Gay-related name-calling as a response to the violation of gender norms.

Slaatten, Hilde ; Gabrys, Leena

In western countries, words such as gay, faggot, lezzie, and poofter seem to be commonly used in name-calling among adolescents (AAUW, 2001; Chiodo. Wolfe, Crooks, Hughes, & Jaffe, 2009; Witkowska, 2005). Gay-related name-calling appears to be particularly frequent among males (Bum, 2000), and more boys than girls report that they have been agents (McMaster, Connolly, Pepler, & Craig, 2002; Poteat & DiGiovanni, 2010) and targets (Chiodo, et al., 2009; McMaster, et al., 2002) of gay-related name-calling.

Even though gay-related name-calling has been found to be associated with anti-gay attitudes (Bum, 2000; Franklin, 2000), anti-gay jokes may not always be manifestations of anti-gay behaviour (Jewell & Morrison, 2010). In a US student survey, gay-related name-calling was more closely associated with peer dynamics, such as friends' expectations and an attempt to feel closer to their friends, than to anti-gay ideology (Franklin, 2000). Interview studies further indicate that adolescents do not use gay-related name-calling exclusively in order to disparage gay men, but also as a response to disliked and stupid behaviour (Jewell & Morrison, 2010) and in order to tease in a nice way (Norman & Galvin, 2006). Another frequently reported reason why adolescents use gay-related names is as a response to the violation of gender norms (McCann, Plummer, & Minichiello, 2010; Nayak & Kehily, 1996; Pascoe, 2003; Phoenix, Frosh, & Pattman, 2003; Plummer, 2001 ; Renold, 2002; Stoudt, 2006). Quantitative studies also support the existence of an association between gay-related name-calling and violation of gender norms (Franklin, 2000; Jewell & Morrison, 2010; Poteat, Kimmel, & Wilchins, 2010). In the research literature, violation of gender norms seems to be more frequently mentioned as a reason why adolescents use gay-related name-calling than any other reason. An inquiry of whether more adolescents have used gay-related name-calling as a response to the violation of gender norms than as a response to other reasons, has never been empirically explored, however.

Little is known about the relative difference in frequency between the different reasons for calling someone gay-related names. The main purpose of this study is to explore whether adolescents use gay-related name-calling as a response to the violation of gender norms by boys more frequently than as a response to disliked or stupid behaviour, in order to criticise, hurt or put someone down, in order to tease in a nice way, and as a reference to actual or suspected sexual orientation. Another aim is to explore the extent to which gay-related name-calling motivated by different reasons is more frequently directed towards boys as opposed to girls and whether it is more frequently used by boys as opposed to by girls.

METHOD

Participants and Procedures

The participants in this study were 921 9th grade pupils (450 boys) (mean age: 14 years) from 15 upper secondary schools from two regions in Norway. The pupils filled in a questionnaire during school hours in April, May or June 2010. Passive consent letters with information about the study were given to the participants and their parents.

Measure

Five reasons for having called someone gay-related names were identified in the current study. Calling someone gay-related names as a response to the violation of gender norms (first reason) was assessed by six questions asking whether the participants had ever called a boy/girl these names because they did something that was feminine/masculine or "girly"/"boyish," because they said something that was not very masculine/feminine, or because they behaved in a way in which boys/girls should not behave. Calling someone gay-related names in order to criticise, hurt or put down (second reason), was assessed by six questions asking whether the participants had ever called a boy/girl these names because they wanted to criticise them for something, because they wanted to hurt them or because they wanted to put them down. Calling someone gay-related names as a response to disliked or stupid behaviour (third reason), was assessed by four questions asking whether the participant had ever called a boy/girl these names because they said or did something they did not like, or because they said or did something stupid. Calling someone gay-related names in order to tease in a nice way (fourth reason) was assessed by four questions asking whether the participants had ever called a boy/girl these names because they wanted to tease them in a positive way or because they wanted to joke in a nice way. Calling someone gay-related names as a reference to actual or suspected sexual orientation (fifth reason) was assessed by four questions asking whether the participants had ever called a boy/girl these names because they stated that they had crushes on other boys/girls, or because they suspected that they had crushes on other boys/girls. Based on the participants' answers to the questions above, they were defined to have called a boy or a girl gay-related names for a specific reason if they answered yes to any of the questions which defined that reason.

Statistical Analysis

Frequency and percentage analyses were conducted to assess the proportion of boys and girls who had called another boy or girl gay-related name for each of the five reasons for having called someone gay-related names (see the Table). Odds ratio analyses with a 95% Confidence Interval were used in order to assess the likelihood of participants having called a boy or a girl, gay-related names as a response to the violation of gender norms compared to as a response to the other reasons. Odds ratio analysis with a 95% Confidence Interval was also used to assess whether more boys than girls had called another boy or girl gay-related names for all five reasons.

RESULTS

Table 1 shows the proportion of male and female participants who reported that they had ever called a boy or a girl words such as gay, faggot or lezzie as a response to disliked or stupid behaviour, in order to criticise, hurt or put someone down, as a response to the violation of gender norms, in order to tease in a nice way, and as a reference to actual or suspected sexual orientation.

