ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the stigmatization of gay men. First, the Gay Men Stigma Scale is examined. Second, Norm-Centered Stigma Theory (NCST) is utilized to explore the relationships among the Gay Men Stigma Scale, the Hetero-cis-normativity Scale (HCN Scale), gender, sexuality, additional gender/sexuality, race/ethnicity, and basic needs. Third, gay men’s experiences with gender- and sexuality-based discrimination, harassment, and violence (DHV) are investigated. In line with the three tenets and hypotheses derived from NCST, there are six patterns found in this chapter: (1) discomfort with gay men’s sex acts are a driving force in the stigmatization of gay men for both hetero-cis and LGBTQ people; (2) for both hetero-cis and LGBTQ people, there is also strong overlap among the top most stigmatizing beliefs about gay men which include the following sex act-related perspectives—discomfort with gay men having sex with women, gay men are too sexual/hypersexual, gay men are responsible for HIV/AIDS, and gay men are not masculine enough; (3) hetero-cis-normativity is positively related to gay men stigma for both subsamples—however, the interaction effects between the HCN Scale and social power axes that moderate this relationship differ for the hetero-cis and LGBTQ subsamples. In addition, there are more significant interaction effects between the HCN Scale and social power axes for the hetero-cis subsample than there are for the LGBTQ subsample; (4) individual social power axes are significantly related to gay men stigma for both subsamples; however, the interaction effects between the social power axes that moderate these relationships differ for the hetero-cis and LGBTQ subsamples—in addition, there are more significant interaction effects between the social power axes for the LGBTQ subsample than there are for the hetero-cis subsample; (5) gay men experience high levels of sexuality-based DHV in comparison to both the LGBTQ and all men subsamples but relatively low levels of gender-based DHV in comparison to the LGBTQ subsample; and (6) The individual effect of being a gay man and gay men’s intersecting experiences with SGL identity decrease the likelihood of gender-based DHV—however, gay men with adequate basic needs experiences have an increased likelihood of gender-based DHV and butch gay men have an increased likelihood of sexuality-based DHV.
