Changing Attitudes Toward Homosexuality in Taiwan, 1995-2012

Most of what we know about attitudes toward homosexuality comes from research focused on Europe and the Americas. Much less is known about attitudinal change in East Asia, even though some nations have begun to propose liberal laws and policies regarding homosexuality. Focusing on Taiwan, a more liberal and economically developed society, this study examines key characteristics associated with changes in attitudes about homosexuality. Data from three waves of the World Values Survey collected in 1995, 2006, and 2012 are used. The findings show that overall social tolerance has increased, which is mainly due to cohort succession and partly to intra-cohort changes in attitudes. Improvement in education and liberal values related to divorce, prostitution, and gender roles act as mediators for the cohort differences in tolerance. In addition, women and the college-educated hold more liberal attitudes toward homosexuals than men or the least educated in recent years. Christians were not especially intolerant toward homosexuality in 1995, but became significantly less tolerant than other religions by 2012, which is likely due to a resistance to attitudinal changes for the Christian community.