Affective and Attitudinal Features of Benevolent Heterosexism in Italy: The Italian Validation of the Multidimensional Heterosexism Inventory

The characteristics and manifestations of homonegativity in Western societies have undergone considerable change in recent decades, even though the ideological system that feeds them, namely, heterosexism, appears relatively stable in its basic assumptions. Heterosexism has been originally defined by Herek (1990) as “an ideological system that denies, denigrates, and stigmatizes any nonheterosexual form of behavior, identity, relationship, or community” (p. 316). As an attitude or prejudice that can serve different psychological functions for different people, heterosexism is present in various individuals’ attitudes and actions, is influenced by various psychological (i.e., cognitive, motivational, behavioral) and situational factors, and can result in violence against SGM (Herek, 1992, 1995). Accordingly, like other ideologies of oppression such as racism and sexism, heterosexism can be regarded through a cultural lens, insofar as it is manifested in social norms and institutions (e.g., religion and the legal system), or through a psychological lens, as it is exhibited in individuals’ attitudes and behavior. In this sense, heterosexism is a measure of aversive or negative attitudes toward SGM, and as such it has been mainly employed in the scales measuring homo-/trans-negative prejudice and stigma.

Numerous empirical and theoretical studies have emphasized the strong association between sexism and heterosexism (Bochicchio et al., 2020; Brett et al., 2023; Kilianski, 2003; Scandurra et al., 2019a). Both sexism and heterosexism refer to negative attitudes, beliefs, and types of behavior that are aimed at devaluing, denigrating, stigmatizing, or restricting women and female-related characteristics on the one hand and LGBTQI+ persons or nonheterosexual forms of behavior on the other (Szymanski & Moffitt, 2012). Furthermore, both can be expressed on an individual, familial, institutional, and sociocultural level. Whereas sexism includes thinking that women are inferior to men, endorsing behaviors such as workplace sexual harassment, gender inequity in salaries, and media depictions of women that emphasize their body parts and sexual readiness, heterosexism includes believing that LGBTQI+ persons are disgusting, deserving rejection and condemnation, and denying rights, protections, and benefits associated with marriage (Szymanski & Carr, 2008) or civil unions (Scandurra et al., 2019b) to same-sex couples. Both sexism and heterosexism are often associated with right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and SDO in research scholarship (e.g., Christopher & Wojda, 2008; Rollero et al., 2021; Sibley et al., 2007). Indeed, findings from the literature show that RWA is associated with prejudice toward gay individuals (Crawford et al., 2016; Stefurak et al., 2010) and that SDO is similarly related to both old-fashioned and modern heterosexism (Eldridge & Johnson, 2011). Even though originally conceptualized as an intra-group and an intergroup phenomenon, respectively (Altemeyer, 1998; Pratto et al., 1994), RWA and SDO both refer to attitudes supporting group-based hierarchy and inequality (Lehmiller & Schmitt, 2007). Accordingly, individuals embracing higher levels of SDO tend to feel threatened by progresses toward group equality and are thus more prone to exhibit high levels of RWA. Finally, both hostile and benevolent sexism are associated with hierarchical beliefs like those supporting RWA- and SDO-related attitudes (Lee, 2013).

Altemeyer (1998) originally regarded RWA as a fixed personality construct comprising three general characteristics, namely, authoritarian submission, conventionalism, and authoritarian aggression. More recently, Jugert and Duckitt (2009) viewed these three dimensions as expressing specific motivational goals or values. RWA has been variously conceptualized as a latent, context-specific disposition (Feldman, 2003), as a general attitude comprising dogmatism, conformist behaviors, punitiveness toward real or perceived adversaries, and a strong desire for social hierarchy (Manson, 2020), and as a group phenomenon that tends to be associated with negative opinions toward marginalized groups (Stellmacher & Petzel, 2005). Therefore, RWA-related norms are formed on the basis of both the individual’s personality and socially informed worldview beliefs. Furthermore, as RWA-related behaviors tend to increase along with societal threats (Bochicchio et al., 2021; Mezzalira et al., 2023b) and since threat hinders perceived control of events, RWA seems to increase with lower perceived control, leading individuals to support social ingroups against the outgroups (Fritsche et al., 2011). As another type of ideological orientation, SDO reflects the endorsement of a hierarchical order of social groups within society (Pratto et al., 1994). Individuals high in SDO tend to be reluctant to distribute resources and give power to subordinate groups (Halkjelsvik & Rise, 2014). Accordingly, SDO reflects the individuals’ belief that social groups are not equal, resulting in the belief in one group’s superiority over other groups. SDO has been found to be a predictor of hostile sexism toward women and tolerance of sexual harassment as well (Feather & McKee, 2012; Russell & Trigg, 2004; Sibley et al., 2007).

