Gay men are as violent as straight guys, and even more sticky-fingered? The Longitudinal Study of Violence Against Women asked males attending college about their sexual orientation and frequency of delinquent behaviors over the past year. I calculated the means for both straight and gay guys (answers ranged from 0 ("never") to 5 ("more than 10 times")):
Means
Carried a hidden weapon
Straight 1.30
Gay 1.55
SD .85
N = 770
Hit someone
Straight 1.58
Gay 1.70
SD .87
N = 772
Destroyed property
Straight 1.72
Gay 1.60
SD .84
N = 769
Gotten rowdy in public
Straight 2.20
Gay 1.45
SD 1.31
N = 772
Gotten drunk in public
Straight 2.33
Gay 2.20
SD 1.54
N = 770
Knowingly bought stolen goods
Straight 1.42
Gay 1.50
SD .84
N = 772
Lied about age
Straight 1.91
Gay 2.40
SD 1.38
N = 771
Stolen something worth 5-50 dollars
Straight 1.35
Gay 1.85
SD .87
N = 772
Stolen from a family member
Straight 1.27
Gay 1.75
SD .77
N = 772
Avoided paying for things
Straight 1.72
Gay 1.60
SD 1.13
N = 771
Look at how the Eltons are not less violent than the straight guys. Surprising. As I would have guessed, they are not as rowdy in public, but they do tend to commit more crimes of deception. You just never know about these things until you look at some data.
Are gun owners mentally ill?
Some anti-gun people think owning a gun is a sign of some kind of mental abnormality. According to General Social Survey data, gun owners ...
"Im really really worried that the wrong people are doing most of the breeding out there at this point."
ReplyDeleteAnd well you should be, all of us should(if you are not, take a walk through an inner city area). There are too many non-hackers and parasites bleeding us white. The latest demographic data is not encouraging.
Is there enough information to know if the carrying weapons and hitting are more acts of self-defense than agression?
ReplyDeleteGay men are shorter and more lightly-built than straight men. At least that's the stereotype, it's probably true. They also are reasonably frightened of being attacked for flirting with straight men. It is quite possible that they carry weapons for self-defense. Lying about age: probably the same reasons as women.
ReplyDeleteOn the violence questions, did they ask about justifications? I'm not even a little bit of a thug, but I've hit people back. On a have you hit anyone question, I'm probably 4 or 5.
The stealing questions, I wonder how gay men compare to women? Anectdotally women shoplift more than men.
Oh Marc, when will you and Ben be making your long-awaited gnxp post?
"Is there enough information to know if the carrying weapons and hitting are more acts of self-defense than agression?"
ReplyDeleteNo. Some people might be reporting defensive actions. Respondents are likely, however, to realize that they are being asked about illegal behavior.
What surprises me the most is that for both gays and straights, the numbers for carrying a hidden weapon are almost as high as those for committing various types of petty theft.
ReplyDeleteInteresting how the number of gay and straight men reporting having hit someone differs from the numbers you reported earlier, guhname. The previous post indicated gay men were almost as unlikely to engage in a fight as straight women.
ReplyDeleteI suppose small sample sizes may be pointed to in explaining the great differences in the numbers generated in either of the studies.
In "Sexual Orientation: Toward Biological Understanding", Ellis reported that gay men tended to be less likely to engage in criminal behavior than heterosexuals (the exception being drug related offenses), though bisexual men were even more "criminal" than heterosexual men (and lesbians were more criminal than straight and bisexual women, although they were less violent than bisexual and straight men).
How many gay men took part in the present study?
Anon: Maybe your memory is better than mine. Do you mean the GSS analysis of violent victimization (http://inductivist.blogspot.com/2007/06/are-homosexuals-attacked-more-than.html)?
ReplyDeleteIn that analysis, the big difference was between lesbians and straight women--the former were much more likely to have been attacked. The male difference was quite small. When I get time, I'll look at women.
If I'm not mistaken, there were 20 gay men in the present analysis.
Gay men are shorter and more lightly-built than straight men. At least that's the stereotype, it's probably true.
ReplyDeleteMeh. Would want to see data on that. I think the little gay guys tend to be more effeminate and noticable as gay than the larger ones.
They also are reasonably frightened of being attacked for flirting with straight men. It is quite possible that they carry weapons for self-defense.
The smart ones don't flirt with straight guys. Why bother? There are plenty of gay gyms and bars out there. If I had to guess, I would say that gay men carry weapons more because of a fear of gay-bashing. Or maybe because we are concentrated in urban areas.
Lying about age: probably the same reasons as women.
It's... so... true. Ask a gay guy his age and the first answer you always get is, "How old do I look?" Even fairly butch gay guys do this. As with women, there is no correct answr to this question.
On the violence questions, did they ask about justifications? I'm not even a little bit of a thug, but I've hit people back. On a have you hit anyone question, I'm probably 4 or 5.
I'd like to see the violence question broke down a bit. I wouldn't be surprised if gay men have higher rates of partner abuse than straight men.
Oh Marc, when will you and Ben be making your long-awaited gnxp post?
I must confess I have held it up a bit. There was a death in my immediate family in early August which took up a few weeks of my time. Can't give you an ETA but it shouldn't be too much longer.
Marc, that's possible. Much like women think gay men are more attractive: they don't chase ugly dudes and find a few of them are gay.
ReplyDeleteI would say that gay men carry weapons more because of a fear of gay-bashing. Or maybe because we are concentrated in urban areas.
Ah yes, as the shock troops of gentrification, you have to be armed :)
Sorry to hear about the death. I hope you're holding up.