Lesbians: Identifying, facing, and navigating the double bind of sexual orientation and gender in organizational settings

Abstract

Lesbians who work in corporate America face multiple challenges, which include sexual identity development, occupational and organizational selection, and sexual identity disclosure. They have to learn how to negotiate the heterosexism, homophobia, and sexism of their organizational settings in order to achieve success in their careers. Because the fields of adult education and human resource development (HRD) have paid little attention to studying lesbians and organizational settings, this chapter explores the unique issues related to lesbians in organizations and concludes with some ideas and suggestions for addressing these issues.

Lesbian Police Officers’ Interpersonal Working Relationships and Sexuality Disclosure

“…That said, research also indicates that "stereotypical" lesbians are perceived to be aggressive, physically and emotionally tough, and dependable (Gedro, 2006), all of which closely reflect an ideological policeman (see, for example, Colvin, 2012; K. C. Jordan, 1997;Lewis, 2009). This may help explain why some lesbian police officers report less discrimination and higher levels of acceptance by their heterosexual peers compared with gay male police officers (see, for example, Colvin, 2012; K. C. Jordan, 1997;Lewis, 2009).…”

Racist and Homophobic Bullying in Adulthood: Narratives from Gay Men of Color in Higher Education

“…Sam and Gary unfortunately experienced the ubiquitous college environment in the United States where gay men of color have to face racism and homophobia (Kumashiro, 2001; Misawa, 2009a). The college environment that they described reflects how American mainstream society treats gay people of color.…”

“…While racial/ethnic minorities become the targets or victims of bullying (Fox & Stallworth's concept of racial/ethnic bullying), Misawa (2009a) argued that when researchers and scholars focus on victims of bullying based on race/ethnicity, they tend to define the phenomena as racial bullying. However, from the victims' perspectives, it is racist bullying , not racial/ethnic, because they actually experience racism.…”

“…Sometimes when people of color are involved in situations of bullying, they are targeted because of their race, and they face discrimination and marginalization based on racist ideologies manifest in the phenomenon of bullying. In short, racist bullying is an intersection of racism and bullying (Misawa, 2009a; Sullivan, Cleary, & Sullivan, 2004).…”

Lesbophobia as a Barrier to Women in Coaching

“…This also implies that amalgamation of the "coach" and "lesbian" identities is difficult at best, and lesbian coaches have needed to separate these two essential parts of self in order to find success in the world of sport. Compounding this struggle is the fact that they are also women and therefore experience a double minority status within the coaching context (Gedro, 2006). This is interesting because, while individuals may identify with different social groups, Norman 2011suggests, "not all identities may develop or be sufficiently strong to push for social change" (p. 7).…”