I've thought about this a time or two. Sometimes, you have an occupation that doesn't have many stereotypes attached to it - appraiser, civil engineer, chemist, or actuary. In these cases, a GLBT person may either encounter fierce discrimination in a few environments and indifference and tolerance, of the "shrug" variety, in most settings. That is, in the former setting, they can run into a religious or moral zealot or two who might make things difficult for them. They should avoid such environments if at all possible. In the latter setting, they are apt to run into people who have seen a lot and are very secure in their heterosexuality, or the employer could be very large and diverse, that they won't encounter much backlash. However, in some creative endeavors that are still primarily straight, I've heard and seen that the married, presumably straight folks can be hostile toward the GLBT crowd, almost as if to differentiate themselves and to affirm their straight lives. These could be journalism, industrial design, advertising, teaching, and even Hollywood. Hollywood, even today, shuts its money making stars in the closet to make them bankable. They know the score, so there is this "Gays, where?" attitude, particularly with male heartthrobs. Jodie Foster hasn't seemed to have any hiccups in her career. Suspicion? Yes. Hiccups? No. If the creative or atypical profession is prevalently GLBT, then it's less of an issue, it seems. Do you have a similar theory here? Do you have any anecdotes or examples backing up what you've seen or heard?
