Homophobia

Methodologies

In the first two studies, the investigators showed scholars computer animations of walking human figures. They systematically diverse two aspects of the forms, each of which they hypothesized would be utilised by observers to make judgments about the figure's sex and sexy orientation.

One variable was the figure's overall body form, which they distinuished in periods of waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Although there are numerous exclusions, women are inclined to have a smaller WHR than men. In other phrases, women tend to have very wide hips relative to their waist (in the farthest, an “hourglass” shape), whereas men are inclined to have what the investigators recounted as a “tubular” form, that is, somewhat similar assesses of waist and hip size.

The second variable was the figure's gait, which the researchers defined in terms of the allowance of shoulder motion relative to hip motion. The stereotypical masculine walk involves more shoulder motion than hip motion. The investigators characterized this as a “swagger”. By compare, the stereotypical feminine walk engages more hip motion than shoulder motion — what the investigators called a “sway”.

When scholars examined the animations, they tended to judge the cartoon walkers with more swagger to be men, and those with more sway as women. They furthermore tended to judge walkers with more hourglass-shaped bodies to be women, and those with more tubular formed bodies to be men. If an hourglass-shaped figure strolled with swaggering bears, they tended to suppose it was a lesbian. Tubular-shaped numbers that strolled with swaying hips were often assumed to be gay men.

If the body shape was androgynous but the student was told the figure's sex, he or she then tended to rely on the image's gait for making a estimate about its sexy orientation. Once afresh, swaggering males were usually assumed to be straight while swaying males ...