Queering cross-sex friendships: an analysis of gay and bisexual men's workplace friendships with heterosexual women
Article
Rumens, N. 2012. Queering cross-sex friendships: an analysis of gay and bisexual men's workplace friendships with heterosexual women. Human Relations. 65 (8), pp. 955-978. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726712442427
Type | Article |
---|---|
Title | Queering cross-sex friendships: an analysis of gay and bisexual men's workplace friendships with heterosexual women |
Authors | Rumens, N. |
Abstract | Organisational research on cross-sex friendships frequently normalises heterosexuality by excluding lesbian, gay and bisexual people. Challenging this heteronormative bias, this article mobilises queer theories to examine how UK gay and bisexual men reproduce and contest heterosexist norms in the construction of workplace friendships with heterosexual women. For bisexual study participants, interview data reveals how their friendship experiences can be rendered epistemologically invisible, especially within work environments where bi-negativity is anticipated. In contrast, gay study participants appear to adopt discursive strategies in order to create friendships with women that are normatively accepted. This article develops a concept of ‘queer friendship’, as it relates to the opportunities that arise within workplace friendships for transcending heterosexist norms. It is argued that sustaining the queer aspects of workplace relationships can be challenging but worthwhile, with implications for disrupting gender binaries and developing open-ended organisational policy definitions of ‘acceptable’ workplace relationships. |
Research Group | Diversity and Gender group |
Publisher | SAGE Publications |
Journal | Human Relations |
ISSN | 0018-7267 |
Publication dates | |
Online | 12 Jun 2012 |
01 Aug 2012 | |
Publication process dates | |
Deposited | 12 Sep 2016 |
Accepted | 12 Jun 2012 |
Output status | Published |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726712442427 |
Language | English |
https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/8697w
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