- FINDINGS
- Daily Worklife
- Lesbian and gay lawyers are sometimes advised to conceal their
sexual orientation or to alter their appearance to look less
stereotypically gay
In some workplaces, lesbian and gay lawyers have been advised to conceal their sexual
orientation, or to change their appearance so that they do not fit society's stereotypical image of
what lesbians and gays look like. Others have been told that they used “poor judgment” in making their sexual orientation known. The respondents to the Lawyer Survey reported 122
instances in which they had personally experienced, witnessed, or heard of an incident in which a
gay or lesbian lawyer had been advised to conceal his or her sexual orientation. (Lawyer Survey,
Table 22.) In addition, there were 63 reports of instances where the respondents had personally
experienced, witnessed or heard that a gay or lesbian lawyer had been told that he or she had
shown “poor judgment” in being openly gay. (
Id.) The narrative responses put a personal face
on this sort of discrimination and harassment. For example:
[P]artners in the firm ... told me that I was not “feminine” enough and that I should let my
hair grow long, wear make-up, and wear more jewelry. App. C, Excerpt xx
[Attorney at large firm was advised] that she needed to appear more feminine, wear
make-up and gold jewelry, and stop bringing her significant other to firm events. App. C,
Excerpt xxiii
See also App. C, Comment 157 (quoted under II. A. 1, above).
