LGB´s Arts Affinity: An Empirical Study of Theater Audiences Based on Motivations

The extended belief of gay people being more creative and showing higher interest toward arts lacks robust empirical support. The pioneer study on this issue highlighted that LGB´s arts participation was mostly explained by demographic factors such as level of studies, residence and family situation, which suggests that differences due to sexual orientation tend to fade. In this paper, we put forward the hypothesis that sexual orientation influences motivations to participate, which emphasizes their role and heterogeneity. To do so, we conducted a survey on participants at an alternative performing arts festival collecting information on socio-demographics, including sexual orientation, motivations and other variables. Results show that being LGB increases the likelihood of attendance for emotional, social or political motives, and emphasize the heterogeneity that sexual orientation plays on cultural audiences. Particularly, we find evidence of gender differences in attendance goals within LGB performing arts consumers, supporting gender nonconformity.