Liberal Attitudes and Homophobic Acts: The Paradoxes of Homosexual Experience in a Liberal Institution

Rates of victimization of and attitudes towards lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals at a well-known national liberal arts college were reported and compared to other institutions. Based on two campus-wide surveys of employees and students respectively, differences in degree of exclusion, isolation, sexual harassment, needing to deny one's sexuality, self-censorship, and other factors were found among employees and students, people with varying sexualities, people of color, and whites. The paradoxical finding of extensive attitudinal support and widespread victimization was explored. The explanation suggested for the paradox drew on institutional characteristics, culture, and priorities. Based on the configuration of these, I suggested that the paradox resulted from two competing values, a liberal ethos focused on equal rights, and a heterosexual orthodoxy, and that many people were pulled between the two. Theoretical implications, counter-explanations, and implications were briefly explored.