Increasingly normal, never the norm

Original title: Steeds gewoner, nooit gewoon. Homosexuality is becoming more and more accepted in the Netherlands: in fact, compared with other Western countries, the Dutch public hold the most positive attitudes towards homosexuality. Despite this, there are still groups in the Netherlands who have difficulty with homosexuality and bisexuality. Moreover, people are not equally tolerant on all fronts. Based on information from large-scale population surveys and in-depth interviews with young heterosexuals, in this report we present a picture of Dutch attitudes to homosexuality. Gay and bisexual men and lesbian and bisexual women were also asked how accepted they feel, and whether they have experienced any negative reactions because of their sexual preferences. Under the name SameFeelings, a detailed online survey was also conducted to ascertain the experiences of young gays. Finally, interviews were conducted with key stakeholders from five minority groups: orthodox Protestants plus Dutch citizens with a Surinamese, Moroccan, Turkish and Chinese background. What are the attitudes in these groups to homosexuality, and have those attitudes changed in recent decades? This report was compiled at the request of the fourth Balkenende government, which set itself the objective of improving public attitudes towards homosexuality. The Netherlands Institute for Social Research/SCP was requested to carry out periodic studies to monitor the achievement of this objective. The report was written jointly by SCP, the University of Amsterdam, Maastricht University and the Movisie research institute