Gay's Anatomy

An insider's look at gay culture and identity.

by Joe Kort

Joe Kort, LMSW, is a psychotherapist and author of books on gay male development, gay male couples including Gay Affirmative Therapy for the Straight Clinician:The Essential Guide. He is a gay and lesbian studies adjunct professor at Wayne State University.

September 14, 2008, Work

Comments on "Should gays and lesbians leave it in the bedroom at their workplaces?"

Should gays and lesbians leave it in the bedroom at their workplaces?

By Joe Kort on September 14, 2008 in Gay's Anatomy

There are plenty of situations where people cannot - and should not - come out of the closet because they could lose their job or limit their advancement in a company. But still, there are hidden psychological consequences as well as harsh impacts on personal relationships. Even though reasons may be sound and legitimate and individuals truly must stay closeted to keep their job and be in line for promotions, many will still suffer from what I call covert sexual harassment (or CSH for short). Read More

Re: "Make sure that you

Submitted by J. on September 14, 2008 - 8:02pm.

Re: "Make sure that you could really be fired or blocked from work advances at work." If you are open about your sexual orientation, and you can link that to getting fired and being denied promotions, you may have a good lawsuit on your hands (depending on the state in which you live). It is really shameful that people have to hide their sexual orientation at work for fear of being fired. I feel sorry for any employer who would be so ignorant and closeminded as to act out against an employee for coming out of the closet.

It is truly a shame!

Submitted by Joe Kort on September 14, 2008 - 10:56pm.

Joe Kort, LMSW is a psychotherapist and author of several books on gay and lesbian identity and relationships. He keeps an updated website at www.joekort.com Thanks for commenting and I agree it would make a good lawsuit. Unfortunately they probably would disguise it as something else so that one could not sue. It is ignorance at its worst.

Work Place

Submitted by Robin on September 29, 2008 - 8:41am.

There's a difference between flaunting gay at work and just honestly being yourself. Your article seems to say don't just be it; push it. But one must be realistic to keep their job. The workplace is not the place to rebel.
And to Tina, you seem to make a lot of sense in what you say. I thank you for your sharing and I wish there were more people like you who care enough to share their experiences.

Deleting sharing you don't like

Submitted by Tina on September 29, 2008 - 12:42pm.

Joe,
You have a right to not have anything on your blog site that you don't want; I understand that. But isn't it a little hypocritical to uphold the rights of some gays, while discriminating against those who have come out of the lifestyle to offer their input? Let's not practice censorship here; unless a person is being rude or obnoxious---which I never am.

Tina's sharing

Submitted by Robin on September 29, 2008 - 12:51pm.

To Joe,

As a therapist, you must realize the importance of an individual having the right to have different points of view in order to clarify their position on certain issues. I feel that it was just not good that you have deleted Tina's very intelligent sharing just because you obviously didn't like it. I read some other stuff that she offered on your site and I noticed that you have deleted it as well; although she broke no rules and was very respectful of others in the way that she spoke.