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The sexual orientation hypothesis is a
hypothesis A hypothesis (: hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. A scientific hypothesis must be based on observations and make a testable and reproducible prediction about reality, in a process beginning with an educated guess o ...
proposed by Donald McCreary in 1994 that attempts to explain the impact of
gender stereotypes A gender role, or sex role, is a social norm deemed appropriate or desirable for individuals based on their gender or sex. Gender roles are usually centered on conceptions of masculinity and femininity. The specifics regarding these gendered ...
on judgments about
sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns ar ...
. This
hypothesis A hypothesis (: hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. A scientific hypothesis must be based on observations and make a testable and reproducible prediction about reality, in a process beginning with an educated guess o ...
states that
feminine Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and Gender roles, roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there is also s ...
men are more likely to be assumed
gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...
than
masculine Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some beh ...
women are to be assumed
lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
s. This model asserts a broad tendency to associate gender-atypical behavior in men with
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
. This is combined with a stigmatization of behaviors held as signs of same-sex attraction in men, and reinforces a stronger culture of exclusive
homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
than among young women.


Research

McCreary ties much of this behavior to particular rigidity around male
gender role A gender role, or sex role, is a social norm deemed appropriate or desirable for individuals based on their gender or sex. Gender roles are usually centered on conceptions of masculinity and femininity. The specifics regarding these gendered ...
s. McCreary notes that boys are more severely punished by parents and ostracized from peer groups for displaying typically effeminate traits, which serves to amplify in-group homophobia. McCreary connects this lack of tolerance among young men to the impact of male gender roles on social status. Overall, the combination of negative reinforcement from parents and a social hierarchy based upon obeying fixed notions of masculinity makes homophobia among young men uniquely toxic. McCreary also notes that the elevation of typically "male" behavior as a social ideal, especially one that is tied to power and authority, amplifies the harshness of in-group homophobia among young men and adolescent boys. However, this latent
sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...
means that women who manifest more typically male behaviors are not treated as harshly as men who display effeminate traits. One of McCreary's studies presented a spread of invented personas to a set of college-aged students and asked subjects to identify the sexual orientation of each. These personas included both male and female profiles, presenting either typical or atypical gender traits. Interview subjects were significantly more likely to assume that male personas who displayed gender-atypical behavior were gay or
bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
. These findings suggested that preconceptions about gender roles are more instrumental in judgments about male sexuality, and play a large role in the stigmatization of gay men.


See also

*
Androgyny Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to Sex, biological sex or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in humans, it oft ...
*
Gender bias Gender bias is the tendency to prefer one gender over another. It is a form of unconscious bias, or implicit bias, which occurs when one individual unconsciously attributes certain attitudes and stereotypes to another person or group of people ...
* Gender roles in non-heterosexual communities *
Gender roles A gender role, or sex role, is a social norm deemed appropriate or desirable for individuals based on their gender or sex. Gender roles are usually centered on conceptions of masculinity and femininity. The specifics regarding these gende ...
*
Gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field n ...
*
Homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
*
Queer heterosexuality Queer heterosexuality is the heterosexual practice or identity that is also controversially called queer. "Queer heterosexuality" is argued to consist of heterosexual, cisgender, and allosexual persons who show nontraditional gender expression ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sexual Orientation Hypothesis Sexuality