Alternatives to Silence in Face-to-Face Encounters with Everyday Heterosexism: Activism on the Interpersonal Front

Two studies explore assertive responding to everyday heterosexism. In Study 1, gay and bisexual men described their responses to heterosexism through diaries and focus groups. Negotiating interpersonal and social implications of their choices, participants favored a range of assertive responses with minimal expression of hostility. In Study 2, various confrontations (styled after diary descriptions) were delivered by an openly gay actor in a task group that included one heterosexual male participant (self-selecting as bystander or perpetrator). The actor's confrontation style (nonassertive, nonhostile assertive, hostile assertive) had no differential impact on participants' subsequent expressions of heterosexism; however, the nonhostile assertive actor did receive the best interpersonal ratings from participants. Results highlight the impactful interchange between targets and perpetrators in the context of everyday discrimination.