Race and Homophobia in the United States

• In Event: Exploring the Limits of Inclusion: Race and LGBTQ Politics in the US

Abstract

This paper will explore perceptions of homophobia among LGBTQ Black, White, Latinx and Asian American communities in the United States and what factors lead to greater perception of homophobia among these groups. I draw on the 2010 Social Justice Sexuality Project, one of the largest national surveys of Black, Latinx, and Asian American LGBTQ people. I will examine variables such as participation in LGBTQ political events such as Pride, political attitudes, religion, mental health, relationships and consumption of media. I will measure homophobia is measured using three questions, asking respondents if homophobia is a problem in their racial or ethnic community, neighborhood and in all communities of color. Preliminary results show that, among the different racial groups, homophobia is correlated with different aspects of life. Political ideology and education appear significant for white and Black respondents but not for Asian American and Latinx respondents. Being out to one’s religious community only appears to have a significant correlation with perceptions of homophobia among Latinx respondents. Consumption of LGBTQ news appears to correlate with perceptions of homophobia for Asian American respondents, along with Black and White respondents but not Latinx respondents. Through analysis of these results, I hope to explain what factors lead to more or less awareness of homophobia in different communities of color, with the overall goal of illuminating how different groups of LGBTQ people may experience homophobia differently, and how this may lie in contrast with the common narrative in politics and the media that people of color are more homophobic than white people. Rather than being more homophobic, this paper suggests the answer could lie in different cultural and experiential distinctions among groups.

Author

• Samantha Ruth Acuna