Is there a difference between straight and gay narcissists?

Answer 1

Narcissism knows no sexual orientation. Now, there are two main types of narcissists, and they tend to fall mostly along gender lines. There likely isn't any research to see whether gay men are more likely than heterosexual men to be "somatic-narcissists" as opposed to "cerebral-narcissists," though there are likely to be both types among gay men and lesbians, as well as transgender. So while orientation might influence the type of narcissist somewhat, particularly if there is some gender variance, there doesn't seem to be any evidence that any orientation is more or less likely to be some type of narcissist.

Somewhere along the line, someone at WikiAnswers has turned "narcissism", a personality trait of extreme selfishness into a description of a Machiavellian personality. While Machiavellians are usually narcissists, not all narcissists are Machiavellian. Narcissistic personality disorder is a term used by mental health professionals to group together a variety of dysfunctional personality traits that can vary in severity. Someone can be a narcissist and simply be so selfish and inconsiderate that it is difficult for them to build meaningful relationships. For example, all four of the main characters in the television show "Seinfeld" could be considered narcissists. Of that cast, only the character George truly displays Machiavellian characteristics while the other characters are merely narcissistic.

You should be wary when looking for psychiatric data on the internet. Sometimes a little information from a therapist makes patients feel that they are experts in their disease and in psychology as a whole. Overstating a condition or attributing to it all of their personal symptoms is a good indicator of this.