The literature on collective action in support of equality without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity has emphasized the role of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activists. Relatively little attention has been given to the role of members of the advantaged group, heterosexual allies who work for equality. This study presents data from an ongoing study of 127 allies who have been visibly active in these efforts in the United States. The findings suggest two major sets of ally motives: those rooted in fundamental principles (justice, civil rights, patriotism, religious beliefs, moral principles, and using privilege to positive ends) and those based on personal experiences or roles (professional roles, family relationships, valuing marriage, achieving closure on personal experiences, transforming guilt, and anger). The findings suggest that the concept of opinion-based groups holds promise for conceptualizing and mobilizing LGBT–ally collective action.

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Motives of heterosexual allies in collective action for equality.

This paper describes an emerging body of work on intergroup prosociality, drawing together parallel literatures and highlighting some of the themes of the recent research. A broad distinction between benevolence and activism serves as the foundation to explore forms of intergroup prosociality, such as charitable giving, displays of empathy and affirmation (positive and supportive contact), allyship, and solidarity. Gaps and implications for future research are discussed. For example, we propose that it may be useful to distinguish allyship, defined as advocacy for others motivated by the values and norms of the ingroup for its own ends, from solidarity, defined as advocacy on behalf of others from the perspective of a shared, inclusive group. We propose that articulating the similarities between these various forms of intergroup prosociality, and testing the differences, will be a useful direction of future research.

Emerging research on intergroup prosociality: group members' charitable giving, positive contact, allyship, and solidarity with others

The present study describes the development and evaluation of the Ally Identity Measure (AIM), a new instrument to assess the skills to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) persons, knowledge of the LGBT experience, awareness of LGBT oppression, and engagement in action among heterosexual allies to the LGBT community. Items were constructed based on prior qualitative and theoretical literature, revised by experts, and submitted to psychometric evaluation. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with data from 269 participants yielded 3 factors: (a) knowledge and skills, (b) openness and support, and (c) oppression awareness. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with a separate sample of 240 participants confirmed the stability of this 3-factor structure. Data with a third sample of 221 participants offered evidence of acceptable reliability (i.e., Cronbach’s alphas of .76 to .88). In an effort to assess convergent and discriminant validity, participants completed the AIM along with a number of other measures assessing personality factors, impression management, LGBT attitudes, and engagement in collective action. The AIM full-scale and subscales demonstrated good convergent (i.e., correlated positively with openness, r .27 to .39; affirming attitudes, r .45 to .68; and collective action, r .29 to .65; correlated negatively with social dominance, r .27 to .51 and right wing authoritarianism, r .18 to .45) and discriminant validity (impression management, r .00 to .07). The final 19-item version yielded 2-week test–retest reliability coefficients of .43–.82 in a sample of 54 individuals. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

The creation and validation of the LGBT Ally Identity Measure.

Who intervenes against homophobic behavior? Attributes that distinguish active bystanders.

Discrimination targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students on college campuses occurs. Bystander intervention is important in supporting targeted students and improving campus climate for LGBT students. Peer-familiarity context (i.e., who the bystander knows in the situation) can play a role in bystander intervention, but researchers have not explored the nature of bystander intervention in specific peer-familiarity contexts concerning LGBT discrimination. Using hypothetical vignettes, we examine heterosexual students’ (n = 1616) intention to intervene across 4 peer-familiarity contexts, namely, when the bystander knows no one, only witnesses or targets, only perpetrator, or everyone. We explore the role of student inputs (sociodemographics, self-esteem, attitudes toward LGBT people and political ideology) and experiences (LGBT social contacts, LGBT and social justice course content, and perceived and experienced campus climate) on their intentions to intervene in these contexts. Multiple regression results suggest that across all peer-familiarity contexts, being older, having higher self-esteem, having LGBT friends, taking courses with social justice content, and affirming attitudes toward LGBT people were independently associated with higher intentions to intervene. Males were more likely than females to intervene when they knew no one, while females were more likely to intervene in all other contexts. Race/ethnicity, religious affiliation, witnessing heterosexist harassment, perceptions of campus climate for LGBT students, and student standing were significant in particular peer contexts. Recommendations to promote bystander intervention and future research are presented.

LGBT Discrimination on Campus and Heterosexual Bystanders: Understanding Intentions to Intervene.

Heterosexually identified individuals can serve a crucial role as allies in eliminating sexual prejudice and the resulting policies that discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. However, few studies have systematically examined the development of heterosexual allies. Consensual qualitative research methods (Hill et al., The Counseling Psychologist, 25, 517–572, 1997) were used to analyze individual interviews conducted with a community sample of 12 heterosexually identified participants who demonstrated ally commitment through some form of LGBT activism. Findings revealed six domains that best described the development of these heterosexual allies. Participants described early role models, an evolving recognition and understanding of privilege and oppression, and conflict between an awareness of sexual prejudice and deeply held values of justice and equality. Participants also described barriers to LGBT activism and the rewards of ally work. The authors discuss implications for heterosexual ally development and, ultimately, for social justice and equality.

Julie M. Duhigg

Papers

Development of Heterosexuals into Sexual-Minority Allies: A Qualitative Exploration