Modern and Old-fashioned Homonegativity Among Samples of Canadian and American University Students

Abstract

The viability of modern homonegativity was examined in two studies using Canadian ( N = 374) and American ( N = 608) university students as participants. Results suggest that negativity toward sexual minorities grounded in contemporary assertions such as gay men and lesbian women no longer experience discrimination and possess all the rights they need, appears to be distinguishable from old-fashioned negativity, which reflects traditional, moral, and/or religious objections to homosexuality. Invariance analysis revealed that a majority of items designed to assess modern homonegativity had equivalent loadings across the two samples. Results also indicated that American participants were more homonegative than their Canadian counterparts, though this difference was most apparent with old-fashioned homonegativity. The limitations associated with the current series of studies are discussed and directions for future research are articulated.