title: Gay- and Lesbian-Sounding Auditory Cues Elicit Stereotyping and Discrimination.
abstract: The growing body of literature on the recognition of sexual orientation from voice ("auditory gaydar") is silent on the cognitive and social consequences of having a gay-/lesbian- versus heterosexual-sounding voice. We investigated this issue in four studies (overall N = 276), conducted in Italian language, in which heterosexual listeners were exposed to single-sentence voice samples of gay/lesbian and heterosexual speakers. In all four studies, listeners were found to make gender-typical inferences about traits and preferences of heterosexual speakers, but gender-atypical inferences about those of gay or lesbian speakers. Behavioral intention measures showed that listeners considered lesbian and gay speakers as less suitable for a leadership position, and male (but not female) listeners took distance from gay speakers. Together, this research demonstrates that having a gay/lesbian rather than heterosexual-sounding voice has tangible consequences for stereotyping and discrimination.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Surrey, Stage Hill Campus, Guildford, GU2 7XH, UK. f.fasoli@surrey.ac.uk.|Center for Psychological Research and Social Intervention, Instituto Universitario de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal. f.fasoli@surrey.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fasoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maass
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Trento, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Paola
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Paladino
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sulpizio
mesh_terms: D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006716:Homosexuality / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013240:Stereotyping
keywords: Discrimination; Sexual orientation; Stereotypes; “Gaydar”