Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

12-2025

Abstract

Across five studies and one supplementary study (five preregistered; N = 3,215 adults), we found that men, more than women, avoided shared experiences (e.g., going to the movies, sharing food) with individuals of the same gender. Furthermore, persistent societal expectations that men should be unambiguously heterosexual underpinned this pattern: Men felt more apprehensive about signaling same-gender romance in platonic relationships than women did. In turn, romantic prototypicality drove the pattern of men (more than women) avoiding shared activities, above and beyond differences in how hedonic, enjoyable, and feminine the activities were; our findings further suggested that men’s reluctance to share these experiences was due to pressure to conform to societal expectations rather than solely a personal preference. This research offers insight into how, despite evolving societal attitudes, heterosexual norms can lead men to make suboptimal consumption decisions and to forgo opportunities to connect with other men, ultimately perpetuating a stigma against intimacy between men.

Keywords

cultural standards, inequality, masculinity, friendships, shared consumption

Discipline

Marketing | Organizational Behavior and Theory

Research Areas

Marketing

Publication

Psychological Science

Volume

36

Issue

12

First Page

913

Last Page

926

ISSN

0956-7976

Identifier

10.1177/09567976251396084

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976251396084

Download

Share

COinS