Age stereotyping of gay and heterosexual men: Why does a minority sexual orientation blur the age of old men, in particular?

This research examined age stereotyping of male individuals displaying intersectional memberships stemming from the combination of age (Young vs. Elderly) and sexual orientation categories (Gay vs. Heterosexual). We found that the age stereotypes of ‘Elderly gay men’ were blurred: ‘Elderly gay men’ were stereotyped less on elderly- and more on young-stereotypical traits than both ‘Elderly heterosexual men’ (Study 1) and ‘Elderly men’ (Studies 2–4). These findings did not occur with any subtype, as was also not the case for ‘Elderly right-handed men’ (Study 3), but replicate only with atypical subtypes (Study 4). Indeed, the blurring of the age stereotypes for ‘Elderly gay men’ was replicated for an additional atypical subtype, ‘Elderly Atheist men’, and amplified when the atypical subtype involved ‘Elderly men’ in combination with ‘Athlete men’, whose stereotypes implied youthful traits (Study 4). The results informed cognitive models of multiple category stereotyping

AGE AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION CATEGORIES COMBINATIONS: THE INTERSECTIONAL INVISIBILITY OF ELDERLY GAY MEN

Theoretical and empirical efforts have deeply analyzed the social categorization and stereotyping of individual members who display single identity at a time (i.e., membership). Recently, different theoretical models have been put forward with regard to the way perceivers combine distinct categories in the attempt to solve the complexity of individuals displaying multiple bases for social categorization (i.e., intersectionality). The intersection between age-related categories (young and elderly) and those related to sexual orientation (homosexual and heterosexual) seems to be made up of categories that have no common stereotypes. The current research project has focused on the combination of age and sexual orientation categories referring to men as the generative mechanism of the invisibility of older gay men. Indeed, elderly gay men run the risk of being invisible among older people in general, as their particular needs have not always been acknowledged by, for instance, policymakers and healthcare services (Harrison, 2006; Kia et al., 2019). In addition, elderly gay men are invisible in the gay community, whose media representation (Jankowski et al., 2014; Saucier & Caron, 2008) is very much tied to the concept of youth (Bennett & Thompson, 1991; Hajek & Giles, 2002). Older gay people also are invisible as they likely refrain from coming out after living their whole lives under the pressure to pass as heterosexual (Harris & Fiske, 2006; Harrison, 2006). Together, these studies acknowledge that elderly gay men are invisible (i.e., impossible to be seen) in society, metaphorically speaking, among the population. The current research was aimed at studying the cognitive processes that enact the cognitive invisibility of elderly gay men. Specifically, the current research project aimed at a) extending the intersectional perspective to the analysis of the combination of age and sexual orientation categories; b) understanding the cognitive processes involved in the perception of this specific case of sexual orientation by age categories intersection; c) developing a mixed method approach to the study of category intersections.Theoretical and empirical efforts have deeply analyzed the social categorization and stereotyping of individual members who display single identity at a time (i.e., membership). Recently, different theoretical models have been put forward with regard to the way perceivers combine distinct categories in the attempt to solve the complexity of individuals displaying multiple bases for social categorization (i.e., intersectionality). The intersection between age-related categories (young and elderly) and those related to sexual orientation (homosexual and heterosexual) seems to be made up of categories that have no common stereotypes. The current research project has focused on the combination of age and sexual orientation categories referring to men as the generative mechanism of the invisibility of older gay men. Indeed, elderly gay men run the risk of being invisible among older people in general, as their particular needs have not always been acknowledged by, for instance, policymakers and healthcare services (Harrison, 2006; Kia et al., 2019). In addition, elderly gay men are invisible in the gay community, whose media representation (Jankowski et al., 2014; Saucier & Caron, 2008) is very much tied to the concept of youth (Bennett & Thompson, 1991; Hajek & Giles, 2002). Older gay people also are invisible as they likely refrain from coming out after living their whole lives under the pressure to pass as heterosexual (Harris & Fiske, 2006; Harrison, 2006). Together, these studies acknowledge that elderly gay men are invisible (i.e., impossible to be seen) in society, metaphorically speaking, among the population. The current research was aimed at studying the cognitive processes that enact the cognitive invisibility of elderly gay men. Specifically, the current research project aimed at a) extending the intersectional perspective to the analysis of the combination of age and sexual orientation categories; b) understanding the cognitive processes involved in the perception of this specific case of sexual orientation by age categories intersection; c) developing a mixed method approach to the study of category intersections

