The Comparison of Grandparents'- Parents'- and Young People's Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men in Turkey

Abstract

The present study aimed to compare attitudes toward lesbians and gay men across three generations in Turkey. Participants were 112 young people 169 parents and 125 grandparents. A total of 406 men and women were involved. The short form of Herek's (1998) the Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Scale was used. MANOVAs and ANOVAs were used to analyze the data. Results showed the attitudinal differences toward gay and lesbian people across generations. Grandparents have the most negative attitudes whereas parents have more negative attitudes than their children. When comparing attitudes of each generation across sex we found that young women have more liberal attitudes toward gay men compared to all other groups. Discussion focuses on understanding the results within the unique cultural context of Turkey.