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Prototypicality at the intersection of gender and sexual orientation
1Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
The British Journal of Social Psychology
|March 25, 2023
Summary
The intersectional invisibility hypothesis (IIH) reveals that multiply marginalized individuals are often overlooked. Research shows heterosexual prototypes match general gender prototypes, but homosexual prototypes favor gay men over lesbian women.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Gender Studies
- Sexual Orientation Research
Background:
- The intersectional invisibility hypothesis (IIH) posits that multiply marginalized individuals are rendered invisible.
- This invisibility stems from societal heterocentrism and androcentrism, preventing recognition within constituent groups.
- Existing psychological research may not generalize to non-prototypical individuals within these groups.
Purpose of the Study:
- To empirically test the intersectional invisibility hypothesis.
- To examine how heterocentrism and androcentrism influence group prototypes.
- To investigate the prototypicality of individuals at intersections of gender and sexual orientation.
Main Methods:
- Two online experiments conducted in Sweden and the UK (N=1923).
- Utilized an attribute generation task to elicit group characteristics.
- Employed direct similarity ratings to assess prototype matching.
Main Results:
- Strong evidence for heterocentrism: only heterosexual prototypes matched general gender prototypes.
- Androcentrism influenced homosexual prototypes, favoring gay men over lesbian women.
- Bisexual women were perceived as more prototypical bisexual individuals than bisexual men.
Conclusions:
- Psychological findings on "women" or "men" may primarily apply to heterosexual individuals.
- Research on "homosexual people" may predominantly reflect the experiences of gay men.
- The IIH provides a crucial framework for understanding representation and research generalizability across diverse identities.
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