ABSTRACT

Marriage equality has been a topic of political debate worldwide, with several countries legalising marriage between two consenting adults regardless of sex or gender since the early 2000s. In 2017, Australia legalised marriage equality through the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017. This decision followed a voluntary postal survey open to adult citizens to gauge public support for marriage equality. Although marriage equality was legislated, there is a need to understand community attitudes in order to promote safe environments for all citizens. Our study investigated demographic, personality characteristics, and social factors predictive of both attitudes towards marriage equality and response to the postal survey. Data were obtained from 250 Australian respondents through an anonymous online survey. Participants held positive attitudes towards marriage equality and 82% had returned a survey in favour of marriage equality. Attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people, sex, sexuality, geographic location, religious fundamentalism, social political conservatism, degree of comfort with gay and lesbian people, attitudes to marriage and marriage gender roles, gender role beliefs, general empathy, empathy towards same sex attracted people, and right-wing authoritarianism predicted attitudes to marriage equality and/or survey response. Findings suggest that increasing empathy towards and contact with LGBTQ+ people may increase more positive attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people and marriage equality.

摘要

婚姻平等一直是全世界政治辩论的话题，自 2000 年代初以来，一些国家将两个自愿的成年人之间的婚姻合法化，无论性别如何。2017年，澳大利亚通过《2017年婚姻修正案（定义和宗教自由）法》将婚姻平等合法化。这一决定是在向成年公民开放的自愿邮政调查之后做出的，该调查旨在衡量公众对婚姻平等的支持程度。尽管婚姻平等已立法，但仍需要了解社区的态度，以便为所有公民营造安全的环境。我们的研究调查了人口统计、个性特征和社会因素，这些因素可预测对婚姻平等的态度和对邮政调查的反应。数据是通过匿名在线调查从 250 名澳大利亚受访者那里获得的。参与者对婚姻平等持积极态度，82%的人在调查中表示支持婚姻平等。对 LGBTQ+ 人群的态度、性别、性取向、地理位置、宗教原教旨主义、社会政治保守主义、对同性恋者的舒适程度、对婚姻和婚姻性别角色的态度、性别角色信仰、一般同理心、对同性吸引人们的同理心、右翼威权主义预测了对婚姻平等和/或调查反应的态度。研究结果表明，增加对 LGBTQ+ 人群的同情和接触可能会增加对 LGBTQ+ 人群和婚姻平等的更积极态度。地理位置、宗教原教旨主义、社会政治保守主义、对男女同性恋者的舒适度、对婚姻和婚姻性别角色的态度、性别角色信仰、普遍同理心、对同性吸引的同理心以及右翼威权主义预测的婚姻态度平等和/或调查回应。研究结果表明，增加对 LGBTQ+ 人群的同情和接触可能会增加对 LGBTQ+ 人群和婚姻平等的更积极态度。地理位置、宗教原教旨主义、社会政治保守主义、对男女同性恋者的舒适度、对婚姻和婚姻性别角色的态度、性别角色信仰、普遍同理心、对同性吸引的同理心以及右翼威权主义预测的婚姻态度平等和/或调查回应。研究结果表明，增加对 LGBTQ+ 人群的同情和接触可能会增加对 LGBTQ+ 人群和婚姻平等的更积极态度。