I’m an LGBTQ Person Who’s Faced Work Barriers and Discrimination

Summary

The website content is a call for submissions from LGBTQ individuals who have faced workplace discrimination and barriers, inviting them to share their stories and experiences through various forms of writing.

Abstract

The website outlines a writing prompt from Prism & Pen, soliciting personal accounts from LGBTQ individuals regarding their encounters with discrimination and challenges in the workplace. It emphasizes the disparity between official human resource policies and the actual work environment, encouraging a diverse range of stories from blue-collar workers to Zoom warriors. The prompt is open to creative essays, poems, short fiction, memoirs, art reviews, and history, with a focus on the lived experiences of LGBTQ people in diverse professional settings. The article also provides links to submission guidelines and examples of previous related stories published on the platform.

Opinions

The author of the prompt has personal experience working in a highly masculine industry as an out gay man and faced a culture of crude, sexist, and homophobic jokes.
There is a recognition that the workplace can be toxic for LGBTQ individuals, with policies often not reflecting the reality of the work environment.
The article suggests a strategic approach to confronting workplace discrimination, advocating for choosing battles wisely and focusing on seriously offensive speech and practices.
The author encourages a broad range of submissions, indicating that while they have a specific prompt, they are open to a variety of interpretations and stories.
The inclusion of links to previous stories and a diverse list of contributors indicates a commitment to amplifying a wide array of LGBTQ voices and experiences.

A Prism & Pen writing prompt

Collage from images licensed from Adobe Stock.

I worked for years as an industrial controls specialist and senior manager in an intensely masculine industry, often challenging for me as an out gay man. In ordinary language: I was a boss at factories filled with blue-collar workers and bro-culture supervisors who constantly cracked crude, sexist, homophobic jokes. Sometimes they’d slap me on the back and tell me they knew I didn’t take offense because I “wasn’t like” the people they were laughing about, or because “everybody knows it’s all just for laughs.”

Are you an LGBTQ person or an ally?

What’s your workplace like? Is it accepting and supportive of trans and gay people? Of members of other sexual and gender minorities? Is your actual environment different from the policies your human resource department publishes?

How do you deal with that? I chose my battles carefully, usually overlooking the use of “gay” as a mild insult, mostly pretending not to hear rude slurs about how our gay logistics manager must have slept with me to land his job. I saved my energy for seriously offensive speech and practices.

What are your experiences?

I’m an LGBTQ Person Who’s Faced Work Barriers and Discrimination

That’s our Prism & Pen prompt for the coming two weeks. It’s a call for stories from people who have personally experienced or witnessed workplace problems. It’s a call for stories about how stated policies may differ from actual practices.

My story could be about overcoming in spite of a toxic atmosphere, but what’s your story? Blue-collar, white-collar, traditional employee, gig contractor, or Zoom warrior, we’re asking for YOUR workplace voice.

Remember, we send out prompts to spark ideas, not to restrict you. So don’t feel limited by anything I’ve written here. Write what you want!

I’m an LGBTQ Person Who’s Faced Work Barriers and Discrimination

A Prism & Pen writing prompt

I’m an LGBTQ Person Who’s Faced Work Barriers and Discrimination

Ready to tackle the subject?

If you’ve not yet written for P&P, here are our submissions guidelines and procedures:

Submission Guidelines

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Stories so far →

As an LGBTQ State Employee, I Expected a Progressive Workplace, Not a Bed of Lies

LGBTQ employees deserve inclusive and educated professional environments

Homophobia in Education Is a Toxic Disease With an Impact That Can Last For Decades

A response to a Prism & Pen prompt on the barriers and discrimination LGBTQ people face at work