Disaggregating the Monolith: Exploring Differences in Rape Myth Acceptance Among People With Varied LGBTQ+ Identities

Much of the rape myth literature ignores the experiences of LGBTQ+ people, and studies that do consider LGBTQ+ people's attitudes commonly treat LGBTQ+ respondents as a homogenous group or rely on small sample sizes that limit LGBTQ+ heterogeneity. In the current study, we use a large sample (n-total = 2962; n-LGBTQ+ = 634) composed of students and MTurk workers to explore rape myth acceptance among people with cisgender, transgender, heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, and other identities. We found that LGBTQ+ people had higher RMA than cisgender-heterosexual people. Disaggregating the LGBTQ+ group revealed important and unexpected intragroup differences. Notably, cisgender bisexual men had the highest RMA followed by heterosexual men and trans people. Given the empirical relationship between RMA and sexual assault victimization, help-seeking, and criminal-legal responses, elevated RMA among bisexual men and trans people indicates a need for targeted, identity-specific and LGBTQ+-sensitive rape prevention programs and victim support services.