This study was from 2014, but I thought it was relevant given the recent attack, which was apparently precipitated by this guy seeing gay men kissing in public. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-11/asa-hhe111814.php [rquoter]WASHINGTON, DC, November 18, 2014 -- A new study indicates that heterosexuals have predominately egalitarian views on legal benefits for -- but not public displays of affection (PDA) by -- same-sex couples. "We found that, for the most part, heterosexuals are equally as supportive of legal benefits for same-sex couples as they are for heterosexual couples, but are much less supportive of public displays of affection for same-sex couples than they are for heterosexuals," said Long Doan, a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at Indiana University and the lead author of the study. Titled, "Formal Rights and Informal Privileges for Same-Sex Couples: Evidence from a National Survey Experiment," the study, which appears in the December issue of the American Sociological Review, relies on a nationally representative dataset of more than 1,000 people. As part of their research, Doan and his co-authors Annalise Loehr and Lisa R. Miller, who are also PhD candidates in Indiana University's sociology department, provided study participants with one of three scenarios featuring an unmarried couple who was currently cohabitating. The only difference between the scenarios was the sexual identity of the couple: gay, lesbian, or heterosexual. After reading their scenario, respondents were asked to answer questions about their perceptions of the couple. These questions included whether the couple should be granted legal benefits such as family leave, hospital visitation, inheritance rights, and health insurance. Other questions focused on the acceptability of the couple engaging in various forms of PDA, including telling others they are in a relationship as well as holding hands, kissing on the cheek, and French kissing in a park. Among heterosexual respondents, the researchers found, for example, that 70 percent of those who received the scenario about the heterosexual couple supported inheritance rights for the couple, 69 percent of those who received the scenario about the gay couple supported inheritance rights for the couple, and 73 percent of those who received the scenario about the lesbian couple supported inheritance rights for the couple. However, among heterosexual respondents, 95 percent of those who received the scenario about the heterosexual couple approved of the couple kissing on the cheek, 55 percent of those who received the scenario about the gay couple approved of the couple kissing on the cheek, and 72 percent of those who received the scenario about the lesbian couple approved of the couple kissing on the cheek. "Support for legal benefits for gays and lesbians should not be conflated with favorable attitudes toward same-sex couples in general," Doan said. "We come to the conclusion that although heterosexuals may be increasingly willing to grant legal benefits to gay and lesbian couples, entrenched prejudice that takes on subtler forms may remain." Interestingly, the researchers also found that, in some cases, gays and lesbians are less supportive of same-sex couples engaging in PDA than they are of heterosexual couples partaking in the same behavior. "This was the most surprising finding in our study," Doan said. "Initially, it was counterintuitive because we expected gay and lesbian individuals to espouse egalitarian ideas about same-sex couples' right to express affection in public. However, we believe that gay and lesbian people were less likely to approve of certain same-sex public displays of affection due to safety concerns. Indeed, gay and lesbian individuals are all too aware that same-sex individuals are vulnerable to harassment and hate crimes." [/rquoter]
If I kiss my significant other in a public place, does that justify killing and maiming over one hundred people? Of course not, and I realize that you aren't suggesting that it does. My point is that LGBT couples and lovers are human beings, just like "heterosexuals" are. No more, no less. What they do in public should be judged the same way any so-called "straight" couple should be judged. If it is obviously inappropriate, given a particular setting, then a complaint isn't uncalled for. A complaint and nothing more. I've passionately kissed my significant other in public several times over the course of the forty years we've been an item. Not frequently, and certainly more when we were younger, but so what? We're no different than an LGBT couple doing the same thing.
There was a time when people had similar opinions about interracial PDAs. It's your problem, not the kissing couple's problem.
PDA should be outlawed in every form. No one wants to see that **** be it hetero, gay, or lesbian couples.
Just to be clear: I have no issue with gay people kissing in public. From the first two responses, maybe I was giving the wrong impression on where I stand on that.
I'd rather not see any PDA. I will be honest and admit that two dudes making out does slightly bother me more, but that's based on my preference of what I find attractive and not as any homophobia.
My bad. I didn't mean YOU you, though it clearly seems like what I was saying in retrospect. Poorly written by me. Sorry.
I don't like any PDAs, but that is my problem not theirs...and it is within their rights, so not gonna worry about it. DD
This guy was suspended for making positive remarks about the 9/11 terrorists in school. Most non-Muslim non-terrorist ****s probably wouldn't react to two dudes kissing by shooting 100 people. So I don't think that is the action that we should be even worrying about.
Only PDA most people are comfortable with seeing is in the p*rn they are about to unleash their anxiety upon.
People who don't like PDA are prude, in general. Why care? Look away if it bothers you. It's the same people that were offended by the wardrobe malfunction. It's what led John Ashcroft to cover up statues. That said, there are times where PDA crosses the line and it's just time for you to get a room. Nobody wants to see that. Love and sex are natural parts of life. After Orlando, I'd argue we need MORE pda, not less. Love, not hate.
Because it's like someone starting a thread about whether women should wear short skirts after a rape. It - deliberately or not - signals some kind of weird attempt at relativizing the perpetrator's guilt by seemingly analyzing whether the victim contributed to what happened. Which, by the way, is exactly what the father of the terrorist did, in quite a revealing fashion. I am not suggesting that that's what you wanted to do. But since I assume you did not mean to do that, I find your thread weird.
I quick little kiss on the cheek doesn't bother me by anyone. But, I would rather not see a heavy make out session in public by heterosexual or homosexual people.
