Despite the fact that gay men and lesbian women face significant economic disparities compared to their heterosexual counterparts, people appear to believe that the opposite is true, a phenomenon which has been dubbed the "myth of gay affluence." In the current research (N-tot = 2,162), we address the consequences of this belief. Specifically, we hypothesize and find that believing that gay men and lesbian women are financially well off-either chronically (Study 1) or because of an experimental manipulation (Studies 2-3)-leads participants to deny discrimination against gay men and lesbian women, above and beyond anti-gay attitudes, and this is mediated by the belief that there is a "gay agenda" that is backed by powerful lobbyists. Thus, perpetuating this myth-either intentionally or inadvertently-could have deleterious effects on efforts for social change and the promotion of rights for sexual minorities.
