LGBTQ Women, Workplace Dress Codes, and Appearance Negotiations

Abstract

Over time, there has been a myriad of ways LGBTQ women express their sexual identity through appearance and clothing. Some women in the LGBTQ community push gender boundaries by adopting masculine garments in order to express their sexual identity (Reddy-Best and Pedersen, 2015). Skidmore (1999) found gender-boundary pushing appearances within some workspaces were not considered appropriate by analyzing several English and German court decisions that rejected cases allowing lesbian and gay individuals to push gender boundaries. Many companies have employee handbooks that outline regulations such as dress code; however, companies often also have unwritten rules, which impact the cultural environment and productivity (Duncan, 2014). There is significant research on the impact of dress code regulations on employee performance and psychological health for heterosexual individuals. Studies that examine workplace dress code for the LGBTQ community are limited to findings based on court cases that are 16 years old. It is important to understand the current climate at work for LGBTQ women since workplace regulations may impact performance and psychological well-being. Due to the dearth of studies on the topic, this exploratory study asks: Do unwritten or written workplace dress codes impact LGBTQ women's experiences at work?To answer the research question, the researcher conducted 20 semi-structured, in-depth interviews, which lasted between 40 and 90 minutes. Participants in the study also completed a follow-up interview that lasted between 10 and 30 minutes. All of the interviews were completed individually with each participant. In the initial interview, the researcher asked questions about where they work, what they are required to wear, if there are written or unwritten dress code regulations, and whether or not they feel they can fully express their sexual and/or gender identity in a way that made them feel comfortable within the written or unwritten dress codes. An interview guide with 45 questions was followed. During the follow-up interview, the researcher checked the respondent's answers from the initial interview to ensure they had interpreted the answers correctly and to see if anything was missing or overstated.Each interview was audio-recorded and later transcribed verbatim. After transcription, the researcher used open coding. During the first round of coding, a codebook was developed with code definitions. Throughout the entire process, the researcher redefined the codes and continually revisited the data to link ideas and themes. An additional coder was employed until an intercoder reliability of 80% was reached. Twenty codes or subthemes were developed initially, and the researcher continued analysis until three larger themes were defined.Participants included 20 self-identified women in the LGBTQ community (15 Black or African American and 5 Asian; ages 23-50). Participants lived in California, Washington, and Oregon. All of the participants worked in professional settings where professional attire wa...