Abstract
In recent decades, U.S. popular opinion has become more accepting of homosexuality, a shift apparent in the workplace, where gay-friendly policies increasingly are in effect. These changes in attitudes and organizational practices have led some scholars to question the relevance of the closet for describing the contemporary lives of lesbians and gay men. The authors investigated this claim by analyzing in-depth interviews with lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals who were out at work and who described their workplaces as gay friendly. Despite the clear benefits they associated with these organizations, some respondents faced a paradox: They either were compelled to downplay their homosexuality at work or were constrained by stereotypes about how LGB people were expected to look, act, and work. Thus, just as in the era of the closet, the workplace—even contexts that LGB employees define as gay friendly—may involve forced choices between acceptance and visibility.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adkins, L. (2000). Mobile desire: Aesthetics, sexuality and the “lesbian” at work.Sexualities, 3, 201–221.
Armstrong, E. (2002).Forging gay identities: Organizing sexuality in San Francisco, 1950–1994. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Bech, H. (1999). After the closet.Sexualities, 2, 343–349.
Bernstein, M. (2003). Nothing ventured, nothing gained? Conceptualizing social movement “success” in the lesbian and gay movement.Sociological Perspectives, 46, 353–379.
Burrell, G., & Hearn, J. (1989). The sexuality of organization. In J. Hearn, D. L. Sheppard, P. Tancred-Sherriff, & G. Burrell (Eds.),The sexuality of organization (pp. 1–28). London: Sage Publications.
Connell, R. W. (1992). A very straight gay: Masculinity, homosexual experience and the dynamics of gender.American Sociological Review, 57, 735–751.
Davison, E. L., & Rouse, J. (2004). Exploring domestic partnership benefits policies in corporate America.Journal of Homosexuality, 48(2), 21–44.
Dellinger, K. A., & Williams, C. (1997). Makeup at work: Negotiating appearance rules in the workplace.Gender & Society, 11, 151–177.
Dunne, G. A. (1997).Lesbian lifestyles: Women’s work and the politics of sexuality. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: University of Toronto Press.
Epstein, S. (1994). A queer encounter: Sociology and the study of sexuality.Sociological Theory, 12, 188–202.
Foucault, M. (1980).The history of sexuality: An introduction (vol. 1). New York: Vintage.
Gamson, J. (1995). Must identity movements self-destruct? A queer dilemma.Social Problems, 42, 390–407.
Gamson, J., & Moon, D. (2004). The sociology of sexualities: Queer and beyond.Annual Review of Sociology, 30, 47–64.
Giuffre, P. A., & Williams, C. L. (1994). Boundary lines: Sexual harassment in restaurants.Gender & Society, 8, 378–401.
Giuffre, P., Dellinger, K., & Williams, C. (2008). “No retribution for being gay?” Inequality in gay-friendly workplaces.Sociological Spectrum, 28, 254–277.
Hall, M.. (1986). The lesbian corporate experience.Journal of Homosexuality, 12(3/4), 59–75.
Hall, M. (1989). Private experiences in the public domain: Lesbians in organizations. In J. Hearn, D. L. Sheppard, P. Tancred-Sherriff, & G. Burrell (Eds.),The sexuality of organization (pp. 125–138). London: Sage Publications.
Hearn, J., & Parkin, W. (1987).“Sex” at “work”: The power and paradox of organisation sexuality. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Hearn, J., & Parkin, W. (1995).“Sex” at “work”: The power and paradox of organisation sexuality (revised edition). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Herek, G. (2004). Beyond “homophobia”: Thinking about sexual prejudice and stigma in the twenty-first century.Sexuality Research & Social Policy: Journal of NSRC, 1(2), 6–24.
Hicks, G. R., & Lee, T. (2006). Public attitudes toward gays and lesbians: Trends and predictors.Journal of Homosexuality, 51(2), 57–77.
