Sexual prejudice and gender: Do heterosexuals' attitudes toward lesbians and gay men differ?

This article explores the question of whether and how heterosexuals' attitudes toward lesbians differ from their attitudes toward gay men. Data from a 1997 national survey are presented to show that heterosexual women generally hold similar attitudes toward gay men and lesbians, whereas heterosexual men are more likely to make distinctions according to gender. Moreover, men's attitudes toward lesbians are susceptible to situational manipulations. Nevertheless, the underlying unity of attitudes toward lesbians and gay men is demonstrated by the fact that they are highly correlated for both heterosexual men and women. It is suggested that heterosexuals' attitudes toll,ard gay people are organized both in terms of minority group politics and personal sexual and gender identity and that attitudes toward lesbians are most likely to be differentiated from attitudes toward gay men ill the latter realm.