# Undercover Social Experiments ABC Tests America's Gay Tolerance in a Sports Bar By mediterranean | Published 2009-03-25 | Social Good Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/abc-tests-america-gay-tolerance References: [homotography.blogspot](http://homotography.blogspot.com/2009/03/gay-tolerance-sports-bar.html) & [a.abcnews](http://a.abcnews.com/WhatWouldYouDo/story?id=7152579&page=1) With the contradiction between the increasing awareness and positive support gay people have achieved in the media and pop culture over the past decade, and the recent overturn of same-sex marriage in California, [ABC](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/roses-for-every-body) news ran an [undercover experiment](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/good-tastes-better-social-experiment), as part of their “What Do You Do?” special segment, to test the open-mindedness of the American public towards homosexuality at a typical straight sports bar. The experiment involved undercover actors playing a straight couple, a gay couple, and a homophobic gay-basher. The goal was to see how the public would react to similar affection coming from the heterosexual and homosexual couple, and how they deal with homosexuality when they are faced with it in real life, not on TV screens. The gay couple was played by real-life partners Dusty St. Amand and Dominic Benevento, the heterosexual couple was played by Traci Hovel and Brad Lee Wind and the gay-basher was played by actor Vince August. Check out the video to see how it all went down. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 1.8/10 - Popularity: 37% | Activity: 10% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial - Top markets: North America ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Social Good](https://www.trendhunter.com/socialgood) > [Activism](https://www.trendhunter.com/activism) ## Key Themes ### Why This Trend Is Growing - **Increasing Acceptance of LGBTQ+:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Explore new ways to promote inclusivity and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community. - **Testing Social Attitudes:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop innovative methods to measure and understand public attitudes towards different social issues. - **Real-life Experiments:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create experiential platforms to gauge reactions and behavior in real-life scenarios. ### Industries Being Reshaped - **Media:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Utilize media platforms to challenge stereotypes and amplify stories promoting LGBTQ+ acceptance. - **Market Research:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop advanced research methodologies to gather insights on societal attitudes and behaviors. - **Entertainment:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Produce engaging content that explores and educates viewers about social issues and diversity. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [LGBTQ-Supporting Beer Cans](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/alchemist-just-say-gay.md) - [Love-Centric Public Service Announcements](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/love-has-no-labels1.md) - [Playful Dating Experiment Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/swipe-right-for-mayo.md) - [Social Experiment Cafes](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/simply-coffee-caf.md) - [LGBTQ+ Vodka Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/coming-out-again.md) - [Speed Dating Diners](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/real-matches-are-back.md) - [LGBTQ+ Wedding Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/skyy-says-i-do.md) - [Mature Queer Drugstore Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/walgreens-and-the-old-gays.md) - [Record-Breaking Drag Brunches](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/drag-brunch.md)