Coming Out: The Career Management of One’s Sexuality

Sexual Minority Young Adults’ Construction of Workplace Acceptance in the Era of Diversity and Inclusion

“…Another important point in these comments is that respondents tended to describe coming out as a discrete event. The finding is contrary to scholars’ argument that coming out is a continuous process where sexual minorities disclose their sexualities gradually to different people in their networks and continue managing their visibility after the initial disclosure (Guittar and Rayburn 2016; Willis 2011). As shown in the quotes above, respondents mentioned specific, discrete events of coming out, perhaps because doing so helped them frame their disclosure as a turning point where they gained acceptance from colleagues.…”

“…When explaining why they felt accepted in the workplace, respondents most frequently mentioned how colleagues responded to their sexuality disclosure. As extensively discussed in previous studies (Guittar and Rayburn 2016; Orne 2013), the coming out process was carefully planned. Consequently, they had a good sense that colleagues would not reject them, but responses varied considerably.…”

“…The results resonated with a symbolic interactionist argument that people exercise a great deal of agency in interpreting social interactions (Gergen and Gergen 1997; Jackson 2010). This point tends to be overlooked in the coming out literature, which focuses on the decision-making process of coming out but pays limited attention to sexual minorities’ interpretations of heterosexual people’s responses (e.g., Guittar and Rayburn 2016; McLean 2007).…”

“…However, both Tuttle and Willis conceptualized these colleagues’ behaviors as objective facts and did not critically examine how sexual minority workers may have interpreted colleagues’ behaviors, for example, by downplaying some aspects and highlighting other aspects. Similarly, past studies of coming out focused on what helps sexual minorities disclose their sexualities, but failed to address how the sexual minorities interpret others’ responses (e.g., Guittar and Rayburn 2016; McLean 2007).…”

Interpersonal Factors Affecting Queer Second or Foreign Language Learners’ Identity Management in Class

“…A number of scholars have argued persuasively for the need to rethink the theoretical frames that we use for studying how queer people manage their identities (Guittar & Rayburn, ; Orne, ). While many have focused on the effect of individual differences such as self‐esteem on these management choices (e.g., Savin–Williams, ), Manning () identified a need for models that can reflect the complexities of the “individual, relational and cultural aspects” (p. 125) of the strategies queer people use to manage their identities over the careers of their lives.…”