The present study investigated the functional relationships among sexual orientation, masculine and feminine gender role orientation, and sociosexual orientation in 282 heterosexual and 282 homosexual young men. Homosexual men reported significantly more pronounced sociosexual behavior (d = 0.65) and desire (d = 0.31). Furthermore, homosexual men were characterized by lower masculine (d =-0.26) and higher feminine (d = 0.38) gender role orientation. Latent variable analyses revealed that homosexual men as well as more masculine men, irrespective of their sexual orientation, had more uncommitted sexual relations and more unrestricted sociosexual attitudes. A similar pattern could be identified for sociosexual desire. While homosexual men were more unrestricted in their sociosexual desire, this also held for more feminine men in general. Overall, findings indicated that homosexual orientation is positively associated with sociosexual orientation. In addition, masculine/feminine gender role orientations exert differential influences on the three facets of sociosexuality independent of sexual orientation.
Keywords: Sexual orientation; gender role orientation; male homosexuality; sociosexual orientation; structural equation modeling.