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Heteronormativity in the university classroom: Novelty attachment and content substitution among gay-friendly students

Ripley, M.; Anderson, E.; McCormack, M.; Rockett, B.

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Authors

M. Ripley

E. Anderson

M. McCormack

B. Rockett



Abstract

This article explores the complex relationship between an openly gay instructor, homophobia, and heteronormativity in a university classroom. The authors first tabulated the frequency with which the instructor used the lives of heterosexuals and homosexuals as examples of content or as content itself, and then they interviewed 32 students about their perceptions of these frequencies. They found that students significantly overestimated lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) frequencies and underestimated heterosexual ones. The authors develop two analytical concepts to highlight this form of heteronormativity: novelty attachment and content substitution. They explain these phenomena by suggesting that the novelty of using LGBT examples and discussing homosexuality as content results in the activation of stereotypes among otherwise gay-friendly students. They examine the cognitive underpinnings of this using social identity theory and call for further research to examine the applicability of their theory to other minority groups.

Citation

Ripley, M., Anderson, E., McCormack, M., & Rockett, B. (2012). Heteronormativity in the university classroom: Novelty attachment and content substitution among gay-friendly students. Sociology of Education, 85(2), 121-130. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038040711427315

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Apr 1, 2012
Deposit Date Sep 10, 2012
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Sociology of Education
Print ISSN 0038-0407
Electronic ISSN 1939-8573
Publisher SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 85
Issue 2
Pages 121-130
DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/0038040711427315
Keywords Heteronormativity, Novelty attachment, Content substitution, Pedagogy.

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Copyright Statement
The final definitive version of this article has been published in the journal Sociology of education 85/2, 2012 © American Sociological Association 2012 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the Sociology of education page: http://soe.sagepub.com/ on SAGE Journals Online: http://online.sagepub.com/




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