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Gay Politics Goes Mainstream: Democrats, Republicans, and Same-Sex Relationships

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  • Fernández, Raquel
  • Parsa, Sahar

Abstract

Attitudes towards same-sex relationships in the US have changed radically over a relatively short period of time. After remaining fairly constant for over two decades, opinions became more favorable starting in 1992 - a presidential election year in which the Democratic and Republican parties took opposing stands over the status of gay people in society. What roles did political parties and their leaders play in this process of cultural change? Using a variety of techniques including machine learning, we show that the partisan opinion gap emerged substantially prior to 1992 -- in the mid 1980s -- and did not increase as a result of the political debates in 1992-'93. Furthermore, we identify people with a college-and-above education as the potential "leaders" of the process of partisan divergence.

Suggested Citation

  • Fernández, Raquel & Parsa, Sahar, 2021. "Gay Politics Goes Mainstream: Democrats, Republicans, and Same-Sex Relationships," CEPR Discussion Papers 16382, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:16382
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public opinion; Cultural change; Lgbtq attitudes; Political parties; Heterogeneous effects;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State
    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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