Selectively liberal? Social change and attitudes towards homosexual relations in the UK

Collins, A ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9805-9091, Drinkwater, S and Jennings, C, 2023. Selectively liberal? Social change and attitudes towards homosexual relations in the UK. Rationality and Society. ISSN 1043-4631

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Abstract

This paper presents a model to identify why, for some, the expression of liberal attitudes towards the LGBT population may be strategic rather than sincere. We show that the British population displays considerably more tolerant views towards homosexuality compared to the end of the 1980s. However, there is evidence that this has slowed in recent years, especially in areas that have experienced the highest levels of immigration, particularly from countries outside Europe. We explain these changes with reference to two effects that immigration/multiculturalism may have – direct cultural and indirect political effects – the latter manifested in selective liberalisation such that for some members of the in-group adopting a liberal attitude towards a group that was once the salient out-group (in this case the LGBT population) generates greater benefits for the in-group by creating disutility for the currently salient out-group (in this case culturally conservative religious minorities and immigrants). We explore both influences using survey data and find strong evidence for the first effect and suggestive support for the second effect.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Rationality and Society
Creators:	Collins, A., Drinkwater, S. and Jennings, C.
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Date:	25 April 2023
ISSN:	1043-4631
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1177/10434631231172386 DOI 1750289 Other
Rights:	Reuse is restricted to non-commercial and no derivative uses
Divisions:	Schools > Nottingham Business School
Record created by:	Laura Ward
Date Added:	27 Jun 2023 10:43
Last Modified:	27 Jun 2023 10:43
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/49290

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