The purpose of this study was to introduce and evaluate a teaching tool, the heterosexist guided
image, for use in the introductory sociology classroom to invoke the sociological imagination.
Given that opportunities for straight students to understand the difficulty of being gay or lesbian
can be limited, this imagery provides an opportunity to challenge previous ideologies, foster
empathy for the “other,” and apply sociology to the “real world” in which students live every
day. In addition, it resulted in many students noting an increase in their empathy for gays and
lesbians, which can only enhance students’ academic experience by aiding in their personal
development and broadening their perspective. At the same time, the students developed
academically in that this activity helped them “get” the sociological concepts of “taking the role
of the other,” sociological imagination, and ethnocentrism