Come Together? Priorities of LGBT Adults in Response to Anti-LGBT Politics

• In Event: The Political Psychology of LGBT+ Politics

Abstract

In 2023, a wave of anti-gay and anti-transgender legislative proposals swept federal, state, and local governments. Transgender youth and adults were often at the center of these policy discussions in accessing medically necessary transition-related care and in athletics. What is the effect of anti-LGBT political advancements on the policy priorities of LGBT people? By targeting a stigmatized subgroup within the LGBT community, intersectional marginalization would expect that LGBT people would de-prioritize the issues that are politically losing. However, oppositional consciousness would motivate LGBT people to close ranks and increase the priority they place on those politically charged issues. We report findings from a survey experiment on 1,219 LGBT adults where either “anti-gay” or “anti-transgender” politics were paying-off for conservative activists. Consistent with oppositional consciousness, more LGBT people prioritized transition-related care for transgender youth when anti-transgender politics was emphasized. These effects were occasionally different for LGBT people who had weaker ties to the LGBT community. The 2023 wave of legislation may reinforce LGBT group cohesion rather than encourage divisions within the group, particularly for those who are more closely connected to the LGBT community.

Author

• Andrew R. Flores, American University