Replication Data for: The Right Kind of (Gay) Man? Sexuality, Gender Presentation, and Heteronormative Constrains on Electability

This paper explores two key biases underpinning heteronormativity: those against homosexuality and gender nonconformity. Through a novel experimental design deploying visual and audio stimuli to manipulate the sexuality and gender presentation of men as political candidates, I uncover persisting biases among American voters. Republicans and voters desiring order and certainty penalize gay candidates while Democrats prefer them. However, both Democrats and Republicans penalize gender nonconformity. I show the acceptance of gay candidates by Democrats comes with a demand for candidates to look and sound “straight.” Moreover, I find voters penalize gender nonconformity in both gay and straight men, highlighting that heteronormative ideologies, while privileging heterosexuality over homosexuality, do not (dis)advantage all gay and straight candidates equally. Probing the contours of our egalitarianism and our understanding of who gets to walk the halls of power, these findings underscore the importance of considering status differentials both across and within census-style identity categories.

本文探讨了支撑异性恋规范（heteronormativity）的两大核心偏见：即针对同性恋及性别不一致（gender nonconformity）的偏见。通过一项创新实验设计——利用视觉与听觉刺激来操纵男性政治候选人的性取向及性别表现——我揭示了美国选民中持续存在的偏见。共和党人及渴望秩序与确定性的选民会对同性恋候选人施加惩罚，而民主党人则更偏好这类候选人。然而，民主党与共和党人均会对性别不一致的候选人施加惩罚。研究表明，民主党人对同性恋候选人的接纳，伴随着要求候选人在外貌与声音上呈现“直人”（straight）特质的隐性条件。此外，我发现选民会对同性恋及异性恋男性中的性别不一致者施加惩罚，这凸显出：尽管异性恋规范意识形态优先推崇异性恋而非同性恋，但它并未对所有同性恋与异性恋候选人施加均等的（不）利影响。通过探究我们平等主义的边界及对权力准入者的认知，这些发现强调了在人口普查式身份类别之间及内部考量地位差异的重要性。