Date of Award
5-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
College/School
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department/Program
Psychology
Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair
John Paul Wilson
Committee Member
Paul Amrhein
Committee Member
Erica Nahin
Abstract
A unique challenge bisexuality faces within the LGBTQIA+ community is bisexual erasure. The legitimacy of bisexuality is often questioned, with bisexual men being seen as “actually gay” and bisexual women as “actually straight” (Matsick & Rubin, 2018; Petsko & Vogler, 2023; Yost & Thomas, 2012). Additionally, research regarding bisexual stigmatization has found a gender disparity, with reports of more negative attitudes toward bisexual men compared to bisexual women (Feinstein et al., 2022; Yost & Thomas, 2012). This study aimed to explore perceptions of cheating behavior and sexual orientation in relation to gender. Participants (N = 264) were presented with scenarios depicting either a man or woman with a history of only heterosexual relationships engaging in same-gender romantic interactions. Results supported the hypothesis that men’s cheating behavior would be perceived as significantly more severe compared to women’s cheating behavior. Furthermore, male target characters were found to be perceived as significantly more bisexual compared to female target characters. Contrary to what was hypothesized, both target genders were perceived as more heterosexual and homosexual compared to bisexual. These results demonstrate the persistence of gender disparities in perceptions of bisexuality and prompt the need for further research to address these biases.
File Format
Recommended Citation
Anca, Rachel Sivan, "The Link Between Gender, Sexual Orientation, and the Perception of Cheating Behaviors" (2024). Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects. 1422.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/etd/1422