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When to Tell? : Disclosure of Concealable Group Membership, Stereotypes, and Political Evaluation

Political Behavior volume 25, pages 313–337 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

Although their group membership is normatively irrelevant to vote choice, members of politically underrepresented groups (e.g., women, nonwhites, and gays and lesbians) are often evaluated through the prism of their group memberships and related stereotypes when competing for elective office. Because membership in groups defined by gender, race, or ethnicity is easily perceptible, women and nonwhite candidates may have little control over the political effects of their group membership. Membership in groups defined by a candidate's sexual orientation is concealable, in contrast, and thus potentially gives gay and lesbian candidates some control over the impact of their homosexuality and accompanying stereotypes on voters' responses. Using an experimental design, I examine the relationships between timing of group membership disclosure, group stereotypes, candidate sex, and political responses to gay and lesbian candidates for office—taking into consideration voters' attitudes toward homosexuality and their sex.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, Wayne State University, 2040 Faculty Administration Building, Detroit, MI, 48202

    Ewa A. Golebiowska

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Golebiowska, E.A. When to Tell? : Disclosure of Concealable Group Membership, Stereotypes, and Political Evaluation. Political Behavior 25, 313–337 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:POBE.0000004061.08643.7d

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:POBE.0000004061.08643.7d

  • gay and lesbian candidates
  • candidate evaluation
  • electoral choice
  • timing of group membership disclosure