Can agentic messages help? Linguistic strategies to counteract voice-based sexual orientation discrimination

Abstract

Gay men who believe to sound ‘gay’ expect to be discriminated against because of their voices and gay-sounding men are discriminated against in the hiring process. We examined whether uttering an agency-based message decreased discrimination expectancy and enactment. In Study 1a (N = 256; gay and bisexual men) and Study 1b (N = 216; gay men), speakers uttered agentic (vs. neutral) messages. We assessed their self-perception as gay sounding, agency self-attribution and discrimination expectancy. Uttering agentic (vs. neutral) messages made the speakers self-perceive as more agentic and this decreased discrimination expectancy. Additionally, self-perception as gay sounding predicted discrimination expectancy. In Study 2 (N = 466), heterosexual participants listened to gay- and straight-sounding speakers uttering either neutral or agentic messages and rated them in terms of agency and employability. Gay-sounding speakers uttering agentic messages were less likely to be discriminated against than when uttering neutral messages. Results show the positive impact of linguistic strategies involving agentic messages to reduce discrimination expectancy and hiring biases.