Social media has revolutionised how we relate to our colleagues and higher-ups, offering us opportunities to showcase different aspects of our lives. Currently, three out of four employees are connected with their coworkers via social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. Be it in person or online, we all strive to present the best versions of ourselves, and social media allows us to filter these representations in ways that are specific to each platform. Twitter, for example, emphasises short, text messages, while Instagram focuses on images and videos. We also consider the diverse audiences and how they will interact with our content when determining our online behaviour.
But what happens when lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, or asexual (LGBTQIA+) employees, often marginalised in their workplaces, also need to decide whether or not to show their true selves online? As a management researcher interested in social issues, I recently delved into the experiences of gay male employees at the Brazilian subsidiary of a multinational automaker. My analyses of 480 hours of observation and 20 interviews with gay male employees uncover how they navigate online self-representation in the face of adversity.
When professionalism equals heteronormativity
I found that LGBTQIA+ employees adjust their social media use to align with the platforms’ functions and their professional lives. This was particularly the case with Instagram and Facebook. Many individuals I interviewed reported feeling that the traditional notion of professionalism, which favours heteronormativity, affects their online self-representation. As a result, some employees feel compelled to employ exhausting tactics to hide or regulate their sexuality. The latter can broadly be divided in three main strategies:
Fabrication, or the use of social media to create counterfeit straight relationships. Gabriel (29, sales executive) pretended for years that he had a girlfriend named Paula. She was a friend who accompanied Gabriel and his same-sex partner to social events and frequently appeared in pictures with them. Gabriel intentionally fabricated this narrative to fit his view of professionalism on Facebook and Instagram, as he explains:
“When someone [from work] sent me a friendship request, I was like ‘Fuck, what am I going to do?. I thought that if I disclosed my sexuality I would be judged, professional doors would close, and colleagues would be talking about me all the time… So, I never posted anything about my real boyfriend.”
In his evaluation, colleagues and superiors would have access to information about his sexuality, impacting how he is seen as a professional. He decided to hide homosexuality as much as possible, leading to a spiral of fabrication online.
Content control, or the careful curation of pictures, comments, likes, and posts in a bid to tone down, or even erase, traces and evidence of their sexuality. Roberto (31, engineering coordinator) explains:
“I usually do not post anything that could indicate that I am gay; I post mainly scenic pictures from my trips.”
Carlos (29, human resources analyst), on the other hand, steers clear from posting in general. Others prefer to change their profile names to avoid being found, such as Mario (28, marketing analyst), who uses only his initials:
“For years I kept my profile only with the letters ML, for Mario Lontra, my surname. I guess it was also a defence mechanism not to be found by colleagues at work.”
Audience control Through privacy configurations, individuals can target their posts at specific audiences, or limit the visibility of posts and comments on Instagram or Facebook. One of my interviewees, Diego, explains his reasons behind adopting the method:
“My colleagues screenshot pictures of other possible gay colleagues and send them to our chat group saying, ‘Look at what this faggot is doing.’ I’ve seen this happening, and I’d rather hide my profile to avoid them talking about me.”
When professionalism and homosexuality co-exist
While some individuals strive to conceal or manage their homosexuality on social media, some of my participants feel that being openly gay and professional is feasible. Through my research, I identified two strategies adopted by those who choose to publicly embrace their sexuality:
Community support building Rather than perceiving social media as a threat, these users make the most of it to network with other members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and downplay the idea of professionalism as heteronormativity online. This can be achieved by engaging with colleagues via comments, posts, and likes. Expressing opinions and engaging in gay discourse is less crucial for those who prioritise SNSs as a means of community support. Ravi (32, marketing executive) recognised the potential impact of being open about his sexuality on his LGBTQIA+ peers:
“I’m adopting a more activist posture. I met Mario at a meeting and he hugged me and said: ‘You don’t know how happy I am to see one of ours being promoted!’”
Mario and Ravi are from different departments but follow each other on Facebook and Instagram. Mario could see that Ravi expresses his homosexuality online and decided to talk to Ravi when he heard he had been promoted. Social media, in this case, had a community support building role for them.
Activism These individuals take advantage of social media to amplify their voices and destigmatise being gay, thereby also destigmatising their identities at work. Mario shares content on social issues affecting minorities and opposes Bolsonaro. He follows left-leaning LGBTQIA+ political profiles and drag queens, often posting pictures with his boyfriend. Gabriel is becoming more open about his sexuality, expressing himself at work and on Facebook and Instagram. He comments:
“It was one of the best things I did. I changed my relationship status to "engaged to Luigi” on Facebook. If anyone had a doubt, it is very clear there. A lot of managers congratulated me on the engagement… when you are in a situation like that, you have to act so that others who suffer can see that they have support, and also that those who have prejudice see that it can end up badly for them.“
Open political activism has the notable advantage of helping dissociate professionalism from heteronormativity.
Testing the waters across different social media channels
Overall, my study found that employees’ behaviours are not static over time. Instead, employees adapt their online behaviour based on workplace experiences and external feedback, constantly "testing the waters” to strike the right balance. As social media audiences evolve, LGBTQIA+ employees may shift their self-representations to align with the new norms of popular platforms. For instance, Twitter might be perceived as a more “niche” social media channel today. If that changes, and colleagues and superiors start using the platform, LGBTQIA+ employees might also behave differently.
Sadly, old-rooted ideas such as heteronormativity equalling professionalism are still pervasive. In an ideal world, sexual identity would not compromise professionalism, and there is still much work to be done before that is the case. Some positive examples to take inspiration from are IBM, Google and Deloitte, who have introduced structures for LGBQT employees to “be outspoken”, “authentic” and “confident” about their sexuality.