Gay until Proven Straight: Exploring Perceptions of Male Interior Designers from Male Practitioner and Student Perspectives

Abstract

Given the small percentage of men studying interior design versus the higher percentage of men in the profession, and misperceptions of male designers among the general public, there is a need to examine sexual identity and stereotyping in the interior design industry. While researchers have explored the experiences of gay men working ''straight jobs'' and men doing ''women's work'' (e.g., nursing, teaching), very little research to date has focused on the experience of men (gay and straight) in careers that are stereotypically identified with gay men (e.g., hairstyling, dance, flight attendance, fashion design, interior design). The purpose of this paper is to address this gap and explore how sexual orientation influences the experiences and perceptions of male interior design students and professionals. Practitioner participants were identified through membership lists of ASID and IIDA, while male interior design students were contacted through the Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) ''listserv'' with faculty assistance. Potential subjects were invited to complete an online survey (30 questions for students, 32 questions for practitioners) in the spring of 2008 using SurveyGold, an online survey tool. One hundred sixteen students completed the survey (N = 116) while 51 practitioners responded (N = 51). Researchers anticipated that male interior designers encountered stereotyping regarding their sexual orientation, and that this in turn may affect their attitudes toward their career, relationships with colleagues and clients, design perspectives, and self-comfort. Survey responses generally supported these assumptions and serve to quantify and bring to light the complexity of this important and unexplored issue.The dialogue ''scenes'' used as literary framing devices in this paper are based on actual conversations that the authors have engaged in at various times with a variety of people (names have been changed). This technique is implemented to humanize the subject matter of this paper and connect readers to the people behind the text. Scene: New York City, large corporate interior design firm Characters: Brett, Ned, and Clark-3 gay men ages 27 to 32. 2 architects, 1 interior designer Brett: Clark, you've gotta check out the hot guy sitting in the reception area. It looks like he's here for an interview! Clark: Brett, can't you see I'm busy here. These drawings are due tomorrow. Is he gay? Brett: I don't know. He's just sitting there with his portfolio in his lap. He looks well-groomed. Ned: Come on guys. Don't you know that in interior design all men are gay until proven straight! 1 Introduction and PurposeGiven the small percentage of men studying interior design versus the higher percentage of men in the profession, and misperceptions of male designers, there is a need to examine and consider sexual identity and stereotyping in the industry. The Council of Interior Design Accreditation reports that less than 7% of students in accredited programs from across North America are male (CIDA, 2010) and a

Inferences About Sexual Orientation: The Roles of Stereotypes, Faces, and The Gaydar Myth

“…Our findings from Study 5 demonstrated that belief in gaydar perpetuates the use of stereotypes to jump to conclusions about orientation. Left unchecked, these stereotypes can lead to a host of adverse consequences (e.g., Cox & Devine, 2014; Matthews & Hill, 2011; Nadal, 2013). For example, as has recently been demonstrated (Cox & Devine, 2014), using a stereotypic cue to privately infer group membership can free prejudice perpetrators from concerns about social condemnation for their prejudice, yielding higher levels of prejudice-based aggression.…”

“…This function is readily apparent in the media, which has a history of using stereotypic cues to imply that a character is gay or lesbian (Cartei & Reby, 2012; Dennis, 2009; Russo, 1987). Indeed, an abundance of self-report, correlational, and experimental evidence has shown that people rely on stereotypic attributes, such as fashion, hairstyle, or femininity/masculinity, to make judgments about orientation (self-report: Matthews & Hill, 2011; Shelp, 2002; correlational: Ambady, Hallahan, & Conner, 1999; Freeman, Johnson, Ambady, & Rule, 2010, Studies 2 & 3; Gaudio, 1994; Johnson, Gill, Reichman, & Tassinary, 2007, Study 3; Rieger et al, 2010; Smyth, Jacobs, & Rogers, 2003; Van Borsel, & Van de Putte, 2014; experimental: Cox & Devine, 2014; Dotsch et al, 2011, Study 3; Freeman et al, 2010, Study 1; Johnson et al, 2007, Studies 1 & 2).…”

Stereotypes Possess Heterogeneous Directionality: A Theoretical and Empirical Exploration of Stereotype Structure and Content

“…Also, based on past work and our own theorizing, stereotypes related to these two groups seem especially likely to reveal heterogeneous directionality. Because the defining features of gay male group membership (i.e., same-sex attraction, gay identity) are not visible, people often rely on stereotypic cues (e.g., fashion) to infer that men are gay [ 27 – 28 , 50 – 51 ]. Gay male stereotypes, therefore, are often used in the negative, Attribute → Group direction, which suggests to us that they may be more likely to possess negative directionality.…”

The shifting landscape of LGBT organizational research

“…While a small number of studies still considered gay men and lesbians in occupations stereotypically associated with those demographics, such as gay men in professional dance (Bailey & Oberschneider, 1997) or interior decorating (Matthews & Hill, 2011), or lesbians in the skilled trades (Weston & Rofel, 1984), most research efforts in the collective identity tradition examined more mainstream occupational pursuits.…”