Labelling and discrimination: do homophobic epithets undermine fair distribution of resources?

Taboo language across the globe: A multi-lab study

The use of taboo words represents one of the most common and arguably universal linguistic behaviors, fulfilling a wide range of psychological and social functions. However, in the scientific literature, taboo language is poorly characterized, and how it is realized in different languages and populations remains largely unexplored. Here we provide a database of taboo words, collected from different linguistic communities (Study 1, N = 1046), along with their speaker-centered semantic characterization (Study 2, N = 455 for each of six rating dimensions), covering 13 languages and 17 countries from all five permanently inhabited continents. Our results show that, in all languages, taboo words are mainly characterized by extremely low valence and high arousal, and very low written frequency. However, a significant amount of cross-country variability in words' tabooness and offensiveness proves the importance of community-specific sociocultural knowledge in the study of taboo language.

Multimodal detection of hateful memes by applying a vision-language pre-training model

Detrimental to individuals and society, online hateful messages have recently become a major social issue. Among them, one new type of hateful message, “hateful meme”, has emerged and brought difficulties in traditional deep learning-based detection. Because hateful memes were formatted with both text captions and images to express users’ intents, they cannot be accurately identified by singularly analyzing embedded text captions or images. In order to effectively detect a hateful meme, the algorithm must possess strong vision and language fusion capability. In this study, we move closer to this goal by feeding a triplet by stacking the visual features, object tags, and text features of memes generated by the object detection model named Visual features in Vision-Language (VinVl) and the optical character recognition (OCR) technology into a Transformer-based Vision-Language Pre-Training Model (VL-PTM) OSCAR+ to perform the cross-modal learning of memes. After fine-tuning and connecting to a random forest (RF) classifier, our model (OSCAR+RF) achieved an average accuracy and AUROC of 0.684 and 0.768, respectively, on the hateful meme detection task in a public test set, which was higher than the other eleven (11) published baselines. In conclusion, this study has demonstrated that VL-PTMs with the addition of anchor points can improve the performance of deep learning-based detection of hateful memes by involving a more substantial alignment between the text caption and visual information.

“I Will Obey Whatever Orders Will Be Given to Me …”: A Critical Discourse Analysis of an Affidavit from a Slum Upgradation and Rehabilitation Project in Islamabad, Pakistan

Instead of criminalizing slums, the global discourse on slums and urban poor is changing towards integration, rehabilitation, and internationalizing cities. As pleasant as it may look, it is important to critically reflect and evaluate the policies of upgradation and rehabilitation, especially in the global south. Is the change from criminalization to rehabilitation and integration true to its spirit or is it just another policy gimmick? This article uses critical discourse analysis to analyze an affidavit produced in an official report on the upgradation and rehabilitation of katchi abadis (slums) in Islamabad. The report describes the affidavit as the most important part of the process through which the urban poor become eligible for applying to the intended benefits of the development interventions, that is, the legalization of their housing. The affidavit is to be reproduced by the urban poor on a notarized stamped paper to be attested to by a magistrate of the first class (a Civil Judge). The discursive analysis of the affidavit shows that the text attempts to naturalize inequalities, criminalization, and essentialization of the urban poor. Further, having constructed their deviant status, the text shows that the urban poor must surrender some of their rights to access their right to housing in Islamabad.

"If I Am Straight You Are Askew": Labelling Heterosexuals as Straight Worsen Gay Men's Perception

A robust stream of research has shown the detrimental influence of slurs and derogatory epithets on attitudes toward minority groups. Extending prior work, we explored the influence of positive labels ascribed to the majority group on the evaluation of the minority group. Specifically, three studies tested the possibility that the label "straight," generally linked with the concept of morality, would promote a negative evaluation of gay men. Study 1 exposed English speakers to an individual person described as straight (vs. heterosexual) while Study 2 exposed English speakers to a target person described as straight (vs. heterosexual vs. no label). Study 3 considered a non-English sample (i.e., Italian adults) and experimentally induced the association between the straight label and the concept of heterosexuality. In each study, participants were asked to express their attitudes toward a gay target after the manipulation. Results showed that heterosexual participants exposed to the label "straight" reported more negative attitudes toward gay men than heterosexual participants exposed to the label "heterosexual" (or when they were not exposed to any label). Critically, such an effect emerged only among highly religious participants. Implications for policies and prejudice reduction are discussed.

