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gay at work?

Discussion in 'Coming Out Advice' started by bdman, Dec 30, 2011.

  1. bdman

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    Hi everyone,

    I was wondering those of you who are out of college and working at a company....are you out at work? Is it a relatively liberal company? Has it affected your relationship with coworkers? Anyone have to deal with discrimination (fired, passed on promotions, lower raises...etc)?

    Any stories out there?
     
  2. IanGallagher

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    I'm not. But I'm a dude mostly into chicks, telling them would just confuse everybody there and make me need to explain things to them in order for them to get it lol. There is a gay dude in the office though, he's treated like everyone else. No probs. Also - I'm in film..... which might mean this answer isn't very relevant. Most of us are LGBT to some extent.
     
  3. Beertruck

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    I am - I was actually outed to the company by a coworker - but it's a relatively small arts organization based in New York. Translation: there is exactly one straight guy working there, compared to the two or three gay ones (myself included). So I got lucky there.
     
  4. Jessica816

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    Yes I am out at work, I havent had much bad reaction to it from other co-workers. It hasn't really affected my job in any way really..But I can also count more then a few other gay and lesbians I work with, some who are my bosses. Sure I've had people talk about me behind my back , You know when you walk into a room and then all of sudden everyone stops talking..Lol I've gotten pretty use to it tho
     
  5. insidehappy

    insidehappy Guest

    i am not out at all and defintely not out at work. unfortunately do to juvenile comments i have already heard, they wouldn't be able to handle it and i would lose my temper if they said something to me. dont ask dont tell if the policy i live by.
     
  6. JamesD

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    I work in financial services. My area is pretty liberal, but I have always kept my personal and professional lives separate - and not "just" because of my orientation. I don't know who my boss has relationships with and he doesn't need to know mine.
     
  7. EM68

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    I am completely out at work. When I interviewed for the job my boss saw my ring and asked me what my wife thought about the opportunity and I corrected him and told him it was my husband. He said oh, ok and a few minutes later he offered me the job. I decided that if I could not be myself at my new job I did not want it.

    It has not been a big deal at all.
     
  8. starfish

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    I work for a large international computer company. I'm out at work. It is not really a big deal.

    There was 1 guy that gave me greif about it. I am disappointed in how my management handled it. They told me to handle it myself. So I decided to start looking for another job. Word got around to the team and they backed me. The other guy is the one who ended up leaving.

    That guy was a total ass. He would the women shit also. He would publicly mock and insult people. He gave another cowered grief for being Jewish, in spite of being Jewish himself. If I never talk to him again, it will be too soon.
     
  9. bdman

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    I work in a super conservative company. Over 700 people between two buildings and not one openly gay person that I am aware of. Gay jokes are a regular occurrence in my department and a lot of right wing Christians seem to work here. Coming out would be dangerous.
     
  10. fiddlemiddle

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    I am not. I worked on an farm so coming out is very hard.
     
  11. Riaan

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    No, I'm not. I'm contemplating on whether I should tell my colleagues. I work for a bank, but the work environment is very hetero. My supervisor also made a few gay jokes recently, so I don't know whether it will be such a good idea. But I'm also tired of playing along with my boss' efforts to set me up on dates with women! :bang:
     
  12. Lexington

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    I've been out at every job I've been at since I graduated college. This includes a job in Nowhere, New Mexico, and a job at an auto parts warehouse in Colorado. No problems to speak of.

    Lex
     
  13. Robert

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    Not yet.
     
  14. lazyboy

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    I COULD be out, but I'm not. You see, where I live it's against the law to discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity and I have a government job, so no one would dare break that law. I'm certain I would suffer no ill-effects from an employment standpoint.

    However, I happen to work in a school with other people's kids. If I were to come out, the news would spread like wildfire. In my view, the kids simply don't need that information, and some would be quite nasty when armed with it. Besides that, not all parents are open-minded enough not to cause a stink no matter how good I am at my job. (I think I'm pretty darn good at it too.)

    Sooo... no.
     
  15. Kay

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    I used to deal with discrimination. If fact for years I wore a wedding ring and told people my husband had been killed in Vietnam. If i would have eluded in any way that I was a lesbian they would have fired me on the spot. Now I do not care. I am out to everyone and They do not discriminate at all where I live or have lived for the past 25 years.
     
  16. Given To Fly

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    I'm out at work. I work for a train operator, and there are at least three other gay men in my department of 30-odd people. No ill effects here :slight_smile:
     
  17. MixedNutz

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    I'm not out at work, my supervisor makes homophobic comments every so often, along with an old coworker that actually made racist comments. But when it's time for me to move on from this job I'm hoping to find one that I can be out at or one that recognizes civil partnerships for benefits.
     
  18. alwayslearning

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    I'm completely out at work. My manager is the first person that I told, and (being gay herself, and even engaged) she is extremely supportive. She told me that she knew I was a lesbian before I did. She said: "I know family when I see them."
     
  19. Kay

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    It's a shame you have to tolerate such behavior from other employees. I so sorry.
     
  20. redstormrising

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    I am completely out at work and so are quite a few others - including people who far outrank me :slight_smile: