Transforming Prejudice

J. J. Aguayo, York College of Pennsylvania, CHOICE A key aspect of the analysis is explaining why cisgender men are the least likely to support transgender individuals, asking how to nudge them to change. The answer: reassure their masculinity and make them feel happier in general. Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students, faculty and professionals. General readers.

Heath Fogg Davis, author of Beyond Trans: Does Gender Matter? Michelson and Harrison offer much-needed pragmatic guidance on how to challenge and ultimately change anti-transgender public opinion. The path forward won't be easy, but it is possible and this book can help us take the first steps.

Courtenay W. Daum, author of The Politics of Right Sex: Transgressive Bodies, Governmentality and the Limits of Trans Rights Transforming Prejudice continues Michelson and Harrison's important work on attitude change and reducing prejudice against LGBTQ communities. Recognizing the distinctive challenges associated with increasing public acceptance of transgender individuals, they create, test, and prescribe a new theory Identity Reassurance Theory for changing individual attitudes. While this theory is a significant contribution to political science scholarship, more importantly it provides a tested strategy for facilitating positive change, reducing discrimination, and advancing transgender rights. This book is essential reading for everyone committed to eradicating discrimination against transgender individuals.

Jami Taylor, Professor of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Toledo This is a timely and insightful book that examines the difficult task of changing public attitudes about transgender rights. The small size of the transgender community and public discomfort with transgender people make attitudinal change hard. With their Identity Reassurance Theory, Michelson and Harrison offer a theoretically grounded and pragmatic approach to changing people's attitudes about transgender rights. It is recommended for anyone interested in changing attitudes about a marginalized community.

Rene Cramer, Drake University What a refreshingly pragmatic, optimistic book. A Change is Gonna Comeis a humane text, grounded in useful data, and full of helpful practices that are at the core of good political science, and good political habits. I look forward to teaching this!

Benoit Denizet-Lewis, Emerson College We can't change everyone (racist uncles, Twitter bullies, unhinged presidents who double as Twitter bullies), but Brian F. Harrison teaches us how to persuade the persuadable. This is a book for people who want to change minds using techniques that work, which means there's no chapter celebrating the effectiveness of shaming, trolling, and other emotionally satisfying but largely counterproductive weaponry if the goal is winning elections-or even finding common ground with the human being next door. This is a h...

Melissa R. Michelson is Professor of Political Science at Menlo College. Brian F. Harrison is a Lecturer at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and Founder and President of Voters for Equality. They are authors of Listen, We Need to Talk: How to Change Attitudes about LGBT Rights.

Chapter 1: Just a Little Bit of History Repeating: Definitions, Public Opinion, and the Issues Chapter 2: Reassurance, Acknowledgement, and Values Chapter 3: Finding the Path to Attitude Change on Transgender Rights Chapter 4: Gender Roles, Masculinity, and Support for Transgender Rights Chapter 5: Emotions and Moral Elevation Chapter 6: Feeling a Little Uncomfortable, and That's Okay Chapter 7: Transforming Prejudice from the Inside Out