Attitudes toward homosexuality have liberalized considerably, but these positive public opinions conceal the persistence of prejudice at an interpersonal level. We use interviews with heterosexual residents of Chicago gayborhoods-urban districts that offer ample opportunities for contact and thus precisely the setting in which we would least expect bias to appear-to analyze this new form of inequality. Our findings show four strategies that liberal-minded straights use to manage the dilemmas they experience when they encounter their gay and lesbian neighbors on the streets: spatial entitlements, rhetorical moves, political absolution, and affect. Each expression captures the empirical variability of performative progressiveness, a concept that describes the co-occurrence of progressive attitudes alongside homonegative actions. Our analyses have implications more broadly for how conflicting visions of diversity affect placemaking efforts; how residents with power and privilege redefine cultural enclaves in the city; and the mechanisms that undermine equality in a climate of increasing acceptance.

Over the last 5 years, the Institute on Social Exclusion (ISE) at the Adler School of Professional Psychology has developed and implemented an experiential, role-play exercise to illustrate the concept and ramifications of social exclusion. Using formerly incarcerated women as the exemplar population, this Social Exclusion Simulation (SES) shows how certain people may be denied access to the rights, resources, and opportunities required for social integration. This article evaluates the SES as a training tool for graduate students in professional psychology. Following a within-subjects repeated measures design, this study assessed participants' understanding of social exclusion using pre-and post-SES self-report measures. It evaluated 6 questions measuring meaningfulness of material presented, clarity of presentation, growth in social issues conceptualization, production of new insights, ability to maintain participants' interest levels, and the overall effectiveness of the simulation. Results indicated that the SES is an effective training tool for graduate students in professional psychology, facilitating the acquisition of knowledge about social exclusion (p < .001). Additionally, the SES appeared to promote affective learning, empathy for others, and the understanding of complex marginalizing processes. The importance of using simulations in professional training for graduate students and practitioners alike to convey mechanisms and nuanced understandings about social exclusion is discussed.

No abstract

No abstract