Gay Bashing in a Straight Bar - an ABC Experiment (A Must See)
ABC tested America’s increased tolerance and acceptance of gays by sending a gay male couple into a straight bar. The couple was instructed to behave as they normally would in public, ignoring the fact that they’re in a straight bar - not a gay bar. The results were interesting.
Tags: abc, gay-bashing, gay-couple, gay-males, homophobia, homosexuals
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Genia Stevens on -
I was very surprised by the results. It's nice to see them use a gay male couple instead of a lesbian couple. I think we can all guess the results would have been different if the couple was female/female.
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Permalink Reply by Amanda Elliott on -
Its great to see america is finally changing and accepting us.
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Permalink Reply by Genia Stevens on
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Maybe. I think it really depends on the area. Some areas of the country are more gay-friendly than others.
Amanda Elliott said:Its great to see america is finally changing and accepting us.
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Permalink Reply by Terrible on -
As a straight man I have to confess that I've felt uncomfortable in past situations around overly affectionate gay couples. But even back then I wouldn't have become verbally abusive of them as that one man did. And am pretty sure I'd have defended them if others did become abusive as the man at the start did. Over all I think it was pretty cool of ABC to do this and the results weren't bad. But SisterTalk is right when she says it'd depend on the area. Somehow I don't think the results would have been the same in rural Alabama. Then on the other hand there are most likely lots of rural areas were the results would be suprisingly similar to this clip. I know for sure that a lot of people I know who years ago would have been abusive wouldn't be today. I guess there's a long long way to go but it's a lot better today then even 10 years ago. And if you look at how race is still an issue a lot of places I don't think it will become universally acceptable for many years to come. Thanks for sharing this SisterTalk! I'll be sure to pass it on!
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Permalink Reply by Cheril N. Clarke on -
Interesting. Thanks for sharing.
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Permalink Reply by ChristopherSays on -
Put them in Arkansas. See how the crowd reacts when the two gay actors must contend with rural America.
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Permalink Reply by Debra on
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ChristopherSays said:Put them in Arkansas. See how the crowd reacts when the two gay actors must contend with rural America.
Christopher, I grew up in rural Arkansas. My impression growing up is that gays, blacks, jews, Catholics, Muslim, Latinos etc were never a part of my daily life. I never felt indoctrinated to dislike any of these groups. My first view of the real world was when I went to college. I was totally turned on by the "bigger world" and could hardly wait to get out of what I felt was a very limiting Arkansas into a broader world. I embraced the differences in folks. Today, I am a lesbian in a 16 year committed relationship and I make occasional trips "back home". I feel the folks there are great and many, many have changed with the times. I'd hope not to underestimate them. I look at it as though there are a group of folks back there who just can't take surprises - of any kind: political. philosophical, in sexual preference, in religious viewpoints, in intellectual challenges. I feel kinda sorry for them. But do I alter my behavior back there? Do I kiss my sweetie on the street or hold hands on the sidewalk or gaze into her eyes in restaurants? I am ashamed to confess that I do alter my behaviors - sometimes... And sometimes I feel it is a good thing to show them a bit of a bigger world even after assessing the dangers. Take them out of their comfort zone a bit... Times are changing. I was delighted to see the folks in the bar take the case for the gay men. Whoever said it would have been different 10 years ago was right. How will it be in 10 more years? The answer to that question is why we must keep standing up to say we are here. We are just like everyone. We deserve respect. We deserve not to be fired or discriminated against because we are LGBT. We deserve our children and our families. We deserve...
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Permalink Reply by Genia Stevens on
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I agree. This experiment would be interesting to see in different parts of the country.
Erin (the girl behind FagBug.com) takes her rainbow colored VW everywhere - even Fred Phelps land. She's really testing the waters in some not-so-safe territories.
ChristopherSays said:Put them in Arkansas. See how the crowd reacts when the two gay actors must contend with rural America.
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Permalink Reply by Genia Stevens on
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I'm glad you mentioned this, John Carlos.
Quite often when I visit Cafe Belwah (very high-end restaurant here in my town - mostly business guests in town briefly for work), I overhear some of the male patrons making gay jokes. One of Belwah's owners is a gay man and several staff members are gay. I think the visitors who aren't used to seeing so many of us in one place are bit uncomfortable with the environment - even though no one is being overly affectionate.
John Carlos said:Maybe there is another prejudice at play here. The analyst at the end seems to think that people in a Sports Bar would be more hostile than people in other places. It reminds me of the assumption that racial prejudice was more greater in the SouthEast U.S. when it was quite real in places like Illinois and Massachusettes. Maybe we need to reexamine all our attitudes about all people.
In a few years, I have seem major changes in the expression of feelings by men (common inhabitants of sports bars) much to the better.
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