Misconceptions of homophobia

Recent studies and analyses of social reactions to homosexuality are examined with the goal of linking them to general theories of deviance in the mainstream of sociology and social psychology. Homosexuality as an attitudinal object is classified as person, trait, and characteristic of collectivities and culture. The assumption of homosexuality as a "master status trait" is questioned. Foci of investigation are categorized as cognitive stereotypes, perceptions of threat to others and to valued aspects of society and culture, and the management of homosexuality. Ego-alien and phobic responses are distinguished. General problems of attitudinal research in the field are identified; chiefly, the overemphasis of cognitive elements and the neglect of affective and behavioral elements. The potential of this imbalance for the reification of homophobia among subjects and for the general public is noted. Other problems include the confounding of cognitive and affective dimensions and the assumption of stability of attitudes in different social settings. The need for concrete observations of responses to homosexuality in varying social settings and for the study of various types and phases of the disclosure process is specified. We call for grounded empirical observations of reactions to homosexuality within a model of the "social construction of reality" in order to place such studies within the mainstream of sociology and social psychology.