Effeminate men and the gender straitjacket: Roots in homophobia, hypermasculinity, or devaluing the feminine

Individuals who are gender role variant in some way face an assortment of negative reactions from others. In particular, effeminacy in males carries with it heavy cultural sanctions, which can significantly impact an individual's functioning. However, the exact reason for societal negative reactions is not completely understood. Factors of homophobia, sexism, and rigid gender role identification may each partially contribute to negative reactions toward effeminacy in males. The current study proposes a theoretical model that explores the relationships between these factors in a quantitative model.; One-hundred and forty seven men and women, randomly sampled from two university undergraduate subject pools, participated in the study. Seventy-five participants identified as male, and 72 participants identified as female. Participants completed a series of measures: the Hypermasculinity or Hyperfemininity Inventory (depending upon their gender); the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory; the Modern and Old-fashioned Sexism Scale; the Index of Homophobia; a variation of the Effeminacy Scale; the Bem Sex Role Inventory; and the Femme Scale.; The theoretical model utilized the factors of one's own gender role identity, homophobia, and various aspects of sexism as possible predictors for possessing negative attitudes toward effeminacy in males. The research indicated that the most significant influence on negative reactions toward effeminacy in males is homophobia (p<.001) and for male participants, benevolent sexism (p=.004). These results have implication for potential societal change to improve acceptance of diversity, as well as how to address gender role variance in a clinical setting.