Homophobes have strong erectile reactions to gay porn?

[Goldmund]

A birdie told me there's been a study, a serious study, a scientific study even (though science IS "just a theory", thankyouverymuch) that demonstrated that homophobic men generally show stronger signs of arousal when exposed to gay porn than straight men who are not homophobes.

Does anybody have a link to that study?

[billyskank]

1. No link, but I've heard that before

it's not new. I'd heard that idea ten years ago, while I was at university. The idea is that the worst homophobia is a reaction to latent homosexual tendencies that the person cannot deal with. Seems plausible to me.

[Deja Q]

16. Uh-oh. Does this mean William Shatner may have a hankerin' for a honkin'?

:wow:

(he was ALWAYS vocal about telling the world he's a hetero. He even mistook a joke on Match Game PM (or was it Match Game 74))?

[bettyellen]

19. i have a great shatner story........

remind me to tell you sometime........

[redqueen]

2. Here it is

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=8772014

Searching for the name of the study - Is homophobia associated with homosexual arousal? - will garner all kinds of hits. :D

[Goldmund]

3. I do indeed thank you.

It does validate the term "homoPHOBIA".

[KurtNYC]

4. Perhaps "Truth-phobia" would be more accurate

[Ariana Celeste]

5. I think you're on to something

:7

[meegbear]

6. I know someone like that ...

TRUE STORY

A guy freaked out when he heard I was gay and actually tried to get my straight friends to stop hanging with me. They wouldn't tolerate that and he had to deal with me, a edgy friendship to say the least.

We all talk openly about everything including sex. One Sunday evening a bunch of us were together and he came by after a few drinks. He starts looking at the Sunday circulars and when he hit a section with men's underwear and swimming trunks, he says to us "Did you ever check out the bulges in some of these pictures?". Later he admitted that sometimes he would rent a porn movie based on the size of the man. Another time, I actually showed him a scene of a gay movie, with others in the roo, with a well endowed man (Al Parker) and he thought it was great!

We all think he's closeted.

[MrScorpio]

7. I guess the fact that gay porn does nothing for me...

Means that I'm a non-homophobic straight guy?

I can dig that.

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. I can't believe that any homophobes would willingly watch porn for

a scientific study.

[ReadTomPaine]

12. To prove they are not gay, they will do almost anything.

Including kill, for some.

[Telly Savalas]

22. If you're a college student needing beer money for the weekend..

and you see a flyer for a psychological study that pays $20 to participate, you might be flexible about such things.

[hlthe2b]

9. Just a theory, but showing the "forbidden" to the sexually repressed...

whether it is a hetero or homosexual behavior, might cause the same? In other words, is it the "thrill of the forbidden," rather than true repressed homosexual tendencies?

[tjdee]

10. That's what I was going to say.

:shrug:

[redqueen]

13. No.

This theory doesn't explain why those who described themselves as having the most negative reactions to homosexuality would have stronger reactions than those who were more accepting of it.

Blows that theory all to hell.

[hlthe2b]

14. Actually it could... if those who described themselves as

having the most negative reactions to homosexuality were also those who had been "imprinted" to believe it was the ultimate in forbidden behaviors. (That is known as confounding in epidemiologic terms).

Not that I have difficulty believing they may actually be repressed homosexuals, mind you, Redqueen. Just that there could be other explanations and it needs to be sorted out.

Regardless it is an ironic and somewhat humorous finding, given what we know about those most hypocritical RW homophobes. :eyes:

[Strawman]

11. Heh heh

"Homophobia is apparently associated with homosexual arousal that the homophobic individual is either unaware of or denies."

Homophobe: (Angrily) What the hell are you talkin' about? I ain't aroused!

Researcher: Umm, sir, please stop masturbating.

[realisticphish]

15. I am cynical about this study

the methods they used to determine arousal weren't, IMHO, very valid. I mean, the main methods, if i remember correctly, were blood pressure and a little loopy thing that... well, you know. First of all, you're showing homophobes something they are frankly terrified of. You show me a movie with spiders, and my heart starts to race, BP goes up, etc... all symptoms of arousal. And, men frequently get erections when very scared (comes with the high BP). Not to mention that just having a thing around... your thing is itself arousing.


that said, i think that MANY homophobes are closet. i do NOT, however, think that all, or even a majority are such. Some people just hate. i would like to see this study done with a little more internal validity

[Terran]

17. Me too. Gay men sometimes engage in wishful thinking

(and being one, I can report this accurately). Many gay men want EVERY man to be gay, or at least "do-able". So it's has become an article of faith in some circles that all men who demonstrate hostility toward things gay must be latent homosexuals themselves, because that adds a whole bunch of straight men to the category of "men that I just know I could convince to have sex with me given half a chance".

[redqueen]

18. Are you saying the authors of the study are gay?

I'd love to see this study done more thoroughly and with more whatever would make it more credible... but I just don't get the meaning of your post.

[Terran]

23. No, I'm not saying that. However...

the "results" of the study reflect a wide-spread common wisdom among gay men that is, in my opinion, wishful thinking. Perhaps I should have said that I do question the validity of the study; that is the meaning of my post.

[The Great Escape]

20. Right Time, Right Place, Right Situation....

couldn't it be that sexuality is just more fluid than the true straight/gay divide.

[Terran]

24. Obviously, sexuality IS more fluid than the alleged divide.

I'm not saying it isn't. Quite the opposite, in fact. Most straight women would be shocked to their cores if they knew exactly how fluid sexuality is for straight men (I can't say whether the men might be similarly surpised about women).

No, I just mean that there are a lot of gay men who, seemingly by tradition, believe that ALL straight men can be had and in fact that they are ALL actually gay but just don't know it yet. It amounts to folk wisdom. And clearly sexuality is not, in reality, *that* fluid. Freud may be right that theoretically everyone is bisexual, but culturally that is not true.

[The Great Escape]

26. I've Always Been Amazed At The Husbands...

who think that if they can find another "husband" to be their "fishin' buddy," that it will help them keep their bisexuality a secret. Been many a husband to fall head over heels for another husband.

[jswordy]

27. I have seen the other side up close...

...where hubby goes out for anonymous gay sex, then his wife starts to feel like she has the flu but she just can't seem to shake it. Then the tests come back.

It is devastating.

[jswordy]

21. I want one! I want one! I love "strong erectile reactions!" n/t

[ronnykmarshall]

25. Oh god I'm a homophobe!!