As can be seen from the Table, the most frequently reported reason for having called a boy gay-related names was as a response to the violation of gender norms: 40% of the participants reported that they had done so. The participants were more likely to report that they had called a boy gay-related names as a response to the violation of gender norms than in order to criticise, hurt, or put someone down (OR = 7.45, 95% CI [5.66, 9.81]), as a reference to actual or suspected sexual orientation, (OR = 3.46, 95% CI [2.77, 4.33] or in order to tease in a nice way (OR = 1.31, 95% CI [1.08, 1.59]). The participants were approximately equally likely to have called a boy gay-related names as a response to the violation of gender norms and as a response to disliked or stupid behaviour (OR = 1.11, 95% CI [.92, 1.351).

The participants were more likely to have called a boy gay-related names than to have called a girl gay-related names for all reported reasons, including as a response to the violation of gender norms (OR = 4.96, 95% CI [3.88, 6.34]), as a response to disliked or stupid behaviour (OR = 2.38, 95% CI [1.92, 2.95]), in order to tease in a nice way (OR = 2.18, 95% CI [1.75, 2.72]), as a reference to actual or suspected sexual orientation (OR = 1.93, 95% CI [1.44, 2.58] and in order to criticise, hurt or put someone down (OR = 1.68, 95% CI [1.14, 2.47]).

As can be seen from the Table, male participants were more likely than female participants to have called a boy gay-related names for all reported reasons, except as a reference to actual or suspected sexual orientation. There was no statistical difference, however, in the frequency of how often male and female participants reported having called a girl gay-related names for all reported reasons.

DISCUSSION

The current findings are consistent with previous studies showing that gay-related name-calling is used as a response to the violation of gender norms (Franklin, 2000; Jewell & Morrison, 2010; McCann, et al., 2010; Nayak & Kehily, 1996; Pascoe, 2003; Phoenix, et al., 2003; Plummer, 2001; Poteat, et al., 2010; Renold, 2002; Stoudt, 2006). The fact that gay-related name-calling directed at boys was more frequently used as a response to the violation of gender norms than as a reference to sexual orientation also suggests that gay-related name-calling is more commonly associated with the endorsement of male norms than with anti-gay attitudes and behaviour. The finding that gay-related name-calling as a response to the violation of gender norms was more common than gay-related name-calling used in order to criticise, hurt, or put someone down, or in order to tease in a nice way, also suggests that gay-related name-calling among boys is more frequently used as a way of regulating unwanted expressions of masculinity than as a way of actively hurting or teasing someone.

In line with previous research, the participants in the current study were more likely to have called boys gay-related names than to have called girls such names (McMaster, et al., 2002; Poteat & DiGiovanni, 2010), regardless of the reason for the name-calling. The consistent sex-of-target effect only seemed to occur when the target was a boy, however. Combined with the fact that gay-related name-calling directed towards girls was less frequent than gay-related name-calling directed towards boys, the fact that no gender difference was found when the participants were asked whether they had called a girl gay-related names suggests that there may be specific processes at work when the name-calling is directed towards boys. Taken together, the findings suggest that gay-related name-calling is closely linked with the endorsement of male role norms.

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HILDE SLAATTEN * and LEENA GABRYS *

* University of Bergen.

Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed to Hilde Slatten, email: hilde.slatten@psysp.uib.no

DOI:10.3149/jins.2201.28

Table 1

Reported Reasons for Ever Having Called a Boy and a Girl,
Gay-related Names

                                   Boys         Girls        Total
                                   % (n)        % (n)        % (n)

REASONS FOREVER having called a BOY gay-related names

1. Response to violation of
   gender norms                    43.9 (189)   36.9 (166)   40.2 (356)

2. In order to criticise, hurt
   or put down                     12.6 (54)    4.2(19)      8.3 (73)

3. Response to disliked or
   stupid behaviour                47.3 (205)   28.0 (126)   37.4 (332)

4. In order to tease in a
   nice way                        40.0 (173)   27.4 (123)   33.7 (299)

5. Reference to actual or
   suspected sexual orientation    17.8 (77)    14.7 (66)    16.3 (144)

REASONS FOR EVER having called a GIRL gay-related names

1. Response to violation of
gender norms                       13.0 (54)    11.0 (49)    11.9 (103)

2. In order to criticise, hurt
or put down                        5.8(24)      4.5(20)      5.1 (44)

3. Response to disliked or
   stupid behaviour                20.5 (85)    19.6 (87)    20.0 (173)

4. In order to tease in a
   nice way                        20.0 (83)    17.8 (79)    18.9 (163)

5. Reference to actual or
   suspected sexual orientation    9.2(38)      9.2(41)      9.2(79)

                                   Odds    95% CI
                                   Ratio

REASONS FOREVER having called a BOY gay-related names

1. Response to violation of
   gender norms                    1.34    [1.02-1.75]

2. In order to criticise, hurt
   or put down                     3.24    [1.89-5.57]

3. Response to disliked or
   stupid behaviour                2.31    [1.75-3.06]

4. In order to tease in a
   nice way                        1.77    [1.33-2.35]

5. Reference to actual or
   suspected sexual orientation    1.25    [.87-1.79]

REASONS FOR EVER having called a GIRL gay-related names

1. Response to violation of
gender norms                       1.21    [.80-1.82]

2. In order to criticise, hurt
or put down                        1.30    [.71-2.39]

3. Response to disliked or
   stupid behaviour                1.06    [.76-1.48]

4. In order to tease in a
   nice way                        1.16    [.82-1.63]

5. Reference to actual or
   suspected sexual orientation    1.00    [.63-1.58]