Obviously I'm generalizing here, but it does seem like there are several professions where there is an extremely high gay-to-straight ratio in comparison to other fields. This is especially obvious in the creative fields. Such as: - Food and Wine - Fashion - Cosmetics - Interior Design - Dance - Art - Literature - Theater What's up with that? Are gay people just really into personal expression, or what?
Sometimes I think it can be seen as more acceptable to be gay in certain areas, e.g. it is unheard of for football (soccer players) to be gay, however due to openly gay women in the past it is totally acceptable to be a lesbian tennis player. I think sometimes it can be like this in jobs too.
^ Agreed. I think acceptance has to do a great deal with the fact of whether we notice them or not. The "artsy" careers usually come with more open-minded people so being yourself is much easier. Also, I'm almost sure that in order to be a successful anything in the arts you have to be able to completely be true to yourself else you hinder your creativity. I mean, I would think so. I don't have any creative genes in me so I wouldn't know xD
How many gay football players have you heard of? How many fields have you seen where there is absoleutely no gays in it?? The inverse of this is your answer.
I've always wondered if that would be a permanent phenomena or if it's a reaction to the cultural climate. I mean that both in the sense that straight men are expected by society NOT to do those things, and that innovative artists are generally found among those who don't really fit into society. In both senses, I think we may see a shift as our culture becomes more accepting and less rigid in its expectations placed on people because of their gender.
I have always wondered this, too. I think it definitely has a lot to do with cultural acceptance. Some jobs and fields of study are just more gay friendly. People like to work in areas that they feel comfortable in, so I think LBGT people gravitate to them because of this very reason. I also like what the OP said about being into personal expression. That's also a very good way to look at this. Because many gays can't express themselves a lot in society, maybe they do it through other methods, such as art.
of course many queer folks end up in those artsy routes, but I've seen in my uni many queers who are bio/engineering majors, including myself, although I did seriously consider about going to fashion major... as for why, I think gay people are more creative...it's just kind of innate in us. of course this can be a gross exaggeration, but at the same time, many great artists and designers are/were gay...andy warhol, john galliano, karl lagerfeld, mapplethorpe, oscar wilde, virginia woolfe was bi i think??...etc etc
As said by others, it is due to the tolerant nature/personality of gays. But also, the more visible gays go into fields like that. There may be some more masculine gay men in engineering and more physical-labor kind of occupations, but they dress and act like ordinary straight men and as such 'blend in'. They are also stereotypically 'gay' jobs so you are more so inclined to look for gay people in these occupations.
In all my years of productions in plays, There haven't been many open homosexuals. 'Cause they're all in the closet? I dunno
Agreed with the above posters. I honestly think this is a visibility thing. I'm sure there are plenty of gay accountants and construction workers and truck drivers and maids and everything else that doesn't immediately strike one as a "gay profession"
I need to be exposed to more gay guys to say for sure, but I think it falls back on the tenets of 1)many gay guys tend to be on the effeminate side and 2)that those who are discernibly gay without having to tell other people are the ones who get noticed more and thus color people's notions of gay people and the careers they enter. I don't know if I'm making sense here. Other jobs I've noticed many gay guys have are as flight attendants and lawyers. Be honest here: have you ever seen a straight, male flight attendant? I think I'm going to be one of the few gay engineers out there.
