Mistakes That Heterosexual People Make When Trying to Appear Non-Prejudiced

Abstract

In two studies, lesbians, gay men and bisexuals were queried concerning mistakes that well-meaning heterosexual people have made when interacting with them. In qualitative, open-ended research, we determined that the most common mistakes concerned heterosexuals' pointing out that they know someone who is gay, emphasizing their lack of prejudice, and relying on stereotypes about gays. Following up with a quantitative, close-ended questionnaire, we determined that the mistakes respondents experienced most often involved heterosexuals (a) relying on stereotypes and (b) ignoring gay issues; the most annoying mistakes were heterosexuals (a) using subtle prejudicial language and (b) not owning up to their discomfort with gay issues. We used two theoretical perspectives, shared reality theory and the contact hypothesis, to analyze the quantitative responses. Implications for intergroup relationships between heterosexual people and gay people are discussed.

Beholder and Beheld: A Multilevel Model of Perceived Sexual Appeal

“…LG individuals will seek partners who are more''feminine''than themselves, and vice versa (Brown & Groscup, 2009;Conley, Calhoun, Evett, & Devine, 2001). The present study suggests, however, that this idea of people being attracted to individuals with levels of masculinity-femininity complementary to their own appears to be true for neither heterosexual nor LG individuals.…”

What does it mean to be an ally?: The perception of allies from the perspective of people of color

“…Allies have been the focus of research and theories in a number of different domains, including higher education (e.g., Reason & Broido, ), work organizations (Brooks & Edwards, ), preservice teacher training (Clark, ), and mental health professional training (Borgman, ; Dillon et al., ; Smith & Redington, ). The majority of the ally literature to date has addressed heterosexual allies to LGBT people (e.g., Conley, Calhoun, Evett, & Devine, ; Conley, Devine, Rabow, & Evett, ), but there is additional work on nondisabled allies to people with disabilities (e.g., Ostrove, Cole, et al., ; Ostrove & Crawford, ; Ostrove, Oliva, et al., ), men acting as allies to women concerning issues of rape (e.g., Casey & Smith, ; Fabiano, Perkins, Berkowitz, Linkenbach, & Stark, ), and White allies to people of color (e.g., Kivel, ). Across these various settings and identities, allies are generally conceived as dominant group members who work to end prejudice in their personal and professional lives, and relinquish social privileges conferred by their group status through their support of nondominant groups (Broido, ; Reason, Millar, & Scales, ; Washington & Evans, ).…”

Alaskan Gay Males’ Couple Experiences of Societal Non-Support: Coping Through Families of Choice and Therapeutic Means

“…Additionally, heterosexual bias leads people to make incorrect assumptions about the gay community as a whole, not just gay individuals or couples. For instance, a common assumption made by many heterosexual people is that all gay people know each other (Conley et al 2001).…”