Straightforward: How to Mobilize Heterosexual Support for Gay Rights (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Jennifer Gerarda Brown (Author) "The second general strategy (and for some heterosexual people, the most difficult) is to disable one's own heterosexual privilege by making one's sexual orientation ambiguous..." (more)
Key Phrases: vacation pledge, antigay consumers, inclusive command, Boy Scouts, United States, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Every gay man and lesbian in America has at least two heterosexual allies willing to actively support their struggle for equality, hypothesize husband-and-wife law professors Ayres (Yale, and also a Forbes columnist) and Brown (Quinnipiac College). They argue that the hetero ally total is something like 20 million-all of whom would actively welcome "pragmatic advice" on how they can support their homosexual friends, which the authors are more than happy to provide. They propose strategies for dealing with hetero privilege-"the range of perks and incentives with which heterosexually identified persons are rewarded for conforming to the dominant sexuality"-exercising it, disabling it and renouncing it-and provide examples of each. They suggest that heterosexuals consider masking their own sexual orientation when doing activism. From the "fair employment mark" (a proposal that would allow consumers to purchase products bearing a mark that signals gay-friendly employment policies) to the "The Vacation Pledge for Equal Marriage Rights" (a Website designed by Ayres and Brown that will collect promises from individuals vowing to spend their tourism dollars in the first state to democratically extend marriage rights to same-sex couples), this practical primer delivers on its promise to provide a "concrete guide to action" by offering innovative economic and legal tactics for influencing public and corporate policy.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Ayres and Brown approach the subject of advocacy . . . by positing the notion of heterosexual privilege and its concomitant responsibility to make society more inclusive to its gay citizens.
(Library Journal )

Accessible and consistently engaging, the book is certain to stimulate both casual and classroom discussion. . . . Straght-forward ultimately delivers in its promise to provide a practical guide to action by offering innovative economic and legal tactics for influencing public and corporate policy.
(Tony Peregrin The Gay and Lesbian Review Worldwide )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (April 18, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691121346
• ISBN-13: 978-0691121345
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #764,801 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #72 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Law > Perspectives on Law > Gender & the Law
  #72 in	Books > Nonfiction > Law > Perspectives on Law > Gender & the Law
  #86 in	Books > Gay & Lesbian > Nonfiction > Activism

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW, September 28, 2005

By	Mohawk fighter "Lets rock" (Ohio) - See all my reviews

I am a student government senator at a small community college and we have been given the task of rewriting our discrimination policy. This will be a fight but I am glad to know that our library thought enough of students input to order this great book. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in not only this cause but others. The ideas can be put to use on so many other issues.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mostly Sensible, June 22, 2007

By	Peter McCluskey (Mountain View, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book provides mostly sensible advice about how to promote gay rights without unnecessarily provoking opponents, and sometimes (but not consistently) without requiring unusual effort on the part of gay rights supporters. Many of the ideas in the book can be applied to other causes that mainly require changing public opinion.

They occasionally go overboard and suggest fighting privileges that don't exist. For instance, they mention favorably advice that heterosexuals boycott marriage until it's available for all. It might make sense to ask heterosexuals to not have their marriages legally recognized (although I doubt the effectiveness of such a strategy). But the suggestion that wedding ceremonies be boycotted as long as gays are excluded from them is silly - wedding ceremonies are very much available to gays today.

Their Fair Employment Mark, under which employers would volunteer to enable employees sue them if they discriminate, would be a great idea under a sufficiently fair legal system. But it's unclear why an employer would consider the U.S. legal system sufficiently fair to agree to this.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Many ideas, many ways to help, August 21, 2005

By	AFguy "AFguy" (Madison, CT USA) - See all my reviews

I'm giving this book to all my straight friends and relatives, and I'm going to give it as a wedding present to straight people getting married. There are just so many ideas in this book, from radical to relaxed.