Social contact with same-sex married couples and support for marriage equality: evidence from Argentina

Personal interaction with lesbians and gays is associated with greater support for lesbian and gay rights, but the effects of contact with married same-sex couples have not been studied. Using original data from Argentina in 2015, we address this gap by measuring the association between direct contact with married gays and lesbians and attitudes toward Same-Sex Marriage (SSM), while controlling for alternative explanations of the association. We also examine how the association between contact and attitudes varies across subpopulations and present evidence to address concerns about causality and robustness to alternative specifications. Contact with married same-sex couples has a normalizing effect on attitudes toward lesbian and gay rights, particularly among some groups that are otherwise less likely to be supportive.