“It is only extra information…”: Social representation and value preferences of gay men in Hungary

Takács, Judit (2007) “It is only extra information…”: Social representation and value preferences of gay men in Hungary. In: Beyond the Pink Curtain: Everyday life of LGBT people in Eastern Europe. Politike Symposion . Mirovni Institut, Ljubljana, pp. 185-197. ISBN 978-961-6455-45-9

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Abstract

Nowadays the grounds for existence of homosexual identities can be questioned: in an increasing number of societies we can witness that homosexuality loses its identity constructing capacity. In these places homosexuality is not a focal point of social attention any longer, and while same-sex attraction can remain an important factor in organising one’s individual life, it will not hinder the social integration of individuals. Thus if homosexuality still has a strong identity constructing capacity in a society, it can suggest that the given society is dominated by exclusive monolithic homosexual and heterosexual identity patterns which can threaten the successful social integration of people. The presupposition of my research is that the salience of homosexual identities—attributed by outgroups, and internalised by ingroup members— is a social symptom. The (potentially unifying) concept and the practical realisation of homosexual identity can be seen as the product of social stigmatisation and discrimination: the greater the proportion of signs of rejecting individual difference, the more widespread personal and group identities are organised by and around these differences. This type of stigmatisation can be interpreted in general as a social symptom reflecting the rejection of the right to be different. This paper presents findings of empirical research conducted between 1998 and 2000 in Hungary on the social representation and the value preferences of Hungarian men identifying themselves as gays.1 In the first part of the paper I will present quantitative research findings on the specific value preferences of Hungarian gay men that could be interpreted as indicators of the existence of homosexual identities. In the second part I will present qualitative findings focusing on the connection between social representation of homosexuality and the development of threatened identities.

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