Gender, Sexism, Sexual Prejudice, and Identification with U.S. Football and Men’s Figure Skating

Abstract Prejudice against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals can affect a number of attitudes and behaviors relevant to sports; however, there is comparatively little focus on sexual prejudice among sport fans. As such, the purpose of the present study was to examine the associations among sexual prejudice, sexism, gender, and identification with two sports: men’s figure skating and U.S. football. To examine these associations, we draw from multiple perspectives, including Robinson and Trail’s (2005) work on identification, Herek’s (2007, 2009) sexual stigma and prejudice theory, and McCormack and Anderson’s (2014a, 2014b) theory of homohysteria. Questionnaire data were collected from 150 students (52 women, 98 men) enrolled at a large, public university in the Southwest United States. Consistent with the study hypotheses, results from a structural equation model indicate sexual prejudice held a positive association with identification with U.S. football and a negative association with identification with men’s figure skating. Both gender and sexism were significantly associated with sexual prejudice. Men and individuals who expressed sexist attitudes were more prone to express sexual prejudice than were their counterparts. The authors also discuss theoretical and practical implications, limitations, and future directions.
Source: Sex Roles - Category: Global & Universal Source Type: research