The LGBTQIA+ Umbrella: The Impact of Identity Salience on Political Opinion and Behavior amongst LGBTQIA+ Voters
Presenter(s)
Ranen Miao
Faculty research mentor
Dino Christenson
Presentation session
A - 9:00AM-10:00AM (Oral Presentations 1)
Acknowledgments
Dino Christenson, the Political Science Department, the Office of Undergraduate Research, the Midwest Political Science Association's mentors for my project, and my friends and family who have supported me.
Abstract or Description
As society becomes increasingly accepting of LGBTQIA+ Americans, more people are openly embracing their identities. However, there is limited research about how identity salience, or how important one’s membership within the LGBTQIA+ community is to them, affects political engagement and opinion. Through a survey of LGBTQIA+ voters in the United States, this study analyzes the relationship between identity salience and support for six LGBTQIA+ issues, how important these issues are when deciding which candidate to vote for, and levels of political engagement in the 2022 midterm elections. Lastly, this paper examines the impact of exposure to a headline about the Equality Act with intended political engagement in the 2024 elections through an experiment. The paper finds that higher identity salience has a statistically significant relationship with greater support for LGBTQIA+ issues, increased importance of LGBTQIA+ issues when deciding which candidate to vote for, and levels of political engagement. However, it finds no statistically significant impact with exposure to the Equality Act headline. This research addresses a gap in the literature about how identity salience amongst LGBTQIA+ adults influences political behavior and research, and contributes to the sparse political science literature on LGBTQIA+ voter behaviors and public opinion.