How Context Matters: Predicting Men's Homophobic Slang Use

Abstract

This manuscript reports two experiments exploring heterosexual men’s use of homophobic slang in social contexts, varied by sex-ratio. Study 1 (N = 127) experimentally demonstrated that compared to a mixed-sex audience, heterosexual men with an all-male audience reported higher levels of hetero-identity concern (HIC) and more homophobic slang use; these men had similar levels of HIC compared to men with an all-female audience. Study 2 replicated Study 1’s mean difference tests, and explored whether the relationship between HIC and homophobic slang was affected by group sex-ratio and social norms. Results suggest the relationship between HIC and homophobic slang was significant only in all-male and mixed-sex audiences, and the norm of noninterference was predictive of homophobic slang only in all-male groups.