(Gay) Men at Work: Understanding Gendered and Sexual Identity Management Strategies in the Workplace

• In Event: 380 - Section on Sociology of Sexualities Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 01. Labor Market and Economy

Abstract

While there have been some recent victories for LGBT individuals (i.e. the right to marry), they can still (and many do) face considerable discrimination in the workplace. This study investigates the various strategies that gay men use to manage both their gendered and sexual identities while at work. Drawing from thirty in-depth interviews, I find that gender and sexuality are commonly managed co-constitutively. Men describe a variety of strategies, including managing their identities through the ways that they dress, through language and communication tools, and also through disclosure. I analyze these strategies to develop a concept of hegemonic sexuality – a concept similar to hegemonic masculinity that organizes sexuality in terms of desirability. That is, for gay men, some performances of sexuality may be more desirable than others, and an individual acting “too gay” might receive negative social sanctions. Men describe the management of their workplace identities as attempts to be “professional,” and resist suggesting that this is any different from “butching up” their behaviors. I suggest the guise of professionalism as an example of how hegemonic sexuality operates in the day-to-day lives of gay men.

Author

• Travis Speice, The Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences