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The Intersection of Gender and Sexuality: Sexism Shapes Men’s Same-Sex Sexuality in Terms of Self-Label Identification and Partner Choice in China

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Abstract

We examined how sexism related to gay and bisexual men’s preferences for same-sex top (dominant) or bottom (submissive) sexuality in China. Specifically, we determined the impacts of sexism on sexual self-label identification and requirements for a romantic partner’s sexual role among 507 Chinese gay and bisexual men. Sexism was found to significantly predict top/bottom sexual self-label: gay and bisexual men endorsing benevolent sexism (BS; ideation of women who conform to traditional gender roles) were more likely to identify as tops than as bottoms. We also noted a significant prediction of hostile sexism (HS; hostility toward women who oppose traditional roles) on partner choice: Tops and bottoms endorsing HS were more likely to require a complementary partner rather than to have no requirements. Moreover, sexism was related to sexual role prejudice, a concept derived from sexism that we defined as holding attitudes toward the gender roles of “bottoms” among gay and bisexual men that indicate inequality of sexual self-labels. In a mediation analysis of these relationships, we noted significant indirect effects of BS and HS on sexual self-label via both benevolent and hostile sexual role prejudice, as well as on requirements for a romantic partner’s sexual role via benevolent (but not hostile) sexual role prejudice. Our results suggest that traditional gender beliefs may influence negative beliefs toward other sexual roles and that both sets of beliefs, although not always consistent with each other, relate to gay and bisexual men’s sexual self-labels and requirements for a romantic partner’s sexual role.

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Acknowledgments

This study is compliance with ethical standards and is approved by the Academic Ethical Review Committee of Faculty of Psychology in Southwest University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (Southwest University), Ministry of Education, China and Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China

    Lijun Zheng & Yong Zheng

  2. Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China

    Yanchen Su

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  1. Lijun Zheng
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  2. Yanchen Su
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  3. Yong Zheng
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Correspondence to Lijun Zheng.

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Zheng, L., Su, Y. & Zheng, Y. The Intersection of Gender and Sexuality: Sexism Shapes Men’s Same-Sex Sexuality in Terms of Self-Label Identification and Partner Choice in China. Sex Roles 77, 125–134 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-016-0697-8

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