The Role Theory And Contact Theory

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

2.0 Introduction

In this study, the role theory and contact theory has been used. Role theory explains the reasons why heterosexuals are prejudiced toward gays and lesbians focusing on heterosexuals’ belief that homosexuals breach expected social roles. On the other hand, contact theory clarifies positive attitudes towards gays and lesbians developed by heterosexuals’ interpersonal contact with homosexuals.

To illustrate the power relationship between heterosexuals and homosexuals, the approach of heterosexism from radical feminism theory and the way homosexuals are abused in society are being discussed. Further, role theory and contact theory is being integrated into the concept of heterosexism.

2.1 Role Theory

"Role theory is a science that study behaviors which are characteristic of individuals within context and within distinct processes that apparently produce, describe, or are influenced by those behaviors" (Biddle, 1979). Biddle (1979) defined roles as "a behavioral repertoire characteristic of an individual or a position; a set of principles, descriptions, norms, or concepts existed and maintained for the behaviors of an individual or social position; or (less often) a position itself. In other words, individuals are assigned to play specific roles and behave appropriately based on their personal characteristics or the positions they occupy. Some examples of personal characteristics are age, race, and sex. Indefinitely such personal characteristics are generally fixed, compared to certain behavioral characteristics or positions which are regularly more malleable (Biddle, 1979). This is why; physical characteristics may delineate power relationships.

There are certain expectations that are essential for individuals to satisfy their roles. These expectations are shared by many individuals and are learned through socialization. These expectations are learned from parents, family, and colleagues and can be taught by social institutions such as schools and religious institutions (Eagly 1987). Like expectations, reactions are also shared. Individuals who adopt the expected behaviors are expected to be rewarded, while those who violate them are anticipated to be punished.

Social behavior expectations lay great emphasis on sex and gender categorizations (Eagly, 1987). He classified gender roles as "those shared expectations (that is those suitable behaviors and qualities) that apply to people on the basis of their socially identified gender." Especially, women are expected to take care of others and to do household chores more than men, while men are considered to be more autocratic and more suitable as breadwinners (Eagly, 1987). Nevertheless, overtime women’s roles have changed. Twenge’s (1997) investigation found that both women’s and men’s masculinity scores have speed up since 1973, even though women’s scores have altered more rapidly than men’s. On the other hand, men’s and women’s femininity scores have changed fairly. As a result, there is a decreasing pattern on men’s and women’s masculinity scores. That is, women possess more masculine attitudes and are becoming more androgynous. This implies that women have fewer social constraints in the acquisition of masculine characteristics, whereas men continue to go through strong negative reactions from others if they attain feminine traits (Feinman 1981; Twenge 1997).

Kite and Deaux (1987) analyzed the stereotypes associated with homosexuals. Their study showed that the heterosexuals associated gay men with heterosexual female traits and lesbians with heterosexual male characteristics. For example, lesbians are have more a masculine characteristic such as short hairs, while gay men walk femininely and talk in a high-pitched tone and wear jewelry. Moulton and Adams-Price (1997) carry out an analysis about heterosexual and homosexual men’s behavior towards heterosexual cross-dressers, homosexual cross-dressers and homosexual non-cross-dresses.

Heterosexual men did not differentiate the degree of masculinity between the three groups and expressed negative attitudes towards them. These results illustrate that heterosexual men point gay men as feminine, much like cross-dressers. Further, gar men are considered to be violating traditional male sex roles instead of expressing traditionally female traits. Due to the fact that feminine gay men and masculine lesbians breach or are thought to breach traditional gender roles, heterosexuals expressed negative attitudes towards them.

However, recent research concludes that images of homosexuals are becoming more complicated. According to Clausell and Fiske (2005), respondents when asked about images of gay men, identified both masculine and feminine traits, even though they described feminine traits such as cross dresser and flamboyant more frequently than masculine characteristics such as hyper masculine, physically fit and straight acting. In their research of stereotypes about lesbians, Geiger, Harwood and Hummert (2006) found that their respondents’ attitudes consist of both positive and negative images. The positive stereotypes involved so-called lipstick lesbians that is they are beautiful, sexy, attractive and career-oriented feminist, while the negative stereotypes involved hypersexual, sexually deviant (for example dirty, disgusting immoral) and angry butch. Heterosexuals not only possess images of gender inverted homosexuals but also gender confirming homosexuals. Hence, heterosexuals may show more negative attitudes towards feminine gay men and masculine lesbians compared to masculine gay men and feminine lesbians.

Schope and Eliason (2004) research focused on whether heterosexuals’ attitudes varied towards feminine and straight-acting gay men. Their respondents were asked what would be their reactions in twelve different situations such as studying in the respondent’s room, hanging out at bar, and introducing to the respondent’s parents. Even though they find that homosexuals who behave in cross-gender ways received some negative judgments, the final results did not held those patterns. Instead than the violation of traditional gender roles, the authors debated that homosexuality itself developed negative attitudes among heterosexual respondents. These findings contrast previous studies, but Schope and Eliason (2004) did not control for the traditional gender role beliefs of their respondents, which illustrate their anomalous results.

Heterosexuals are likely to perceive homosexuals as gender-inverted and consider that they violate traditional gender roles. Hence, heterosexuals who have almost traditional gender role attitudes may disclose negative attitudes toward homosexuals as they believe that homosexuals deserve to be punished for not following shared roles.