Attitudes towards same-sex relationships around the world
Tolerance of same-sex relationships varies widely across African countries and individuals
There is a generalized narrative of “homophobic Africa”, but a 2020 study of African public opinion data calls that continent-wide characterization into question. Average tolerance for same-sex relationships is low, but there are large individual-level and country-level differences. Women, urban residents, and people with greater internet access are more tolerant of sexual minorities. And tolerance is high in several countries – for example, South Africa legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2006, almost a decade before the United States. Though anti-LGBT laws and rhetoric get the most attention, this research shows that the reality is more nuanced and that people in many African countries are using rights-oriented rhetoric and supporting the legalization of same-sex relationships.
Tolerance of sexual minorities varies across Latin America and Southeast Asia but is improving
The proliferation of survey data in the last 20 years has allowed scholars to study public opinion about same-sex relationships globally. Scholars analyzed this data to understand tolerance of sexual minorities in South America and Southeast Asia. They found wide variance by country: in the Philippines, Vietnam, and Singapore, about 70% of people were tolerant of same-sex relationships; in Indonesia and Malaysia, only about 40% of people were tolerant. They also noted a general trend towards more tolerance of same-sex relationships: for example, in 1990, 77% of Chileans considered homosexuality to be unacceptable or unjustifiable; by 2009, this percentage had decreased to 12%. Lastly, they noted complex relationships between individual-level traits and tolerance: gender, education, and age were correlated with more tolerance in some countries and less tolerance in others. This research shows how factors that explain attitudes on social issues often vary by context.
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