Illustrations of Benevolent and Hostile Heterosexism in LGBTQ+ People’s Lives

In this study, we aimed to define heterosexism-a form of sexual stigma that accounts for interpersonal attitudes and institutionalized ideology-in a multi-dimensional way, centering on LGBTQ+ people's experiences. We draw from an ambivalent theory of prejudice and focus on heterosexism, or an ideology that stigmatizes nonheterosexual behaviors, identities, relationships, and communities. We aimed to learn how LGBTQ+ people would narrate their experiences of heterosexism within a benevolent and hostile framing. In a qualitative online study, LGBTQ+ participants (<i>N</i> = 77; 49% White) reviewed definitions of and recalled encounters with benevolent and hostile heterosexism, providing examples of how heterosexism manifests in their lives. In our analysis, we identified themes of benevolent (<i>positive stereotypes, assumptions of heterosexuality, conditional "acceptance"</i>) and hostile heterosexism (<i>verbal and physical violence, invalidation, hostile ideologies</i>). We discuss the utility of an ambivalent prejudice framework for understanding heterosexism that builds from LGBTQ+ people's accounts.