Exploring the boundaries of the parasocial contact hypothesis: an experimental analysis of the effects of the "bury your gays" media trope on homophobic and sexist attitudes

Once ignored by the popular media, sexual and gender minority (SGM) characters have become increasingly visible in recent decades. According to the parasocial contact hypothesis, favorable media portrayals of minority communities can reduce prejudicial attitudes, especially among audience members who have limited real-life relationships with minorities. To explore the boundaries of this hypothesis, we designed an experimental vignette study in which we randomly exposed participants to an unfavorable portrayal of SGM characters, the Bury Your Gays (BYG) trope, which involves SGM characters (typically lesbians and bisexual women) dying in violent ways. Findings indicated that, among the women in the sample, exposure to the trope was associated with more favorable attitudes toward SGM individuals and less sexist attitudes. This effect was especially pronounced among women with SGM friends. We argue that these surprising findings have the potential to broaden the scope of the social contact hypothesis by suggesting a variety of portrayals of minority characters may produce favorable attitudes toward minority groups. Future research should seek to refine the parameters of this hypothesis by exploring effects of a range of portrayals of SGM characters on attitudes among individuals with various types of relationships with SGM individuals.