James Soper

Sociology 1010

FORMAL RIGHTS AND INFORMAL PRIVILEGES FOR SAME-SEXCOUPLES:

EVIDENCE FROM A NATIONAL SURVEY EXPERIMENT
by
Long Doan, Annalise Loehr,
and Lisa R. Miller

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Review of American Sociological Association

This article compared formal rights (marriage and other partner benefits) and informal privileges
(public affection) amongst same sex couples. They started an experiment on whether
heterosexual couples could determine the difference in both of these categories and whether or
not they thought these couples were found to be discriminating against same sex couples because
of these reasons. We come to find out that individuals across the United States are becoming
more receptive to gay and lesbian rights on most legal issues. Although this is a positive trend,
we have seen that throughout time we have seen that many people still hold onto some
stereotypes or prejudices against same sex couples.

The authors ask four main questions, are people more willing to grant benefits to
heterosexual couples than to same sex couples? Are they more accepting of public displays of
affection by heterosexual couples than to same sex couples? Do people view marriage more
closely to a formal right or informal privilege? Do these patterns vary across all sexual identity
groups? The authors distinguish that formal rights go beyond just marriage but also include,
rights in the workplace, serving in the military, and the legal right to adopt children. They also
distinguish that informal privileges go far beyond just public displays of affection but also
include, belonging to a group, and feeling comfortable and safe in public.

Doan, Loehr and Miller / Formal Rights and Informal Privileges

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They state their many hypothesis which will either be found as accurate or the contrary. The
study was done with a sample size of 1,073 individuals, and had both gays and lesbians included,
as well as the heterosexual men and women. These hypothesis state whether or not same sex
couples are approving of the two previously stated topics (formal rights and informal privileges)
more than they are of heterosexual partners and vice versa. Based on research it was found that
heterosexual couples and individuals were more approving of formal rights then they were of
informal privileges for same sex couples and individuals, proving one of their hypothesis correct.
Although the heterosexual individuals were as willing to give legal rights to same sex couples as
they were to heterosexual couples. It was also found that same sex couples increasingly favored
the in-group couple (same sex couple) rather than the heterosexual couple which meant that this
intergroup competition may actually be an accurate reason on why gays seem to be more
outcaste in the dominate social structure of the heterosexual community.

What struck me as the most surprising in all of this research is that there is this hidden
intergroup competition, the fact that gays and lesbians believed they were more entitled to these
rights than heterosexual individuals. Also, the findings that were contrary to hypothesis 5, same
sex couples were more willing to grant informal privileges to heterosexual couples rather than
their own in-group couple. I would like to see whether or not after this experiment any of these
individuals opinions had changed on the topic of same sex marriage. I also would have liked for
the authors to clarify what exactly is appropriate of this dominating group to do when it comes
to their own informal privileges.

Doan, Loehr and Miller / Formal Rights and Informal Privileges

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I thought the author did a thorough job, they opened up my mind to a different way of
thinking and made me question my own opinion and beliefs on the topic at hand, which I believe
is the objective of any article of this nature. It seemed like they had done a lot of research before
starting this article because it was extremely thorough and it answered any question I had along
the way. They used the scientific method effectively and came to some interesting conclusions.
They asked four questions and did their research through multiple sources stated throughout the
article to further investigate these questions. They came to six hypothesis and tested these
hypothesis with a wide range of people from different backgrounds. Through analyzing the data
they came to the conclusion on which hypothesis were correct and which ones were false.
Overall I thought this was an exceptional article and I unexpectedly enjoyed the read, it poked at
my inquisitive nature and it made me want to share it with others who may find it interesting.

Doan, Loehr and Miller / Formal Rights and Informal Privileges