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.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1261-1277 |
Number of pages | 17 |
Journal | Archives of Sexual Behavior |
Volume | 46 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 1 2017 |
Keywords
- Discrimination
- Sexual orientation
- Stereotypes
- “Gaydar”
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
- General Psychology