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Published on: February 29, 2020
Gay- and Lesbian-Sounding Auditory Cues Elicit Stereotyping and Discrimination
Fabio Fasoli1,2, Anne Maass3, Maria Paola Paladino4
1School of Psychology, University of Surrey, Stage Hill Campus, Guildford, GU2 7XH, UK. f.fasoli@surrey.ac.uk.
Abstract:
The growing body of literature on the recognition of sexual orientation from voice ("auditory gaydar") is silent on the cognitive and social consequences of having a gay-/lesbian- versus heterosexual-sounding voice. We investigated this issue in four studies (overall N = 276), conducted in Italian language, in which heterosexual listeners were exposed to single-sentence voice samples of gay/lesbian and heterosexual speakers. In all four studies, listeners were found to make gender-typical inferences about traits and preferences of heterosexual speakers, but gender-atypical inferences about those of gay or lesbian speakers. Behavioral intention measures showed that listeners considered lesbian and gay speakers as less suitable for a leadership position, and male (but not female) listeners took distance from gay speakers. Together, this research demonstrates that having a gay/lesbian rather than heterosexual-sounding voice has tangible consequences for stereotyping and discrimination.
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