Fighting, intimidation and harassment are not uncommon when alcohol and crowds combine. But research on barroom aggression is usually conducted on heterosexual respondents, with LGBT people often under-represented in the data.
A study cofounded nearly five years ago by an LSU professor collaborating with researchers from universities across the country attempts to close the information gap by gathering experiences from LGBT individuals.
Started by LSU assistant professor of sociology and women’s and gender studies Sarah Becker and sociology assistant professor Justine Tinkler of the University of Georgia, the study expanded to include interviewing LGBT people as far away as Singapore.
“Incidents of aggression basically are conflicts or things that look like they could have led to a conflict,” Becker said. “It could be … things that have happened to a person, it could be things that they’ve witnessed.”
Becker is studying incidents of aggression in clubs, parades and tailgating events — anywhere where drinking takes place in public. She refers to these experiences collectively as “barroom aggression.”
Textile and apparel merchandising sophomore Arianne Guidry, witnessed multiple acts of aggression both by and against LGBT individuals while attending college in San Antonio, Texas, a few years ago.
“Either it would be couples that were fighting with each other … or you’d have random straight people coming into a gay bar and just wanting to bully people of LGBT,” Guidry said.
Guidry said more straight people began frequenting the bars as they played increasingly mainstream music. Some of these new patrons were unfriendly toward LGBT people.
“Some of the bars would music that attracted straight people…I felt kind of scared and I felt kind of like my safety was very much at risk being a female,” Guidry said
Guidry once witnessed a man brandish a knife and threaten to stab someone, and in another incident he overheard nearby gunfire.
“Sometimes the San Antonio police officers weren’t LGBT friendly either,” Guidry said. “They would take their biases and basically harm other people, not listening to what caused it [the conflict]. They would just arrest both people and would use force.”
Improper handling of cases by law enforcement increased difficulty to find people who are LGBT and willing to share their experiences are barriers to gathering accurate data, Becker said.
“For us, it’s really important to have these voices heard,” Becker said. “There’s not a lot of scholarship out there, and it’s a huge omission in the literature not to have the experiences of LGBTQ people.”
The study is open to all LGBT people over the age of 21, and involves a confidential 30 to 90 minute interview.
There are also opportunities for undergraduate students to gain research experience by assisting in data collection, analysis and other aspects of the project through programs such as the Chancellor’s Future Leaders in Research.