discussion Why is there a lack of gay men in traditionally “masculine” jobs?

[Tropez]

I know they say stereotypes aren’t real. But there really is a lack of gay men in certain jobs. Especially blue collar ones. Jobs like construction, firefighters, mining, maintenance, agriculture, or any other hard labor jobs. 

 

Instead youll find a lot of gay men in pink collar jobs or traditionally female dominated roles like nursing, teaching, fashion, design, flight stewarding, administrative, etc. 

 

I know these careers do tend to be very conservative, “bro like”, and skews right wing. But even gays who often call themselves masculine shy away from these careers. 
 

Of course there’s gay men in manual labor jobs. But they’re rare. On the flip side, in service or pink collar jobs they are dime a dozen. 
 

The one expectation is white collar which has everyone. The divide is the other two. 

[PrettyHurts]

why the **** would we wanna do that

[Solaria]

Gays work with their mind vision and imagination not with their hands (unless, you know)

[yonsé]

you answered the question in your post. the conservative, "bro like" culture is not condusive to being gay in the workplace.

 

no one wants to hear homophobic jokes or deal with ignorance at work every day.

[PMKARDASHIAN]

3 minutes ago, PrettyHurts said:

why the **** would we wanna do that

This 

 

those jobs suck ass and were smarter and more money driven. Not to mention a good portion thrive in arts, culture, etc. Theres no need to be in an environment like the ones listed in the OP

[Tropez]

2 minutes ago, PrettyHurts said:

why the **** would we wanna do that

Because many of them pay extremely well. Firefighters for instance have very great pay, pensions, and nice benefits. Plus they often get reduced housing payments due to working for the city. A lot of blue collar work pays far better then pink collar work. 

[Tropez]

1 minute ago, My Tears Ricochet said:

Why would anyone go for those jobs unless they're poor?

And going into retail is somehow better than being an electrician which tends to pay over $100k? Umm what

[HausOfPunk]

[Seiko Oomori]

can't imagine why omg

[Seiko Oomori]

as a trans girl i have worked several labor jobs in a warehouses though 

[PrettyHurts]

4 minutes ago, My Tears Ricochet said:

Why would anyone go for those jobs unless they're poor?

this feels classist  like people said earlier, these jobs often pay well and have benefits...they're also necessary for the function of society...

 

(my first post was a joke obvi)

[smoore95GAGA]

The answer is literally in the question. Because gays aren’t traditionally masculine 

[Pikachoo]

forget gay men.

 

blue collar jobs in general are being filled more and more by immigrant workers, because the native-born population doesn't want to do them.

[magazine]

The problem starts in you thinking there's such a thing as "masculine" jobs 

[zasderfght]

Unless we know for a fact all the workers in these positions are straight and cis, I wouldn't be too quick to assume. I haven't worked blue-collar jobs, but in retail-- both as a manager and as an entry-level or lower manager-- I would later found out through conversation some of my coworkers/employees were in the LGBTQ+ community. Not everyone is very upfront about their sexual and/or gender identity in the workplace. 

[Aaron]

I don’t want to be around toxic masculinity and locker room talk all day. I’d feel so awkward and like I was walking on eggshells

[fentypark]

i don't do manual labor and working outside... gross 

[swissman]

I would say that 1) because some stereotypes, at least insofar as the general interests of and what relates to gay men, are rooted in truth and that 2) due to homophobia and misogyny and the ridiculing of any perceived "gay" or "feminine" traits in men, many gay men have been discouraged from participating in very "masculine" or "straight" activities as within them they face bullying and an overall feeling of not being welcome within the industry in question.

[Jotham]

Some of these comments are so ignorant.  A lot of blue-collar jobs offer higher salaries and better benefits than white-collar and pink-collar ones.

 

OP: It mostly goes down to the fact that those jobs are more conservative so you're less likely to find gay men, or the men who work in those industries are more likely to be closeted. I am seeing a slight increase of gay men in those fields though.

[Subzero]

There is some, most of them probably aren't "obviously" gay or are dl.

 

My uncle used to be a construction worker and also fisherman and he's the gayest person I know. Does drag and everything outside of his work. He's very obviously gay but loves to get his hands dirty and do traditionally masculine things.

 

Ironic, I'm more masc and people don't usually know I'm gay off the bat but I'm the artsy quiet one who likes pop culture and music meanwhile he's more fem but absolutely loves stuff like fishing, hiking, camping, doing construction, etc. while I hate it

 

People can surprise you 

Edited July 11, 2022 by Subzero

[Jennifer]

Because like Britney said, gays are basically girls. 

[Zoe_]

I actually disagree with the statement. I see many gay men as in jobs considered "masculine " such as construction, firemen, police, garbage, etc... 

[Robyn.]

I mean to be fair, manual labor jobs are just not appealing anymore and not just among gay people.

 

Why would you degrade your physical health doing some manual job, when most people can go for an office job for instance that requires less energy? 

[TROPICUM]

There’s obviously a lot of LGBTQ+ in blue collar jobs, but hence the conservative nature of it they just remain closeted.

 

Plus, most of them are immigrants who have a lot more to worry rather than inclusion in their workplace.  

[family.guy123]

Are you going to provide a source for the ridiculous claim in the title or….