Violence, Cultural Display and the Suspension of Sexual Prejudice

Abstract

Prejudice and violence directed against gay men, lesbians and other sexual groups have been viewed as ubiquitous and relatively fixed phenomena in contemporary societies. This perspective must be reconciled with the increased depiction of marginal sexualities and commercial 'queering' of mainstream media and popular culture. This paper presents and discusses data from two sources. Firstly, interviews conducted with self-identifying heterosexuals at the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras (SGLMG) parade suggest attendance and participation can occur through a widely enjoyed public display and the temporary suspension of sexual prejudice in such specific carnivalesque occasions. Secondly, gay and lesbian responses to an internet-based questionnaire concerning perceptions and experiences of safety and hostility at this and similar other public events, suggest an undercurrent of threat and incivility, especially in the post-event context. These data sources are not directly compared but analysed in a complementary way to throw new light on how different groups view and experience this event. Our findings reflect how sexual prejudice is a shifting and contradictory collective social practice.

Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Workplace Incivility: Who Is Most Targeted and Who Is Most Harmed?

“…Confirming past research ( Cortina et al, 2001 , 2002 , 2013 ; Settles and O’Connor, 2014 ), our findings suggest that women are especially vulnerable to being treated uncivilly at work. However, refuting past research ( Tomsen and Markwell, 2009 ; Woodford et al, 2012 ), sexual minorities (in general) did not differ from heterosexuals in the extent to which they experienced incivility.…”

“…Research in other areas (e.g., education, cultural studies) suggests that sexual minorities may be at risk for experiencing subtle maltreatment. For example, Woodford et al (2012) found that sexual minority college students were more likely to experience incivility at school compared to their heterosexual counterparts and Tomsen and Markwell (2009) found that sexual minorities reported experiences of threat and incivility during, and especially after, LGBT-based public events. In the microaggressions (i.e., discrimination in the form of verbal, behavioral, and environmental slights and indignities toward oppressed groups; Sue, 2010 ) literature, a number of qualitative (e.g., focus group) studies have documented sexual minorities’ experiences of subtle discrimination in the context of the university ( Nadal et al, 2011 ; Platt and Lenzen, 2013 ), community ( Nadal et al, 2011 ; Sarno and Wright, 2013 ; Bostwick and Hequembourg, 2014 ), and psychotherapy ( Shelton and Delgado-Romero, 2011 ).…”

Sexual Prejudice and the Relevance of Political Culture: Trends and Correlates in El Salvador

“…Sexual prejudice can be elusive and respond to a number of purposes. Sexual prejudice can be concealed or suspended temporarily in exchange for titillation, such as that among non-LGBTI onlookers at Pride parades (Tomsen & Markwell, 2009). It can include seemingly positive components, such as paternalistic views, besides the negative ones (Dixon et al, 2013).…”