Investigating Implicit and Explicit Attitudes Toward Sexual Minorities in Taiwan

The attitudes, both implicit and explicit, that people hold toward sexual minorities and those who identify as gay or lesbian remain understudied, especially in Asia. In the present study, we examine the implicit and explicit attitudes people in Taiwan have regarding same-sex attraction. Participants (N = 1,696; 1,025 women; Mage: 24.36 years, SD = 5.40 years) completed implicit and explicit measures through the Project Implicit Taiwan website. Analyses revealed that participants, especially those who identified as gay or lesbian, demonstrated positive implicit attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women. Participants' reported attitudes toward heterosexual as well as gay and lesbian individuals were related to their own gender and sexuality. In particular, participants showed the strongest preference for members of their target sexuality category (e.g., heterosexual men toward heterosexual women). Women were more positive than men toward gay and lesbian individuals. Participants were supportive of same-sex marriage, although this support was stronger among women and gay men; participants' explicit and implicit attitudes also impacted the degree to which they supported same-sex marriage. Our findings represent an initial investigation into the current attitudes people hold toward same-sex attraction and related societal issues, in Taiwan and potentially in the broader Asia region. Public Significance Statement We present one of the first studies to examine people's implicit and explicit attitudes toward gay and lesbian individuals in Asia, using a dataset of nearly 2,000 participants collected from 2011 to 2017 through the Project Implicit Taiwan website. Our analyses revealed that, on average, participants, especially women and those who identify as gay or lesbian, demonstrated positive attitudes toward gay and lesbian individuals as well as support for same-sex marriage, suggesting a shift toward wider acceptance of different sexualities in one Asian society.