Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Do people learn to be homophobic from the media? Are people with homophobic beliefs more likely to consume certain media such as political talk radio? Using Uses & Gratifications and Cultivation Analysis as the theoretical framework, the present study examines possible links between media usage and homophobic attitudes. Despite the general belief about media’s powerful influence on politics and culture, our findings suggest that media usage has a very limited relationship with anti-gay attitudes. Instead, characteristics such as strong religiosity and lower education are better predictors of one’s negative attitudes toward gays and lesbians. The only significant media related factor to homophobia is a low incidence of newspaper reading.