I've worked a lot of places. To give you an idea, I'd say I've changed jobs roughly once every six months to a year for about three or four years. That said, I'm no stranger to learning different office cultures, meeting new coworkers, and finding new places to eat lunch. I'm pretty good at all that. I have a background in non-profit work, but am currently employed in a technical position at a for-profit software company. It is the best job I have ever had.
There is one thing, though, that I immediately noticed about my office: it was Straight People, Straight CultureLand. I make a point of living my life out in the open (Hi, I'm queer, hence the name of this blog is "Straight Office, Queer Worker" - the queer worker? That's me) so all of my coworkers know that I am "gay" or "queer" - I don't know that they all have the terminology, but they know I'm not straight. My supervisors and select coworkers have made a point to show me that they do not think this is a big deal. It's sweet and I'm touched by it, but it misses a larger problem: my culture does not jive with their office.
I know what you might be thinking. "Culture" isn't defined by one aspect of our identity, right? I'm younger than most of the employees, who are in their 30s or 40s with married spouses and children. I am also female-bodied in a field that is largely male dominated; this male culture is known to pervade the computing/software industry and our office is no exception to that rule. Fuhrthermore, I happen to really care about issues of social justice (including class), and the stereotypical "American" office is not a place for social dissidence. So, I happen to be queer. Does it make a difference? When? How often? What impact does that have on me as a "worker"? As a human being?
The purpose of this blog is to explore those questions. I plan to combine my personal anecdotes of experiences in the office with data from other sources that analyze the software industry and queer culture. So, if this sounds like your cup of tea (or coffee, kombucha, local beer, etc.), please read on! I would love to receive comments, questions or critiques from anyone in a similar situation!
