THE AFFECTS OF GENDER

SOCIALIZATION ON HOMOSEXUAL MALES

AND FEMALESAmber L. Janzen

South Puget Sound Community College

ABSTRACT

Imagine if you will, a large, extended American family celebrating at a wedding. Two young girls aged 5 and 6 join hands on the dance floor and rejoice in excitement while dancing away the evening. They hug and kiss each other on the cheek gleefully. Their elders look on admiring how cute and precious a scene they’re bearing witness to. Now imagine the same display only two boys are frolicking with delight, holding hands, dancing close, perhaps swapping pecks of affection just as the girls had done. Quite likely, the cultural response would be one of disapproval. The following research attempts to demonstrate these differences in gender socialization while illuminating their manifestations within the gay community, specifically the male homosexual community.

BACKGROUND

Young children learn gender and then fulfill their prescribed role

Males are taught to be aggressive, females passive

The majority of gay-bashing victims and offenders are male

Males make up a staggering 90% of violent crime offenders

HYPOTHESIS Gay men will have a more challenging

time with disclosing their sexual preference than gay females.

I postulate that gender socialization will have a direct influence on this.

METHOD A random sample of 22 was taken from

three separate establishments 11 homosexual males and 11 lesbian

females voluntarily participated Participants filled out a questionnaire

designed to extract specific information The survey was brief, comprised of only

4 questions.

RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE

Thank you for choosing to be a participant in this study. Please answer openly and honestly as many questions as you feel comfortable with. Responses are confidential and will provide valuable information with reference to gender socialization. Please feel free to remain anonymous and place your completed questionnaire in the envelope provided. If you wish to be informed of the results, please provide a self-addressed envelope. The results will be mailed within 4-6 weeks. Thank you again for your participation.

• Are you biologically male or female?• At what age did you know that your sexual

preference was not for the opposite biological sex?

• At what age did you openly disclose your sexual preference to your family and/or peers?

• Have you experienced any discrimination or bullying that was fueled by your sexual preference? If so, could you provide an example?

RESULTS: Males were found to have a longer

disclosure rate by about 1.95 years The mean gap for males was 9.25 years

while females was 7.3 years Males had a variance of 43% from the

mean and a standard deviation of 6.5 years Females had a variance of 63% and a

standard deviation of 7.9 years Females had an outlier of 25 which

deviated from the mean by 17.7 years Males had an outlier of 22 which deviated

from the mean by 12.75 years

RESULTS CONTINUED: Males experienced more discriminatory

incidents at a ratio of 15:9 3 of the 11 males had still not disclosed

their sexual preference, further supporting the hypothesis*

* Because non-disclosure was not anticipated, a lack of quantifiable data for three men may have skewed the average. The average for males was taken from 8 while an average for females was taken from 10 as data was not available for one female.

Se-ries1

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Gap in Years from Awareness to Disclosure of Sexual Preference Among Male & Female Ho-

mosexuals

MalesLinear (Males)FemalesLinear (Females)

Disclosure Gap in Years

Verba

l Ass

ault

Phys

ical V

iole

nce

Other

(Uns

pecifi

ed D

iscr

imin

atio

n)

No Disc

losu

re

Fam

ily D

isownm

ent

Wor

kpla

ce D

iscr

imin

atio

n0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Gay Bashing Among Males & Females

MaleFemale

# of Incidents Reported

CHALLENGES TO STUDY Too small a sample size Lack of control for other variables such

as fear of family disownment, religious background, ethnic background, workplace discrimination, etc.

Non-disclosure was not anticipated, and although compelling to the hypothesis, could not be quantified for in determining a sound average gap.

CONCLUSION Males experienced higher rates of

verbal assault, physical violence, family disownment, and non-disclosure.

Males and females reported an equal amount of unspecified discrimination as well as workplace discrimination.

Females reported no incidences of family disownment.

Overall, males experienced a longer, if not non-existent, disclosure rate than females

CONCLUSION CONTINUED The violence endured by homosexual men, seemed to

be born of a model of gender socialization that dominates American culture; a model in which males are to embody masculinity as defined by a disposition of toughness, aggression, violence, emotional constriction, dominance, and conformity. This study made it apparent that further research is necessary to prove a relationship between gender socialization and the hesitancy of coming out among both males and females. It’s important to note that, although males had a longer (in some cases non-existent) coming out period, lesbian women grapple with the same antagonism males do. This indicates a cultural need for reassessment of gender and what it truly means to be masculine, feminine, male, or female.