Recently two Australian studies dealing with attitudes towards homosexuality were released. Both articles confirm that homophobia continues to be a problem in Australia.
The University of Queensland asked people from various Western countries who they would not want to have living next door. While racial prejudices varied from country to country, homosexuals consistently topped the list. Australia was no exception with almost a quarter (24.7%) of respondents claiming they didn’t want a gay couple moving in to the house next door, compared to only 4.6% saying they wouldn’t want a couple of a different race. Professor John Mangan who conducted the research on behalf of the University’s School of Economics said the factors influencing bigotry were the level of income; whether or not someone was employed; level of education; and what someone’s political leanings were. He hopes to do follow-up research to look at how attitudes evolve in particular countries.
Another survey, this one by the University of Sydney, asked 240 MSM (men who have sex with men) in heterosexual relationships if there female partner new about their same-sex activities. Of the men surveyed, more than half did not tell their female partner. This has raised health concerns about the spread of STIs, including HIV/AIDS. Jeff Hudson, one of the researchers, has also linked the men’s fears of discovery to suicide, saying that many MSMs who choose to have heterosexual relationships would rather commit suicide than be outed.