HPV vaccine, Twitter, and gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men

This study aimed to quantify human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Twitter messaging addressing gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GB+MSM) and describes messaging by vaccine sentiment (attitudes towards vaccine) and characteristics (topic of messaging). Between August 2014 and July 2015, we collected 193 379 HPV-related tweets and classified them by vaccine sentiment and characteristics. We analysed a subsample of tweets containing the terms 'gay', 'bisexual' and 'MSM' (N = 2306), and analysed distributions of sentiment and characteristics using chi-square. HPV-related tweets containing GB+MSM terms occupied 1% of our sample. The subsample had a largely positive vaccine sentiment. However, a proportion of 'gay' and 'bisexual' tweets did not mention the vaccine, and a proportion of 'gay' and 'MSM' tweets had a negative sentiment. Topics varied by GB+MSM term-HPV risk messaging was prevalent in 'bisexual' (25%) tweets, and HPV transmission through sex/promiscuity messaging was prevalent in 'gay' (18%) tweets. Prevention/protection messaging was prevalent only in 'MSM' tweets (49%). Although HPV vaccine sentiment was positive in GB+MSM messaging, we identified deficits in the volume of GB+MSM messaging, a lack of focus on vaccination, and a proportion of negative tweets. While HPV vaccine promotion has historically focused on heterosexual HPV transmission, there are opportunities to shape vaccine uptake in GB+MSM through public health agenda setting using social media messaging that increases knowledge and minimizes HPV vaccine stigma. Social media-based HPV vaccine promotion should also address the identities of those at risk to bolster vaccine uptake and reduce the risk of HPV-attributable cancers.

Exposure to hate speech increases prejudice through desensitization

In three studies (two representative nationwide surveys, N = 1,007, N = 682; and one experimental, N = 76) we explored the effects of exposure to hate speech on outgroup prejudice. Following the General Aggression Model, we suggest that frequent and repetitive exposure to hate speech leads to desensitization to this form of verbal violence and subsequently to lower evaluations of the victims and greater distancing, thus increasing outgroup prejudice. In the first survey study, we found that lower sensitivity to hate speech was a positive mediator of the relationship between frequent exposure to hate speech and outgroup prejudice. In the second study, we obtained a crucial confirmation of these effects. After desensitization training individuals were less sensitive to hate speech and more prejudiced toward hate speech victims than their counterparts in the control condition. In the final study, we replicated several previous effects and additionally found that the effects of exposure to hate speech on prejudice were mediated by a lower sensitivity to hate speech, and not by lower sensitivity to social norms. Altogether, our studies are the first to elucidate the effects of exposure to hate speech on outgroup prejudice.

The Nation and the Family: The Impact of National Identification and Perceived Importance of Family Values on Homophobic Attitudes in Lithuania and Scotland

The meanings attached to the nation can be consequential for group members' attitudes and beliefs. We examined how national identity definition can influence the extent of individuals' homophobia with 159 Lithuanian and 176 Scottish university students who completed a questionnaire which measured their national identification, homophobia, and the extent to which they felt traditional family values were central to their nation's identity. Consistent with nation-wide differences in the significance given to the family, Lithuanian participants perceived family values to be more important for their national identity and expressed higher levels of homophobia than did Scottish participants. Moreover, the relationship between level of national identification and homophobia was stronger in Lithuania than in Scotland. Analyses revealed that the perceived importance of family values helped explain the difference between homophobia levels in Lithuania and Scotland. In both sites we found an indirect effect of national identification on homophobia via the perceived importance of family values, but this effect was significantly stronger for Lithuanian participants. These findings illustrate the ways in which identification with the nation is relevant to attitudes concerning sexuality, and how this varies according to national context. Our work indicates that LGBT rights campaigns should be informed by the knowledge that homophobia may be perpetuated by national valorisation of the family.