Tori Almeida, Lauren Barney, Debbie Kim 1

Homosexuality is a term created in the 19th century by a German psychologist. In recent

history, the discussion of homosexuality has become more of a controversial topic that is widely

known to humankind. Being aware of the development throughout cultures, nationalities,

ethnicities, and social classes help people accept the differences that are found in every country.

Czech scholars Jana Fuskova and Maria Kocnerova discuss in their article that in every culture,

a human sexual behavior is regulated in some way or limited by norms and rules- written or

unwritten (Fuskova et. al, 2011). Even though homosexuality is a global issue, every culture has

its own view on how to handle it. We find it extremely interesting to see the differences in how

homosexuality is viewed specifically in the United States versus the Czech Republic. When

comparing the Czech Republic and the United States view on this topic, we notice that the

United States gives more rights to homosexuals than the Czech Republic does. However, when it

comes to gay privileges, namely physical display of affection (PDA), we see similarities in that

neither cultures accept homosexual PDA positively. We will analyze how each countrys specific

culture shapes the way PDA in gay couples are expressed and perceived via cultural value

patterns.

Czech Republic is considered one of the most liberal Central European countries with

respect to LGBT rights. Although marriage and adoption are not legal in the Czech Republic like

it is in the United States, having a registered partnership has recently become legal. In 2006,

homosexuality became legal but that does not necessarily mean that gays could be immediately

public about their sexuality (Kirchick, 2011). Even though homosexual relationships are not

completely accepted, the issue is definitely ameliorating. Anti-discrimination laws were then

passed, which prohibits the discrimination of sex on employment, education, housing, and access

to goods and services. This recent change in the law, personifies positivity for gay couples in the
Tori Almeida, Lauren Barney, Debbie Kim 2

Czech Republic. However, the change in the law does not necessarily mean change in public

opinion.

Although the Czech Republic has different gay rights than America, we found that both

countries have very similar social views when it comes to homosexual privileges- both countries

dont give any privileges to gays. One would think that the Czech Republics attitude for

tolerating homosexuals would be the same as its tolerance for drugs, alcohol, and religion.

However, according to Jennifer Guay in a recent University of Chicago study states, since 1994,

Czechs overall acceptance of homosexuality, specifically the act of sex between two men or

women, has declined, making the Czech Republic one of only four of the 42 countries polled to

see such a trend (Guay). Professor Blanka, representing an older generation, mentions that

homosexuals living in rural areas have the hardest time being accepted. Similar to the United

States, these gay individuals often decide to leave home early and move to larger cities such as

Prague and Brno, or New York and Los Angeles, where homosexuality is more widely accepted.

Dori, a local student, says that some people dont care and talk about [homosexuality] on social

media, for example. Furthermore, we also found it interesting that the younger culture uses

gay as a teasing mechanism similarly to most of America. Although there is bullying that

happens revolving around this topic, she thinks that homosexuality is becoming more and more

of a normalized topic for the public (Dori). Although it is becoming a conventional topic and

laws are changing for the better, she explains that PDA, a gay privilege, is still a continuous

struggle for the gay population in Czech Republic.

Unanimously, all three of us have noticed that PDA in the Czech Republic in

heterosexual couples is much more common and acceptable in this culture than our host culture.

Profesorka Blanka explained this phenomenon very well. Heterosexual PDA is seen as a private
Tori Almeida, Lauren Barney, Debbie Kim 3

matter. Their relationship is private and it is just between the two of them. Therefore, the general

public pays no attention to it as a means of respecting their privacy. She then proceeds to say

the following: Its a complete double standard When you see gay couples showing PDA, its

perceived as a public declaration of their sexual orientation. Its not their intention, though. We

found this extremely interesting because this indicates that homosexuality is still not a widely

accepted concept, similar to the United States. When we asked Professor Blanka if there has ever

been violence towards homosexual PDA, she said that it is definitely more dangerous to show

PDA as a gay couple. Grant Maxfield, a gay vacation coordinator, notes in the article about

Czech tolerance on the Prague trams and claims that people quietly keep to themselves, but

dislike any disruption to the natural order -- in other words, the Czechs laissez-faire attitude only

goes so far (Guay). PDA is clearly evident in the Czech Republic but the public sees the couple

as a private unit and that it's none of your business (Professor Blanka). This is different to our

views because PDA in America is almost a distraction as opposed to a private matter.