At the end of the twentieth century, the concept of sexism—traditionally encompassing hostility toward women and their confinement to roles that accorded them a lower status and power than men—has been disputed within the existing scholarship. Glick and Fiske (1996, 1997) proposed that the concept of sexism is intrinsically ambivalent, insofar as it subjectively involves both benevolent and hostile feelings toward women. Hostile and benevolent sexism are two sexist ideologies based on male structural power in society and female “dyadic power,” namely, a power stemming from dependency in interpersonal relationships (Guttentag & Secord, 1983). Whereas hostile sexism is intended to justify male power, traditional gender roles, and men’s exploitation of women as sexual objects, benevolent sexism is based on gentler justifications of male power and dominance and prescribed rigid gender roles (Glick & Fiske, 1996, 1997). Accordingly, benevolent sexism is an attitude perceived as positive for the sexist, in that it recognizes male dependence on women (women’s dyadic power) and is based on a romanticized conceptualization of sexual relationships with women, thus involving feelings of protectiveness and affection toward them. The two forms of sexism (i.e., hostile and benevolent) share three elements, namely, male power over women, gender differentiation (along with the endorsement of traditional gender roles), and sexuality (viewed within a patriarchal social structure) (Glick & Fiske, 1996, 1997).

In Italy, which is the context of this study, research confirms the data reported in the international scientific literature regarding the associations between sexism, heterosexism, RWA, and SDO (e.g., Callahan & Loscocco, 2023; Lingiardi et al., 2016; Rollè et al., 2022; Scandurra et al., 2017, 2020; Trappolin, 2022). Indeed, various studies have confirmed that Italy is still a highly heteronormative country, where sexual and gender minorities are strongly discriminated due to their nonheterosexual orientation or gender nonconformity (Baiocco et al., 2013; Bochicchio et al., 2019; Lingiardi et al., 2016; Mezza et al., 2023; Scandurra et al., 2020). Furthermore, Italy lacks a specific legislation protecting gender and sexual minorities from homo- or trans-phobic hate crimes, thus exposing these individuals to negative outcomes in terms of mental health and well-being (Hatzenbuehler, 2010, 2014), also due to the gender pressure they are subject to in their everyday life (Egan & Perry, 2001; Mezzalira et al., 2023a).

The strong association between sexism and heterosexism has been theoretically well explained by Kilianski (2003), who proposed the theory of exclusively masculine identity. The author argued that the assumption of a stereotypical male hetero-cisgender identity can entail bias and hostility toward all individuals that are not hetero/cisgender males, namely, cisgender women and lesbian/gay individuals, as well as transgender persons. This means that sexism and heterosexism stem from a common root, namely, the exclusively masculine identity, and can share common forms of expression and manifestation. Just as sexism expresses an ambivalent dimensionality ranging from overt hostility toward women to benevolent and paternalistic—and, therefore, devaluing—attitudes (Glick & Fiske, 1996), so heterosexism can be described as a multidimensional construct as well.

