Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes of university students in Turkey toward lesbians and gay men. Findings indicate that relatively negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men are prevalent, but attitudes toward lesbians seem to be more positive than attitudes toward gay men. Gender differences directly affect attitudes, and religiosity also has great impact on the attitudes of the students toward lesbians and gay men. An active sex life and liberal attitudes toward premarital relations correlate with more positive attitudes toward homosexual persons. Finally, the data indicate that interpersonal contact with gay men and lesbians is associated with positive attitudes toward homosexuals.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adasal, R. (1975). Normal ve anormal seks ve evlilik (Normal and abnormal sex and marriage). Ankara, Turkey: Doruk.
Aksoy, Z. (2003). Türk yazılı basınında lezbiyenliğin sunumu. (Presentation of lesbians in written media). Ankara, Turkey: Symposium on Problems of Lesbians and Gey Men, May.
Al-Fozan, Sh. S. (1997). The book of Tawheed. Riyadh: Darussalam.
Aral, S. O., & Fransen, L. (1995). STD/HIV prevention in Turkey: Planning a sequence of interventions. AIDS Education and Prevention, 7, 544–553.
Başaran, Y. T. (2003). Türkiye’de eşcinsel kurtuluş hareketini yaratırken. (Creating homosexual freedom movement in Turkey). Ankara, Turkey: Symposium on problems of lesbians and gey men, (in Turkish), May.
Bergler, E. (1956). Homosexuality: Disease or way of life? New York: Collier.
Çelikkan, M. (2003). Gey ve lezbiyen hareket, insane hakları ve medya. (Gay and lesbian movement, human rights and media). Ankara, Turkey: Symposium on problems of lesbians and gay men, May.
D’Augelli, A. R., & Hershberger, S. L. (1995). A multiyear analysis of changes in AIDS concerns and homophobia on a university campus. Journal of American College Health, 44, 3–10.
D’Augelli, A. R., & Rose, M. L. (1990). Homophobia in a university community: Attitudes and experiences of heterosexual freshmen. Journal of College Student Development, 31, 484–491.
Duyan, V. (2004). Cinsel tutum ölçeği (Manuel of the scale of sexual attitudes.) Ankara, Turkey: Publication of Hacettepe University School of Social Work.
Duyan, V., & Duyan, G. (2005). Turkish social work students’ attitudes toward sexuality. Sex Roles, 52, 697–706.
Duyan, V., & Gelbal, S. (2004). Lezbiyen ve geylere yönelik tutum (LGYT) ölçeği: güvenirlik ve geçerlik çalışması. (Attitudes toward lesbians and gays (LGYT) scale: reliability and validity study). Turkish Journal of HIV/AIDS, 7, 106–112, (in Turkish).
Erol, A. (1996). Din ve eşcinsellik. (Religion and homosexuality). Journal of Gay–Lesbian Studies, 2(24), 5–8.
Erol, A. (2003, May). Lezbiyen ve geylerin sorunları (Problems of lesbians and gay men. Ankara, Türkiye: Lezbiyen ve geylerin sorunları sempozyumu). Ankara, Turkey: Symposium on problems of lesbians and gey men, (in Turkish).
Glassner, B., & Owen, C. (1976). Variations in attitudes toward homosexuality. Cornell Journal of Social Relations, 11, 161–176.
Güney, N., Kargı, E., & Çorbacı-Oruç, A. (2004). Üniversite öğrencilerinin eşcinsellik konusundaki görüşlerinin incelenmesi. Turkish Journal of HIV/AIDS, 7, 131–137.
Herek, G. M. (1988). Heterosexuals’ attitudes toward lesbians and gay men: Correlates and gender differences. Journal of Sex Research, 25, 451–477.
Herek, G. M. (1994). Assessing attitudes toward lesbians and gay men: A review of empirical research with the ATLG scale. In B. Greene, & G. M. Herek (Eds.), Lesbian and gay psychology (pp. 206–228). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Herek, G. M. (1998). The attitudes toward lesbians and gay men (ATLG) scale. In C. M. Davis, W. H. Yarber, R. Bauserman, G. Schreer, & S. L. Davis (Eds.), Handbook of Sexuality-related measures (pp. 392–394). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Herek, G. M. (2000). The psychology of sexual prejudice. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9, 19–22.
