Time to Abandon “Born This Way” Narratives? Moral Motivations Shape Sexual Orientation Essentialism

For decades, positive attitudes towards lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people have converged around “born this way” narratives, describing LGB identities as natural, stable, and immutable. However, recent scholarship has argued that sexual orientation essentialism should be abandoned because of its scientific inaccuracy and its implication that the validity of LGB identities must be justified. Across three studies (N=750), we presented participants with either a passage promoting “born this way” narratives or a passage critiquing “born this way” narratives. Those in the “Born this way”-critical conditions demonstrated significantly less sexual orientation essentialism than those in the “Born this way”-supportive conditions, with condition effects particularly strong among liberals. Crucially, effects on essentialism were similar regardless of whether the critique was grounded in epistemic reasons (i.e., “born this way” narratives are inaccurate) or moral motivations (i.e., “born this way” narratives are harmful). There were no condition differences in pro-LGB attitudes or warmth. Thus, moral motivations can prompt the strategic wielding of essentialism. We suggest that, while essentialism can causally shape social attitudes and drive social progress for identities once believed to be a matter of choice, essentialism may be abandoned in favor of more nuanced narratives once these identities have achieved a certain level of legitimacy.