Assuming that heterosexism can also express a benevolent and paternalistic dimension, Walls (2008) theorized heterosexism as a multidimensional construct and proposed to capture its dimensions through the Multidimensional Heterosexism Inventory (MHI). According to the multidimensional conceptualization of heterosexism, the latter can be divided into four subdomains: (1) paternalistic heterosexism, defined as “subjectively neutral or positive attitudes, myths and beliefs that express concern for the physical, emotional or cognitive well-being of nonheterosexual persons while concurrently denying, denigrating, stigmatizing and/or segregating any nonheterosexual form of behavior, identity, relationship, or community” (Walls, 2008, pp. 27–28); (2) positive stereotypic heterosexism, including “subjectively positive attitudes, myths and beliefs that express appreciation of stereotypic characteristics often attributed to lesbians and gay men which function by denying, denigrating, stigmatizing and/or segregating any nonheterosexual form of behavior, identity, relationship, or community” (Walls, 2008, p. 28); (3) aversive heterosexism, defined as “attitudes, myths, and beliefs that dismiss, belittle, or disregard the impact of sexual orientation on life chances by denying, denigrating, stigmatizing and/or segregating any nonheterosexual form of behavior, identity, relationship, or community” (Walls, 2008, p. 46); and (4) amnestic heterosexism, that is “attitudes, myths and beliefs that deny the impact of sexual orientation on life chances by denying, denigrating, stigmatizing and/or segregating any nonheterosexual form of behavior, identity, relationship, or community” (Walls, 2008, pp. 46–47).

The MHI, therefore, is proposed as a tool to assess the different forms of heterosexism in those contexts where the openly hostile homonegativity is discouraged, contrasted, or even punished, like Italy and some other Western countries. The presence of heterosexist beliefs and attitudes, in those contexts, can indeed take a benevolent form, like the paternalistic and the positive stereotypic heterosexism, that can still represent a bias fostering discrimination, inequalities, and prejudice toward lesbians, gays, and bisexuals.

In the last decades, indeed, a vast array of research literature has been based on or mentioned the MHI for research purposes. For instance, Katz et al. (2019) found that endorsing amnestic heterosexist attitudes reduces feelings of personal responsibility to address anti-gay bullying. Van der Toorn et al. (2020) showed that threat reactions to nonheteronormative behavior reinforced the individual’s heteronormative beliefs. In addition to being included as a measure of attitudes toward gay men (Grey et al., 2013) and more generally toward sexual orientation (Ryan & Blascovich, 2015), the MHI (Walls, 2008) has been also quoted among the measures of affirmation and discrimination in LGBTQI+ individuals (e.g., Peterson et al., 2017). Seelman and Walls (2010) found that higher levels of perceived incongruence with social work values in a graduate program were associated with significantly higher levels of hostile, aversive, and paternalistic heterosexism, as well as with higher levels of RWA and SDO. Henry et al. (2022) demonstrated that religious individuals endorsing fundamentalist belief systems exhibit higher levels of heterosexism. Heterosexist attitudes using Walls’s (2008) multidimensional construct have been widely used in educational and academic settings (Clarke, 2019; Gredig & Bartelsen-Raemy, 2021; Katz & Federici, 2018; López-Sáez et al., 2020). Lastly, the multidimensional nature of heterosexism according to Stones and Glazzard (2019) has been addressed along with the minority stress theory proposed by Ilan Meyer (2003) and, more generally, in its relationship with anti-LGB microaggressions (Nadal et al., 2016; Platt & Lenzen, 2013; Spengler et al., 2016; Vishwanathan, 2022).

The literature thus points to the significance of the MHI in the research of prejudice and discrimination against lesbians, gays, and bisexual people based on the various facets of heterosexism. Therefore, our study is aimed at validating an Italian version of the MHI as proposed by Walls (2008). This is particularly important since Italy is not exempt from heterosexist attitudes that can foster serious harm to SGM, and our research can provide a useful instrument to assess the levels of heterosexism, and particularly the benevolent heterosexism, in the Italian population.

The current study is aimed at assessing the psychometric characteristics of the Italian version of the MHI in a national sample of Italian people by evaluating the model fit and different validities (i.e., predictive, convergent, and discriminant). Specifically, we hypothesized that (1) four subscales of the MHI have good fit indices in the Italian sample (i.e., model fit; Hypothesis 1); (2) social dominance orientation (SDO) and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) will correlate positively with each of the subscales of the MHI (i.e., predictive validity; Hypothesis 2); (3) each of the subscales of the MHI will correlate positively with attitudes toward lesbians and gay men and ambivalent sexism (i.e., convergent validity; Hypothesis 3); (4) following Kazdin’s (2003) recommendations on the conceptual distinction between constructs, correlations between MHI and all other scales will be below 0.60 (i.e., discriminant validity; Hypothesis 4).