Herek, G. M., & Capitanio, J. P. (1995). Black heterosexuals’ attitudes toward lesbians and gay men in the United States. Journal of Sex Research, 32, 95–105.
Herek, G. M., & Capitanio, J. P. (1996). “Some of my best friends”: Intergroup contact, concealable stigma, and heterosexuals’ attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 412–424.
Herek, G. M., & Glunt, E. K. (1993). Interpersonal contact and heterosexuals’ attitudes toward gay men: Results from a national survey. Journal of Sex Research, 30, 239–244.
Kite, M. E., & Whitley, B. E. Jr. (1996). Sex differences in attitudes toward homosexual persons, behaviors, and civil rights: A meta-analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 336–353.
Kite, M. E., & Whitley, B. E., Jr. (1998). Do heterosexual women and men differ in their attitudes toward homosexuality? A conceptual and methodological analysis. In G. M. Herek (Ed.), Stigma and sexual orientation (pp. 39–61). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Klassen, A. D., Williams, C. J., & Levitt, E. E. (1989). Sex and morality in the US Middletown. CT: Wesleyan University Press.
Küçükkaraca, N. (2003). Eşcinsellik ve farklılık. (Homosexuality and diversity. Ankara, Turkey: Symposium on problems of lesbians and gey men, May.
Lance, L. M. (1987). The effects of interaction with gay persons on attitudes toward homo-sexuality. Human Relations, 40, 329–336.
Pratte, T. (1993). A comparative study of attitudes toward homosexuality: 1986 and 1991. Journal of Homosexuality, 26, 77–83.
Rahman, F. (2000). İslami yenilikler makaleleri II (Islamic renovations articles II). Ankara: Ankara Okulu.
Sakalli, N. (2002a). The relationship between sexism and attitudes toward homosexuality in a sample of Turkish college students. Journal of Homosexuality, 42,(3) 53–64.
Sakalli, N. (2002b). Pictures of male homosexuals in the heads of Turkish college students: the effects of sex difference and social contact on stereotyping. Journal of Homosexuality, 43(2), 111–126.
Sakalli, N. (2002c). Application of the attribution-value model of prejudice to homosexuality. The Journal of Social Psychology, 142, 264–271.
Sakalli, N. & Ugurlu, O. (2001). Effects of social contact with homosexuals on heterosexual Turkish university students’ attitudes towards homosexuality. Journal of Homosexuality, 42(1), 53–62.
Sakalli, N., & Ugurlu, O. (2002). The effects of social contact with a lesbian person on the attitude change toward homosexuality in Turkey. Journal of Homosexuality, 44, 111–120.
Soylu, L., Levent, B. A., & Uguz S. (1999). Çukurova Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Psikiyatri Kliniğine başvuran 7 eşcinselin-Homoseksüelin özellikleri ve terapi yaklaşımları, (Characteristics of the 7 homosexuals who received service from Çukurova University Faculty of Medicine Psychiatry Clinic, and the Treatment Approaches). Unpublished dissertation, Çukurova University Faculty of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, Adana, Turkey.
Walters, A. S. (1997). The influence of homophobia in HIV/AIDS education. Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality, 9, 17–38.
Weinberg, M. S., & Williams, C. J. (1974). Male homosexuals: Their problems and adaptations. New York: Oxford University Press.
Whitley, B. E. Jr., & Kite, M. E. (1995). Sex differences in attitudes toward homosexuality: A comment on Oliver and Hyde (1993). Psychological Bulletin, 117, 146–154.
Yıldız, F. (1990). Ortaokul öğrencilerinin anne-babalarının cinsellik ve cinsel eğitime ilişkin tutum, davranış ve beklentileri. (Attitudes, behaviors and expectations of secondary school students’ parents on sexuality and sexual education). Unpublished master’s thesis, Ankara: Hacettepe University Institute of Social Sciences, Social Work Department, Ankara, Turkey.
Yüzgün, A. (1986). Türkiye’de Eşcinsellik (Homosexuality in Turkey). Istanbul: Hüryüz.
Yuzgun, A. (1993). Homosexuality and police terror in Turkey. Journal of Homosexuality, 24(3–4), 159–169.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gelbal, S., Duyan, V. Attitudes of University Students toward Lesbians and Gay Men in Turkey. Sex Roles 55, 573–579 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-006-9112-1
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-006-9112-1