TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2024//
TI  - Heterosexual, lesbian, and gay adults' reactions to same-gender versus other-gender flirtation: findings from a German study
JO  - Archives of sexual behavior
A1  - Rosenbach, Steffen
A1  - Guell, Laura
A1  - Kranz, Dirk
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - Using a vignette methodology, this study examined reactions to same-gender versus other-gender flirtation in a sample of 445 German young adults: 320 participants with a heterosexual orientation and 125 participants with a lesbian or gay (LG) orientation. Even in LG-friendly societies as Germany, receiving advances from someone of the same gender might still evoke heterosexuals' homonegativity. Another factor that might influence heterosexuals' reactions to same-gender flirtation is the fear of being misidentified as LG (social contagion concerns). Contrary to hypothesis, results provided little evidence to classify heterosexual participants' reactions to same-gender flirters as homonegative. Firstly, heterosexual participants showed the same degree of negative affect and avoidance behavior in the same-gender flirtation condition as LG participants did in the other-gender flirtation condition. Only positive affect scores were somewhat lower for heterosexual participants in the same-gender flirtation condition compared to LG participants in the other-gender flirtation condition. Secondly, when anti-LG attitudes and social contagion concerns were considered together, only social contagion concerns contributed to explaining variance in heterosexual participants' response to same-gender flirters. Specifically, the impact of social contagion concerns on heterosexual participants' avoidance of same-gender flirters was mediated by (lacking) positive affect, but not negative affect.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0004-0002
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10508-024-02935-0
ID  - ref1
ER  -