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EMBARGO: NOT FOR RELEASE UNTIL 11:00 AM (PDT), AUGUST 16, 1998
ANTI-GAY AGGRESSION: EXPRESSIONS OF HATRED OR OF
PERCEIVED CULTURAL NORMS?
Psychologists Examine the Motives of Perpetrators and the Origins of
Homophobia
SAN FRANCISCO - One of the most widespread forms of bias crime
among teenagers and young adults - violence against sexual minorities
- is rarely motivated by genuine hatred, but is instead "an expression
of cultural norms that are entrenched even among preadolescent
children," says forensic psychologist Karen Franklin, Ph.D., of
Tacoma, Washington. Speaking at the 106th Annual Convention of the
American Psychological Association (APA) in San Francisco (August
14-18), Dr. Franklin noted that assaults prosecuted under hate crimes
statutes "are only the extreme end of a continuum" of bias against
those perceived as "gender-deviant."
In a study of approximately 500 young adults in the greater San
Francisco Bay Area, Dr. Franklin found that one in ten respondents
admitted to physical violence or threats against people they believed
were homosexual. Another 24 percent reported anti-gay namecalling.
Among male respondents, Dr. Franklin notes, the rate of perpetration
was significantly higher: 18 percent for physical violence or threats
and 32 percent for namecalling. "In other words, half of all young
men admitted to some form of anti-gay aggression." Meanwhile a third
of those who said they had not engaged in anti-gay aggression reported
that they would likely assault or harass a homosexual who flirted with
or propositioned them.
Dr. Franklin has identified four distinct motivations for bias
crimes against sexual minorities. Self-Defense assailants, she says,
"appear to interpret their victims' words and actions based on their
belief that homosexuals are sexual predators, and typically believe
they are defending themselves from aggressive sexual propositions."
In contract, Ideology assailants "view themselves as social
norms enforcers who are punishing homosexuals for moral
transgressions." They object not so much to homosexuality itself, Dr.
Franklin says, "but to visible challenges to gender norms, such as
male effeminacy or public flaunting of sexual deviance."
The other two motivations, according to Dr. Franklin, stem from
adolescent development needs. Thrill Seekers "commit assaults to
alleviate boredom, to have fun and excitement and to feel strong."
Peer Dynamics assailants, on the other hand, "commit assaults to prove
their toughness and heterosexuality to friends." Both types of
assailants, she says, minimize their personal antagonism toward
homosexuals, and either blame their friends for assaults or minimize
the level of harm done.
In fact, Dr. Franklin says, her research suggests that most
young people who harass, bully and assault sexual minorities do not
fit the stereotype of the hate-filled extremist. "Rather," she says,
"they are average young people who often do not see anything wrong
with their behavior."
Meanwhile, researchers Peter S. Theodore of Rutgers University
and Susan A. Basow, Ph.D., of Lafayette College, are presenting a
study of 74 college males on the link between heterosexual masculinity
and homophobia. They found that college-aged men in their late
adolescence and early adult years "who define themselves and their
masculinity according to societal standards, are likely to hold
homophobic attitudes towards gay men as a means toward reconciling
their own feelings of gender inadequacy." In other words, homophobia
"may represent as much a reaction to the self as it does to gays,
lesbians and bisexuals."
Presentations: "Psychosocial Motivations of Hate Crime
Perpetrators," by Karen Franklin, Ph.D., Washington Institute for
Mental Illness Research and Training, Session 3158, 11:00 AM, August
16, 1998, The Palace Hotel, Telegraph Hill Room.
"Heterosexual Masculinity and Homophobia: A Reaction to the Self?,"
by Peter S. Theodore, Rutgers University, and Susan A. Basow, Ph.D.,
Lafayette College, Session 4136, 11:00 AM, August 17, 1998, Moscone
Center - South Building, Exhibit Hall B.
(Full text available from the APA Public Affairs Office.)
The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC,
is the largest scientific and professional organization representing
psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association
of psychologists. APA's membership includes more than 155,000
researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through
its divisions in 50 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 59
state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to
advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of
promoting human welfare.
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