The Impact of a Derogatory Remark on Prejudice Toward a Gay Male Leader¹

Abstract

A laboratory experiment examined the impact of a derogatory remark on expressions of prejudice toward a gay male leader. Students participated in same-sex groups with a male confederate who was obviously gay or presumably straight. Half of the participants in the gay condition heard a derogatory remark about the confederate. This resulted in 3 experimental conditions: gay/remark, gay/no remark, and straight/no remark. Participants evaluated the leader's abilities less favorably and evidenced more negative nonverbal behaviors toward him in the gay/remark condition than in the gay/no remark or straight/no remark conditions. These findings extend research on derogatory remarks to a nonracial minority and highlight the powerful effect of immediate social context on expressions of prejudice. 1 We dedicate this article to the memory of Michele G. Alexander, our dearly missed friend, mentor, and colleague.

Do social norms or self-interest rule? Comparing the power of social norms and targets of prejudice on symbolic prejudice in a group discussion

“…about the confederate with disgust. Subsequently, participants reported less favorable ratings for the homosexual confederate when he was derogated by the experimenter than when he was not (Goodman et al, 2008).…”

“…Similarly, in a study by Goodman et al (2008), the experimenters staged a discussion. When leading the participants into the discussion one-by-one, the experimenter started with a homosexual confederate.…”

“…At the same time, if prejudice was presented as acceptable, people seem either to not confront it (Crandall et al, 2002) or to even engage in it (Goodman et al, 2008). However, there is reason to believe that norms of tolerance may be more influential than norms of prejudice.…”

Benevolent Sexist Beliefs Predict Perceptions of Speakers and Recipients of a Term of Endearment

“…Research regarding derogatory remarks suggests that witnessing the usage of a derogatory remark, whether targeted at ethnicity (Greenberg & Pyszczynski, 1985) or sexual orientation (Goodman, Schell, Alexander, & Eidelman, 2008), results in negative evaluations of the stigmatized group. Simon and Greenberg (1996) demonstrated that overhearing the use of a derogatory ethnic labels (DEL) negatively impacted perceptions not only of the recipient, but also of the person who uttered the DEL.…”

Risky business: gay identity disclosure in a masculinized industry

“…Callahan professionals. Because even a passing derogatory comment about an individual's sexual orientation can spur a climate of hostility and marginalization of gay employees (Goodman et al 2008), it is important that all employees be aware words can, and do, hurt. Such awareness should begin from the first days of employment with socialization and orientation programs introducing policies of inclusivity with regard to all forms of diversity, including gays, lesbians and bisexuals.…”