“IT WAS MY ISSUE”: PERSONAL INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND INTERNALIZED HETEROSEXISM AMONG GAYS AND LESBIANS NURSES

Abstract

In this paper we show the results of a study which main purpose was to describe and analyse the situations of discrimination, violence and inequality against gays and lesbians nurses on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender expression within public and private health organizations in the city of Buenos Aires. Here we analyse the strategies used by gays and lesbians to manage the personal information related to their sexual orientation in order to avoid stigmatization processes at work.

This article is based on two main categories that structures this research: (a) the possibilities of expressing one’s sexual orientation in the workplace and the relation with real or anticipated stigma derived from interactions with colleagues, superiors and patients; and (b) the internalized heterosexism as a category related to anticipated and experienced stigma as well as the different levels of openness about one’s sexual orientation in the workplace.

The study was conducted from a qualitative scope: 20 interviews to gays, lesbians and heterosexual nurses were carried out and analysed, in addition to secondary sources, following the guidelines of grounded theory.

As main conclusion we highlight the association between the assumption of one’s sexual identity, the use of strategies to manage personal information of openness or concealment and the internalized heterosexism, as they may have an impact in the reproduction of oppression and stigma among gays and lesbians. Therefore, this paper intends to make a significant contribution to the debates and studies about sexual diversity at work scenarios in Argentina.