Fragile Heterosexuality

Abstract. Previous research demonstrates that membership of majority groups is often perceived as more fragile than minority groups. Four studies ( N 1 = 90, 2 247, 3 500, 4 1,176) investigated whether this was the case for heterosexual identity, relative to gay identity. Support heterosexuality found using various methods: sexual orientation perceptions a target who engaged in incongruent behavior, free-responses concerning behaviors required change someone’s mind about target’s orientation, agreement with statements men/women’s and gender-neutral orientation. Neither participant nor gender eliminated or reversed effect. Additionally, we multiple explanations (moderators) difference fragility between identity higher estimates gay/lesbian population decreased (higher) (lower)