From Deviant to Widely Recognized: Unprecedented Changes in Americans’ Attitudes Towards Homosexuality From 1974 to 2016

• In Event: 2152 - Sociology of Population Roundtable
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 min): Table 2: Family Demography

Abstract

Recent studies suggest that macro-level changes in population demographics, the replacement of generations and the liberalization of cultural ideologies are the three major reasons that explain the drastic shift in American’s public opinion towards homosexuality. Yet, few of these theories have paid extensive attention to the social and historical contexts which can shape public attitudes, and these theories often assume variations in attitudes between demographic groups, generations and people with different cultural beliefs have been consistent over time. Gaps still exist in clarifying why these three factors are unique in explaining the shift in attitudes towards homosexuality, and it is important to consider attitude change as a dynamic process and situates it in the unique historical development of same-sex relation in the United States. Using data from the 1974 to 2016 General Social Survey, this study adds more nuances by closely analyzing how changes in social and historical contexts intersects with demographic and cultural factors to explain shifts in public opinion. The results demonstrate, the overall support had remained to be low during the earlier periods, but social changes during that time had a tremendous positive impact on the younger generations who came of age back then. Besides, public approval took off only after the end of AIDS Epidemic, but it also coincides with a greater polarization between different demographic groups. Specifically, while all groups have raised their support towards same-sex relation over time, but some has increased in a much faster rate than the others.

Author

• Langou Lian, University of California Irvine