REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
According to Simon Copland, it is very unlikely people are born gay (or
presumably any other sexual orientation). Scientific evidence says otherwise. It points
strongly to a biological origin for our sexualities. Finding evidence for a biological basis
should not scare us or undermine gay, lesbian and bisexual (LGB) rights. He would
argue that understanding our fundamental biological nature should make us more
vigorous in promoting LGB rights.
According to social cognitive theory (Bandura, 2001), one important way in
which television influences viewers is by providing vicarious experiences on which to
model beliefs, attitudes, and behavior when real-life experiences are more limited. A
closely related idea is that the media—by depicting sexual scenarios that people might
not be able to see anywhere else—provide scripts for enacting various sexual behaviors
(Gagnon & Simon, 1973) such as people having sex with a new partner. Reliance on
television shows for sexual scripts and television characters as models for behavior may
be particularly strong among youth, who may not have much first-hand experience with
sexuality, yet are starting to solidify their sexual identities and become interested in
sexual relationships (Chapin, 2000). In fact, as many as one in five teens reports that
“entertainment” is their most important source of sexual information (Gibbs, 1993 as
cited in Brown & Steele, 1995).
An article in the issue of APA's Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology points to a possible cause of seemingly higher rates of suicide among LGB
and transgendered (LGBT) youth: discrepancies between what gay youth report about
suicide attempts and what they're actually doing. The article, by Cornell University's
Ritch C. Savin-Williams, PhD, reports on two studies that conclude that even though
sexual-minority teens are more likely than heterosexual youth to report suicide attempts,
half of those reports are false--that is, the young people had thought about suicide but
hadn't acted on it. In addition, Savin-Williams found, many of the true attempts the
young people reported weren't life-threatening.
Most people do not think that greater societal acceptance of gays and lesbians
would be a bad thing for the country, but neither do they believe it would be a good
thing. A 42% plurality says that greater acceptance of gays would not make much
difference, while 31% say it would be bad for the country; that is a modest increase from
a Kaiser Family Foundation survey in 2000 (23%). Fewer than a quarter (23%) think
greater acceptance of gays would be good for the country, down from 29% in 2000.
Nearly half of the public (48%) expresses the view that the entertainment media are
including too many gay themes and characters these days compared with 40% who
believe the media are providing the right amount of gay-themed content. These views
are strongly related to religious tradition and practice, and to partisanship and ideology.
Fully 72% of conservative Republicans think there are too many gay themes and
characters in the media; only one-quarter of liberal Democrats agree.
A large majority of those interviewed say it does not make them uncomfortable to
be around homosexuals. Overall 76% say they are not uncomfortable; 20% say they
are. Discomfort is greater among older respondents (29% of people age 65 and older),
those living in rural areas (29%), conservative Republicans (30%), and highly committed
white evangelicals (34% uncomfortable around gays and lesbians).
Comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is by far the most visible gay or
lesbian public figure. When asked which public or entertainment figures that are gay or
lesbian first come to mind, 32% cite DeGeneres. Jason Collins, the professional
basketball player who revealed he was gay shortly before the survey was conducted,
was named by 7%, while 6% named Elton John. Overall, 38% of the public could not
name any gay or lesbian public figure. This includes 61% of those age 65 and older and
57% those with no more than a high school education.
