Public Attitudes and Private Prejudices: Assessing Voters’ Willingness to Vote for Out Lesbian and Gay Candidates
Our study concerns the factors leading to the electoral success and failure of LGBTQ candidates in the context of the changing nature of prejudices. We hypothesize that more positive views toward “respectability candidates,” as captured by familial status, has replaced explicit prejudice toward out...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Political Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2021.662095/full |
| _version_ | 1818440601052381184 |
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| author | Joanna Everitt Laszlo Horvath |
| author_facet | Joanna Everitt Laszlo Horvath |
| author_sort | Joanna Everitt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Our study concerns the factors leading to the electoral success and failure of LGBTQ candidates in the context of the changing nature of prejudices. We hypothesize that more positive views toward “respectability candidates,” as captured by familial status, has replaced explicit prejudice toward out LGBTQ candidates in societies where acceptance of sexual minorities in general has grown. In a survey experiment conducted with a sample of Canadian voters, one of the first countries to legalize marriage equality, we find suggestions that voters are more likely to reward lesbian and gay candidates who adopt heteronormative relationships (married with children vs. single) than those who do not. These patterns become more evident when we explore causal heterogeneity with controls for individual-level characteristics and attitudes that typically predict support toward lesbian and gay candidates. Here we find these predictors rewarded single lesbian and gay candidates, whereas lesbian and gay candidates with families were simply more supported across the board. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T18:14:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5ef274d3ecad450ea8452fc4ed0274c5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-3145 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T18:14:57Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Political Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-5ef274d3ecad450ea8452fc4ed0274c52022-12-21T22:52:13ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Political Science2673-31452021-06-01310.3389/fpos.2021.662095662095Public Attitudes and Private Prejudices: Assessing Voters’ Willingness to Vote for Out Lesbian and Gay CandidatesJoanna Everitt0Laszlo Horvath1Department of History & Politics, University of New Brunswick, Saint John, NB, CanadaQ-Step Centre, Department of Politics, University of Exeter, Exeter, United KingdomOur study concerns the factors leading to the electoral success and failure of LGBTQ candidates in the context of the changing nature of prejudices. We hypothesize that more positive views toward “respectability candidates,” as captured by familial status, has replaced explicit prejudice toward out LGBTQ candidates in societies where acceptance of sexual minorities in general has grown. In a survey experiment conducted with a sample of Canadian voters, one of the first countries to legalize marriage equality, we find suggestions that voters are more likely to reward lesbian and gay candidates who adopt heteronormative relationships (married with children vs. single) than those who do not. These patterns become more evident when we explore causal heterogeneity with controls for individual-level characteristics and attitudes that typically predict support toward lesbian and gay candidates. Here we find these predictors rewarded single lesbian and gay candidates, whereas lesbian and gay candidates with families were simply more supported across the board.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2021.662095/fullLGBTQ candidatessurvey experimentaffinity votingfamilial statuscausal heterogeneity |
| spellingShingle | Joanna Everitt Laszlo Horvath Public Attitudes and Private Prejudices: Assessing Voters’ Willingness to Vote for Out Lesbian and Gay Candidates Frontiers in Political Science LGBTQ candidates survey experiment affinity voting familial status causal heterogeneity |
| title | Public Attitudes and Private Prejudices: Assessing Voters’ Willingness to Vote for Out Lesbian and Gay Candidates |
| title_full | Public Attitudes and Private Prejudices: Assessing Voters’ Willingness to Vote for Out Lesbian and Gay Candidates |
| title_fullStr | Public Attitudes and Private Prejudices: Assessing Voters’ Willingness to Vote for Out Lesbian and Gay Candidates |
| title_full_unstemmed | Public Attitudes and Private Prejudices: Assessing Voters’ Willingness to Vote for Out Lesbian and Gay Candidates |
| title_short | Public Attitudes and Private Prejudices: Assessing Voters’ Willingness to Vote for Out Lesbian and Gay Candidates |
| title_sort | public attitudes and private prejudices assessing voters willingness to vote for out lesbian and gay candidates |
| topic | LGBTQ candidates survey experiment affinity voting familial status causal heterogeneity |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2021.662095/full |
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