With gay marriage being legalized in 2015, homosexuality has become more accepted but

PDA is still not unanimously accepted in the United States. Even for heterosexual couples, PDA

in America is drastically different than the Czech Republic. PDA in America is not normalized

and it makes the others around them feel extremely uncomfortable. It is a general rule of thumb

not to display physical affection to respect the general public. PDA is rarely seen in public

transportation, the streets, or at restaurants in the United States. Therefore, we dont see much

gay PDA in the United States either. We, as a group, believe that we probably feel the same

amount of discomfort when seeing gay PDA and heterosexual PDA since we are just

uncomfortable with PDA all together. Many people support gay rights and equality but are still

not comfortable with homosexual PDA. According to a study done by Doan, Loehr, and Miller,
Tori Almeida, Lauren Barney, Debbie Kim 4

gay rights to adopt, to join the military, and to be employed have become increasingly accessible

but there is still a strong refusal to accept privileges, especially PDA (Doan et. al, 2014). Even

though gay rights are improving in both America and Czech Republic, we believe people do not

completely view homosexuals equally as they view heterosexuals in public. When talking with

Dori, she admits that she will look two seconds longer at a homosexual couple, emphasizing

the abnormality of gay PDA.

While it is very easy to tell via PDA when men are gay, it seems to be much more

ambiguous in women. For example, it is clear that when two men hold hands, it reflects their

homosexuality and indicates that they are in a relationship. With women, however, it is

debatable. It can be assumed that they are gay but it can also suggest that they are just extremely

close friends. Keeping in mind that both the U.S. and Czech Republic reside in masculine

cultures, it is safe to assume that this cultural value pattern definitely plays a significant role in

how gay men versus gay women are portrayed while engaging in PDA. Because feminine

characteristics include being emotional and more nurturing, it seems normal for females to act

that way toward each other. That is why it is difficult to distinguish whether or not two women

holding hands are gay or just close friends. However, men value other qualities such as

independence, status, and power. Therefore, when two men are holding hands, it seems a bit

strange because theyre both men. In both the American and Czech culture, we value masculinity

because we live in a patriarchal society (Ting-Toomey & Chung, 2012). We look up to strong,

heroic men who lead and defend our country. They are ones who, historically, have been the

leaders of nations. So when we see gay men expressing PDA, it makes sense for both Czech

individuals and American individuals to feel some discomfort because we are experiencing

cognitive dissonance.
Tori Almeida, Lauren Barney, Debbie Kim 5

Although PDA is not as common in America than in the Czech Republic, we have noticed

more gay PDA in the states. We find this extremely odd and it is definitely not what we had

expected. Based on the early historical legalization of homosexuality and the overwhelming PDA

in the Czech Republic, one would assume that gay PDA is more common in the host culture.

That is not the case. We will explain this phenomenon with cultural values (Ting-Toomey &

Chung, 2012). When taking into account cultural value patterns, the United States tends to be

more of an individualistic culture, rather than the more collectivist Czech culture. Because we

Americans value individuality and being able to express freely ones identity, we believe that

gays show more PDA in that respect. It is a right and a freedom that one has. Whereas, in the

Czech culture, it is important to respect the norms for the greater good of the group. Because

culturally aware gay people know that homosexuality is still not an unanimously accepted

concept, they are more respectful in their behavior. This collectivist way of thinking is probably

why Czech gays tend to show less PDA than American gays.

To conclude, we have examined homosexual PDA in both the Czech Republic and the

United States of America. We found differences in the frequencies of being able to actually

observe gay PDA and found similarities in the way gay PDA is perceived in female homosexual

couples or in male homosexual couples. We analyzed these similarities and differences by

utilizing the individualistic versus collectivist cultural value pattern as well as the masculine

versus feminine cultural value pattern. We believe that these differences and similarities arise

from such values, because culture is ultimately what shapes how people think. Culture is a vital

component to examine and analyze certain themes across countries, and we are extremely

satisfied with our findings of gay PDA.

Tori Almeida, Lauren Barney, Debbie Kim 6

Work cited

Doan, L., Loehr, A., & Miller, L. R. (2014). Formal Rights and Informal Privileges for Same

Sex Couples: Evidence from a National Survey Experiment. American Sociological

Review, 79(6), 1172-1195. Retrieved March 21, 2016.

Fskov, J., & Konerov, M. (2011). Identity of homosexual minority in the Central-European

surrounding/case study of Czech and Slovak Republic/. Annual of Language & Politics

&

Politics of Identity.

Guay, J. (n.d.). The Myth of Czech Tolerance. Retrieved March 21, 2016, from

http://www.pritomnost.cz/en/archive-articles-since-2012/349-the-myth-of-czech-

tolerance

Kirchick, J. (2011, August 9). Is Acceptance of Homosexuality Inevitable? What the Czech

Republic Tells Us. Retrieved March 21, 2016, from

https://newrepublic.com/article/93278/czech-republic-gay-rights-movement-european-

union

Ting-Toomey, S. & Chung, L.C. (2012). What is intercultural communication flexibility? and

What are the essential cultural value patterns? In S. Ting-Toomey & L.C. Chung,

Understanding intercultural communication (pp. 22-63). New York: Oxford University

Press.