Quality of Contact: Heterosexual Men’s Experiences with Sexual Minorities

Introduction: Prejudice against sexual minorities (i.e., lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals) is commonplace in our society, and the consequences on those affected by it can be devastating. Approximately 25% of sexual minorities in the United States have been victims of a hate crime based on their sexual orientation. Crimes against sexual minorities can inflict more psychological harm to the victim than other types of victimization, including a greater likelihood of anxiety, depression, or anger. Studies have shown that greater levels of sexual prejudice lead to higher rates of violence against sexual minorities. However, previous research also suggests that having contact with sexual minorities can reduce sexual prejudice. The purpose of the current study was to gather more meaningful information about heterosexual men’s experiences of contact with sexual minorities, in order to address the current gap in the extant literature where no study has examined the qualitative aspects of contact. The overarching questions guiding this research were 1) how do heterosexual males describe their current and past contact experiences with sexual minorities? and 2) how do they describe the quality and nature of this contact?