The view from the top: social acceptance and ideological conservatism among sexual minorities

Politically, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people are recognized as distinctively liberal. However, a small yet persistent proportion of the LGBT population identifies as ideologically conservative. Theories of political conversion suggest that LGBT people demonstrate attitudinal liberalism primarily because of a shared group consciousness that results from political and social stigma. Recent research, however, suggests the liberalizing effects of conversion experiences are mitigated when one views society as accepting of one’s minority identity. Consistent with recent theorizing, I suggest ideological conservatism is a response when one does not share a politicized group identity, a sense of identity-based oppression, or when one experiences social acceptance. I test this assertion across two identity categories, sexuality and race, using a unique data set of LGBT adults in the United States. The results are consistent with my hypotheses in that ideological conservatism is negatively associated with LGBT and racial minority group consciousness. Further, experience with injustice in the form of discriminatory treatment is negatively associated with ideological conservatism. However, the belief that society accepts one’s minority identity is associated with conservatism.