Racist and Homophobic Bullying in Adulthood: Narratives from Gay Men of Color in Higher Education

Abstract

Bullying is a serious problem in contemporary American society. Many adults are now suffering from bullying, which has conventionally been thought of as a childhood behavior. While a general form of bullying has been focused on by contemporary scholars, specific types of bullying (racist bullying and homophobic bullying) have not well been studied. Furthermore, no study on the intersection of racist and homophobic bullying exists at this point. This article examines how racist‐homophobic bullying is manifested in adulthood in the context of higher education. First, some concepts of general forms of bullying and bullying based on race and sexuality are stated. Then, narratives from two gay male college students of color are provided as examples to conceptualize racist‐homophobic bullying. Last, implications for adult educators and Human Resource Development (HRD) practitioners are provided to lead anti‐bullying initiatives in learning and workplace environments.

Cuts and Bruises Caused by Arrows, Sticks, and Stones in Academia

“…But as bullying involves power dynamics and positionality between two or more people in a single context, it needs to be further examined. Although there are publications on gender-based bullying (e.g., Simpson & Cohen, 2004), racial/ethnic bullying in workplaces (e.g., Fox & Stallworth, 2005), and bullying based on sexual orientation (e.g., Rivers, 2011), it is still rare to find publications that address bullying issues based on the intersection of gender, race, and sexual orientation (Misawa, 2010a(Misawa, , 2010b(Misawa, , 2013Sallee & Diaz, 2013). One of the first such studies to address the intersection of gender, race, and sexual orientation with regards to bullying provided an operational definition of racist and homophobic bullying (Misawa, 2010b) that will be utilized, but slightly modified, to discuss three types of racist and homophobic bullying:…”

Academic Incivility and Bullying as a Gendered and Racialized Phenomena

“…Although bullying was 558414A LXXXX10.1177 Academic Incivility and Bullying as a Gendered and Racialized Phenomena researched in the workplace in the 1990s (Leymann, 1990), it is only recently that research on bullying has been extended to include the academy (Keashly & Neuman, 2010;Misawa, 2010;Simpson & Cohen, 2004;Twale & DeLuca, 2008). A functional definition of workplace bullying, that has been gleaned from the literature, is offered by Einarsen, Hoel, Zapf, and Cooper (2003):…”

Impolite Hostilities and Vague Sympathies: Academia as a Site of Cyclical Abuse

“…As Lorde and many other authors have done, explicitly defining something and seeing yourself in the literature is a validating and powerful thing (Cooke, 2014). Unfortunately, bullying and abuse in higher education are nothing new (Frazier, 2011;Gaffney, DeMarco, Hofmeyer, Vessey, & Budin, 2012;Martin & LaVan, 2010;Misawa, 2010;Namie, 2003;Tracy, Lutgen-Sandvik, & Alberts 2006), and while there is substantial literature in the area, across disciplines, there are certainly many, many more examples that have not been shared or written, and definitely not published. Fear of retaliation is real, and there are likely many who have yet to recognize, identify, and name the experiences they are encountering.…”