We are short on men! The long-run effects of the transatlantic slave trade on anti-gay sentiments

Abstract

Despite accounts showing that homosexuality was tolerated among many ethnic groups before colonization, Africa is arguably the most homophobic region of the planet. Is such apparent reversal of beliefs explained by historical events? In this thesis, I study whether ancestral exposure to the transatlantic slave trade, which led to the emergence of female biased sex ratios, affected anti-gay sentiments in contemporary Africa. Using three different methodologies (OLS, IV and DID), I find that ancestral exposure to the transatlantic slave trade is related to higher levels of anti-gay sentiments among women, but not among men. Across the three methods, women with the largest ancestral exposure to thes hock experience an estimated increase in homophobia between 2.39% and 9.05% with respect to the average levels. Falsification exercises suggest that this relationship is not a general byproduct of slavery,an disunlikely to be explained either by endogeneity biasesora general shifttowards intolerance. Results are consistent with a causal effect of the transatlantics lave trade on antigay sentiments among women, explained by an increase in female intrasexual competition in the marriage market due to scarcity of men.