The literature has historically shown that men exhibit more negative attitudes than women toward homosexuality (Kite & Whitley, 1996). In a more recent study, Montgomery and Stewart (2012) found that women scored higher than men on both heterosexual privilege awareness and resistance to heteronormativity, and both these variables were associated with engagement in gay rights activism. Other studies confirmed that greater biases exist against sexual minorities among men compared to women (e.g., Andersen & Fetner, 2008; Mange & Lepastourel, 2013). Furthermore, Walls (2008) found that having any LGBTQI+ friend (as opposed to the number of such friends) was associated with higher levels of paternalistic heterosexism and that seculars were lower in apathetic heterosexism than conservative Protestants. Finally, Habarth et al. (2020) found that higher education was associated with lower heteronormativity among women.

Based on this literature, in addition to the hypotheses concerning the psychometric characteristics of the MHI, we also hypothesized that men, less educated participants, religious people, and those not having LGBTQI+ relatives and friends are generally higher in all subscales of MHI than their counterparts.

The current study is aimed at assessing the psychometric properties of the MHI in a sample of Italian cisgender and heterosexual individuals. The results obtained by CFA showed a good fit to the data, confirming the original 4-factor model of the scale. Moreover, the results showed that the MHI has adequate predictive and convergent validity in the recruited Italian sample, but that discriminant validity is not fully achieved due to overlaps of multidimensional heterosexism with other theoretical constructs (i.e., hostile sexism, benevolent sexism, and RWA). Finally, results showed some significant gender differences with respect to aversive and amnestic heterosexism, but not with respect to paternalistic and positive stereotypic heterosexism. To our knowledge, this is the first available measure to comprehensively assess the different dimensions and manifestations of heterosexist attitudes and beliefs in an Italian context, and in particular, the MHI is currently the only measure that can assess the extent of benevolent sexism in the Italian population.

Regarding predictive validity, we found significant associations of all MHI subscales with SDO and RWA. These results seem to confirm previous literature that found that both RWA and political conservatism are associated with certain negative attitudes toward same-sex sexuality (e.g., Whitley & Lee, 2000). Specifically, RWA has been shown to have a consistently positive association with prejudice toward gay individuals (Stefurak et al., 2010). As to the specific forms of multidimensional heterosexism, Walls (2008) had already found that higher levels of conservative political orientation predicted higher levels of apathetic heterosexism in an earlier version of the MHI. Eldridge and Johnson (2011), in turn, found strong associations between SDO and heterosexism (both old-fashioned and modern), likely because RWA and SDO refer to beliefs that support group-based domination and inequality (Lehmiller & Schmitt, 2007) and group-based hierarchy (Eldridge & Johnson, 2011). Indeed, individuals with high SDO tend to feel threatened by advances toward group equality and are therefore more predisposed to RWA. In short, our results are consistent with the literature in showing that all four domains of heterosexism, as theorized by Walls (2008), are associated with both RWA and SDO.

Regarding convergent validity, we found significant associations of all MHI subscales with negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men, hostile sexism, and benevolent sexism. Glick and Fiske (1996) conceptualized benevolent sexism as consisting of three subcomponents: heterosexual intimacy (i.e., intimate relationships between men and women), protective paternalism (i.e., an individual’s unelicited interference or assistance in another person’s behavior or decision-making processes deemed beneficial to that person), and gender differentiation (i.e., conventional norms and beliefs that distinguish men and women according to their status differences). Walls’s (2008) conceptualization of paternalistic heterosexism and positive stereotypic heterosexism partially traces back and mirrors these aspects of sexism; the author also found a “significant, positive relationship between hostile sexism and amnestic heterosexism” (p. 52). Although hostile and benevolent sexism are interdependent, complementary, and cross-culturally prevalent ideologies (Glick & Fiske, 1996), they have also been considered as distinct constructs (Lee, 2013). On the one hand, hostile sexism is associated with behaviors such as sexual harassment (Begany & Milburn, 2002). On the other hand, benevolent sexism predicts paternalistic behaviors such as men’s chivalry toward women (Viki et al., 2003). The two forms of sexism (hostile and benevolent) are not only associated with higher levels of gender inequality (Glick et al., 2000), but are also positively associated with general hierarchical beliefs as held by individuals who embrace SDO and RWA (Lee, 2013). Specifically, Lee (2013) found that endorsement of SDO more strongly predicted the endorsement of hostile sexism than that of benevolent sexism, whereas the endorsement of RWA more strongly predicted endorsement of benevolent sexism than that of hostile sexism. The rationale underlying such difference lies in the different sexist ideologies supported by different worldviews, as posited by Duckitt’s dual-process model (Duckitt, 2001; Duckitt & Sibley, 2017). Accordingly, individuals high in SDO tend to endorse hostile sexism because they hold a “competitive” worldview and thus support male dominance over women. Conversely, individuals high in RWA tend to endorse benevolent sexism because they hold a “dangerous” worldview and adhere to social traditions that value women who conform to gender norms.

