Coming Out to Tell Our Stories: Using Queer Theory to Understand the Career Experiences of Gay Men in Public Relations

Abstract

Despite the increasing focus on understanding the diversity of public relations, academics and practitioners have largely ignored gay men. Grounded in queer theory, this qualitative study examines the experiences of gay men working in public relations. We used in-depth interviews and focus groups to allow participants to discuss their careers openly. Practitioners indicated that they enjoyed working in public relations, although they pointed out areas of dissatisfaction and suggested ways to improve the working environment for gay men. These include an increased awareness of personal lives and the gay community, reduction of stereotypes, and adopting diversity-friendly policies.

Notes

¹This study focused on the experiences of gay men. Members of this community are commonly linked together under the umbrella terms of gay and LGBT (for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender), yet that is a false universalization that purports that all members are perceived as equal and that all members share and have the same experiences (cf. Blackwood & Wieringa, 2003; Bowleg, 2008; Garnets & Kimmel, 2003; Greene, 2003). As Garnets and Kimmel (2003) noted, “Shared sexual orientations by themselves do not guarantee that people have a great deal in common” (p. 349). All identities within the LGBT community should be studied, yet it is only proper to study these groups alone and let the members of each group have their voices and experiences heard.

²Passing is the ability to merge seamlessly into the wider society through controlled personal revelations and the disavowal of a stigmatized identity to evade discrimination or harm (Goffman, 1963). As Tindall (2007) noted, “A stigmatized person who is passing controls information about himself or herself, revealing much, little, or nothing in certain relationships” (p. 72). For a person to pass in society, a person decides “to display or not display; to tell or not to tell, to let on or not let on; to lie or not to lie; and in each case, to whom, how, when, and where” (Goffman, 1963, p. 42).

³The lavender ceiling is the perceived and actual societal and organizational deterrents to upper management for lesbian and gay employees (Friskopp & Silverstein, 1995; Second USDA Task Force, 2000). The lavender ceiling is enacted “when homophobia and heterosexism are an established part of the workplace culture, the open service, career development, and promotional advancement of GLBT [sic] employees is impeded or prevented” (Second USDA Task Force, 2000, p. 16).

⁴Simultaneously, a person can experience avowed and ascribed identities. This can occur if the person's assigned cultural identity or cultural reference group coincides with the individual's avowed cultural identity. The two are in conflict if the ascribed identity is not in alignment with the person's understanding of his or her social location. For example, a young woman born in Chile and raised in an Italian American family living in New Jersey avows herself to be Italian American, rather than Hispanic or Chilean. If her acquaintances assign her to the cultural group of Italian American, her avowed and ascribed identities are enacted concurrently.