornire figli buone regole sociali).*

  4. (4)

    Gay/lesbian couples are unable to give their children good teachings for their development. (Una coppia di genitori omosessuali lesbiche/gay è incapace di dare buoni insegnamenti ai figli per la loro crescita).*

*Responses to these items were reverse-scored prior to data analysis.

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Pacilli, M.G., Taurino, A., Jost, J.T. et al. System Justification, Right-Wing Conservatism, and Internalized Homophobia: Gay and Lesbian Attitudes toward Same-Sex Parenting in Italy. Sex Roles 65, 580–595 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-011-9969-5

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