Passing as resistance through a Goffmanian approach: normalized, defensive, strategic, and instrumental passing when LGBTQ+ individuals encounter institutions

Ozbilgin, M. F., Erbil, C., Baykut, S. and Kamasak, R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8768-3569 (2023) Passing as resistance through a Goffmanian approach: normalized, defensive, strategic, and instrumental passing when LGBTQ+ individuals encounter institutions. Gender, Work & Organization, 30 (3). pp. 862-880. ISSN 1468-0432 doi: 10.1111/gwao.12928

Abstract/Summary

Passing and coming out are two divergent individual strategies historically associated with the LGBTQ+ community as they struggle to fit in with normative expectations at work and in life. While coming out has gradually become more common in organisations and national contexts that offer safeguards for LGBTQ+ individuals, passing remains an option where no such measures are available. Drawing on interviews with working-class LGBTQ+ individuals in a country with an adversarial context, i.e., Turkey, we identify how varieties of passing, defined as acting and appearing to fit with the dominant sexual orientation and gender identity norms, are used as strategies of coping with institutional norms. Working-class LGBTQ+ are an important group to study as many draw their pride, power, and identity from their engagement with work and the labour market. Transcending the monolithic accounts of passing, we illustrate four variants of passing (i.e., normalised, defensive, strategic, and instrumental passing) that LGBTQ+ individuals deploy at work. Reflecting on the field study findings, we explicate how and why LGBTQ+ individuals choose to pass at work in each case.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/114519
Identification Number/DOI	10.1111/gwao.12928
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	No Reading authors. Back catalogue items Henley Business School > Leadership, Organisations, Behaviour and Reputation
Publisher	Wiley
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