Reactions to Violence Against Asexual Men
Open Access
- Author:
- Jones, Evan
- Area of Honors:
- Psychology
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Theresa K Vescio, Thesis Supervisor
Sean Laurent, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Violence
Dehumanization
Asexuality
Masculinity - Abstract:
- Violence toward sexual minorities is an ongoing problem in our society. Compared to attention paid to other sexual minorities, few studies focusing on asexual individuals and discrimination against them exist. Research has shown that asexual people are dehumanized in relation to straight counterparts and in relation to their gay and bisexual counterparts (MacInnis & Hodson, 2012). This study evaluated whether heightened dehumanization against asexual individuals resulted in people evaluating reports of violence perpetrated against asexual individuals as less harmful, less credible, and less worthy of punishment than reports of violence perpetrated against straight and gay individuals. Participants were randomly assigned to read about either an asexual man, a gay man, or a straight man who was the target of verbal harassment, property violence, or physical violence. Participants then responded to inventories assessing perceived harm, credibility of the report, victim blaming, likelihood that a crime occurred, and support for perpetrator punishment. Results did not support the hypothesis that asexual men would be perceived as less harmed than straight and gay counterparts. Rather, asexual men’s experiences were perceived similarly to gay men’s experiences, and straight men were perceived as less harmed by violence than either gay or asexual men were. A significant relationship emerged between participant gender and all main effects, as women reported more perceived harm, found victims to be more credible, and offered greater support for perpetrator punishment. Implications on categorization of asexuality and perceived harm with relation to masculinity are discussed.