Category intersections as conceptual combinations: Combining male categories of age and sexual orientation

We reconcile interactive and additive models of category intersection by recasting these theoretical efforts within the conceptual combination framework. In three studies (Ntot = 364), we showed that, in line with an interactive approach, combining ‘elderly men’ with ‘gay men’ generated an atypical subtype with unique attributes that could not be reduced to the sum of the attributes of the constituent categories (Studies 1–3). Moreover, consistent with the additive models, combining ‘heterosexual men’ with age categories (i.e. young/elderly men, Study 1) made their age typicality particularly salient, and ‘young men’ with sexual orientation categories (i.e. gay/heterosexual men, Study 2) emphasized their sexual orientation typicality. Also, participants not only appraised ‘gay men’ and ‘young gay men’ in part as redundant categories, but they also judged ‘elderly men’ and ‘elderly heterosexual men’ to be largely overlapping. These findings take advantage of a multi-method assessment, spanning from measures of perceived typicality to the analysis of attributes freely generated in reaction to the target categories. Our results inform cognitive models of multiple category combinations and shed light on the cognitive ‘invisibility’ of elderly gay men and its social implications. © 2023 The Authors. British Journal of Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society

No country for old gay men: Age and sexuality category intersection renders older gay men invisible

Four studies analyzed how sexual orientation (heterosexual vs. gay) and age categories (young vs. elderly) referring to men are cognitively combined. In Study 1, young gay men were judged as more prototypical of gay men than adult or elderly gay men, while young, adult, and elderly heterosexual men were perceived as equally prototypical of heterosexual men. In Study 2, gay men were stereotyped more by young rather than elderly stereotypical traits, while heterosexual men were not stereotyped in terms of age. In Study 3, elderly men were stereotyped more by heterosexual than gay-stereotypical traits, while young men were not stereotyped in terms of sexual orientation. In Study 4, gay men were judged to be young rather than elderly, while elderly men were judged to be heterosexual rather than gay. Overall, elderly gay men were overlooked when processing their constituent categories, “gay” and “elderly” men. Implications for models of intersectionality are discussed

An Intersectional Perspective on Age Stereotypes: Bisexual and Gay Men are Stereotyped as Younger than Heterosexual Men Even When Aging

We analyzed the age stereotypes of heterosexual, gay, and bisexual men and the implications of such stereotypes for the conceptualization of older gay and bisexual men, specifically. In Study 1a (N = 158) and 1b (N = 155), we found that compared to heterosexual men, participants stereotyped gay men more on young- than elderly-stereotypical traits. Participants represented bisexual men not as "somewhere in between" the stereotypes about heterosexual and gay men, but were characterized more by young- than elderly-stereotypical traits. In Study 2 (N = 106), we reasoned that because of their sexual orientation, both older gay and bisexual men would be viewed as atypical subtypes of older men, considered to be heterosexual by default. As atypical subtypes, both older gay and bisexual men may be stereotyped less on traits associated with elderly men and more on traits associated with their sexual orientation membership, namely young-stereotypical traits. Consistently, compared with older heterosexual men, both older gay and bisexual men were perceived as less typical of older men, and their perceived atypicality accounted for them being stereotyped less as older and more as younger men. The results have been examined for intersectional stereotyping research and practical implications are discussed

sj-docx-1-jls-10.1177_0261927X221137581 - Supplemental material for A Cognitive Look at the “Invisibility” of Older Gay Men Within the Categories ‘Gay Man’ and ‘Elderly Man’

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-jls-10.1177_0261927X221137581 for A Cognitive Look at the “Invisibility” of Older Gay Men Within the Categories ‘Gay Man’ and ‘Elderly Man’ by Rosandra Coladonato, Andrea Carnaghi, Mary Ann Ciosk, Mauro Bianchi and Valentina Piccoli in Journal of Language and Social Psychology</p