On the other hand, discriminant validity was partially confirmed as the aversive heterosexism subscale of the MHI was found to be overly associated with hostile sexism and RWA, indicating some degree of overlap between these theoretical constructs. In our view, the overlap between hostile sexism and aversive heterosexism is unavoidable to some degree, as they have a common origin that has been well explained theoretically by Kilianski (2003) through the theory of “exclusively masculine identity.” According to this theory, all identities that deviate from the hetero-cisgender male identity tend to generate aversion and hostility, which can be expressed at individual, familial, social, and institutional levels (Szymanski & Moffitt, 2012). Indeed, defining aversive heterosexism as a set of attitudes that dismiss or disregard the impact of sexual orientation on life chances by denying, stigmatizing, or marginalizing any nonheterosexual form of existence seems to incorporate the core definition of ambivalent sexism, as it includes the endorsement of traditional gender roles (Glick & Fiske, 1997).

We have also found that aversive heterosexism is strongly associated with RWA, perhaps because those who fall more on the “authoritarian specter” (Altemeyer, 1996) tend to perceive SGM as an affront and threat to the social order and are therefore treated with hostility and contempt. Indeed, recent research on the psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that societal threats tend to increase the levels of RWA (Bochicchio et al., 2021), which is strongly associated with higher levels of aversion and hostility toward SGM (Pacilli et al., 2022).

Lastly, accordingly to the previous literature, we found that MHI subscales were generally higher in religious people (Cragun & Sumerau, 2015; Jäckle & Wenzelburger, 2015; Roggemans et al., 2015), in less educated people (e.g., Bickmore, 2002), and in those who had no LGBTQI+ friends (e.g., Bochicchio et al., 2019). Interestingly, with respect to gender difference, we found that only the subscales of aversive and amnestic heterosexism were higher in men if compared to women, but not the subscales of paternalistic and positive stereotypic heterosexism. Herek (1988) had already shown that heterosexual men tend to have more negative attitudes toward SGM than heterosexual women, and recent research on this topic tends to confirm that gender difference affects attitudes toward homosexuality, with men being less accepting of and more aversive toward same-sex sexuality than women (Hildebrandt & Jäckle, 2023). Nevertheless, our study seems to refine the previous literature with regard to the different domains of multidimensional heterosexism by showing that only the two forms of aversive heterosexism and amnestic heterosexism are higher in men than in women. This finding is particularly interesting because it represents a further element of convergence between benevolent sexism and benevolent heterosexism. As Becker (2010) has shown, women tend to be more likely to hold benevolent sexist attitudes than men because of the internalization of sexist beliefs. Thus, it appears that benevolent expressions of sexual and gender prejudice—both sexism and heterosexism—are more acceptable to women than hostile ones. This may explain why the level of aversive heterosexism is lower for women, but the level of benevolent heterosexism is not affected by gender difference.

Our study is aimed at validating the Italian version of the MHI and also at assessing the associations between the different dimensions of heterosexism and some related constructs, i.e. sexism, RWA, and SDO. The results suggest that assessing the different nuances of heterosexism is crucial in contemporary society, as the decline of old-fashioned aversive and hostile heterosexism may give way to more subtle and implicit forms of prejudice, such as benevolent heterosexism in its positive stereotypic and paternalistic dimensions. And as the case of benevolent sexism has shown, this sociocultural process can lead to new forms of discrimination and inequality against SMG individuals. Future research should better assess the impact of benevolent heterosexism on health, well-being, and quality of life of SGM people, also examining how sociocultural and political dynamics may predict the development of heterosexist beliefs and attitudes.