Straight and gay music, black and white differences?

This questionnaire-based study investigates the role of sexual orientation on musical preferences using proportional samples of Dutch homosexual and heterosexual men and women. It is theorised that dynamics of taste are related to social factors and that minorities in general tend to prefer cultural products that are in any way related to or representative of their socio-cultural background. It is expected but not theorised that like other minorities, this also applies to the musical preferences of homosexual minorities. In order to explore genre preference, a combinatorial logic of taste patterns is presupposed and a factor model is developed. The results indicate organising principles of sex, gender role conceptualisations and sexual orientation on the differences between the genre preferences of gay men, gay women, straight men and straight women. The results also designate differences in how the four groups attribute associations of femininity and gayness with genre patterns. It is found that there are differences in genre preference not only between men and women but also when these groups are divided into gay and straight men and women. It is argued that audiences conceptualise genres in terms of gender and sexual orientation, but one of the foremost and emancipatorily thought-provoking conclusions is that this barely influences the appreciation for these genres.