Human Rights Campaign Foundation. (2007).The corporate equality index 2008: A report card on gay,lesbian, bisexual, and transgender equality in corporate America. Retrieved October 4, 2007, fromhttp://www.hrc.org/documents/HRC_Corporate Equality_Index_2008.pdf
Jenness, V. (1995). Social movement growth, domain expansion, and framing processes: The gay/lesbian movement and violence against gays and lesbians as a social problem.Social Problems, 42, 145–170.
Lerum, K. (2004). Sexuality, power, and camaraderie in service work.Gender & Society, 18, 756–776.
Levine, M., & Leonard, R. (1984). Discrimination against lesbians in the work force.Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 9, 700–710.
Lichtenstein, N. (2006).Wal-Mart: The face of twenty-first century capitalism. New York: New Press.
Miller, S. L., Forest, K. B., & Jurik, N. C. (2003). Diversity in blue: Lesbian and gay police officers in a masculine occupation.Men and Masculinities, 5, 355–385.
Plummer, K. (1982). Symbolic interactionism and social conduct: An emergent perspective. In M. Brake (Ed.),Human sexual relations (pp. 223–244). New York: Pantheon Books.
Plummer, K. (2003). Queers, bodies and postmodern sexualities: A note on revisiting the “sexual” in symbolic interactionism.Qualitative Sociology, 26, 515–530.
Pringle, R. (1989).Secretaries talk: Sexuality, power and work, London: Verso.
Raeburn, N. (2004).Changing corporate America from the inside out: Lesbian and gay workplace rights. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Rofes, E. (2000). Bound and gagged: Sexual silences, gender conformity and the gay male teacher.Sexualities, 3, 439–462.
Schilt, K. (2006). Just one of the guys? How transmen make gender visible at work.Gender & Society, 20, 465–490.
Sedgwick, E. K. (1990).Epistemology of the closet. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Seidman, S. (2002).Beyond the closet: The transformation of gay and lesbian life. New York: Routledge.
Seidman, S., Meeks, C., & Traschen, F. (1999). Beyond the closet? The changing social meaning of homosexuality in the United States.Sexualities, 2, 9–34.
Sender, K. (2004).Business, not politics: The making of the gay market. New York: Columbia University Press.
Skidmore, P. (2004). A legal perspective on sexuality and organization: A lesbian and gay case study.Gender, Work, & Organization, 11, 229–253.
Stacey, J. (1996).In the name of the family: Rethinking family values in apostmodern age. Boston: Beacon Press.
Stein, A. (1989). Three models of sexuality: Drives, identities and practices.Sociological Theory, 7, 1–13.
Stein, A. (1997). Sexand sensibility: Stories of a lesbian generation. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Taylor, V., & Raeburn, N. (1995). Identity politics as high-risk activism: Career consequences for lesbian, gay, and bisexual sociologists.Social Problems, 42, 252–273.
Valocchi, S. (2005). “Not yet queer enough”: The lessons of queer theory for the sociology of gender and sexuality.Gender & Society, 19, 750–770.
Walters, S. D. (2001).All the rage: The story of gay visibility in America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Ward, J. (2004). “Not all differences are created equal”: Multiple jeopardy in a gendered organization.Gender & Society, 18, 82–102.
Warner, M. (1999).The trouble with normal: Sex, politics, and the ethics of queer life. New York: The Free Press.
Werum, R., & Winders, B. (2001). Who’s “in” and who’s “out”: State fragmentation and the struggle over gay rights, 1974–1999.Social Problems, 48, 386–410.
West, C., & Zimmerman, D. H. (1987). Doing gender.Gender & Society, 1, 125–151.
Woods, J. D., & Lucas, J. H. (1993).The corporate closet: The professional lives of gay men in America. New York: The Free Press.
Yoshino, K. (2006).Covering: The hidden assault on our civil rights. New York: Random House.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Williams, C.L., Giuffre, P.A. & Dellinger, K. The gay-friendly closet. Sex Res Soc Policy 6, 29–45 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1525/srsp.2009.6.1.29
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/srsp.2009.6.1.29