Introduction
Despite significant efforts to combat gender inequality and sexuality stereotypes, many injustices and insults against certain groups of people still occur today. To determine the causes and factors of this issue, it is essential to study the interaction of people with society carefully and understand the difficulties in their adaptation.
This research will aim to study the topic of “Lesbians Face Relationship Challenges in Male-Dominated Workplaces.” With the help of numerous articles and studies, the behavior of lesbians in terms of their willingness to adapt to society will be investigated. The research question will be followed by the two hypotheses of the study connected to the specifics of challenges that lesbians face in relationships in a masculine environment.
Challenges of Lesbians in Male-Dominated Workplaces
To better understand lesbians’ challenges in male-dominated workplaces, it is vital to consider the article “Task Interdependence and the Discrimination of gay men and Lesbians in the Workplace” by Lim et al. (2018). The author argues that one indicator of lesbians’ desire to adapt to society in the workplace context is not so much behavior during work as the conscious choice of a particular job (Lim et al., 2018).
In other words, the lesbian will seek a job where she has a better chance of qualitatively adapting and creating relationships with colleagues (Lim et al., 2018). Based on the study described in the article, this fact makes it necessary to evaluate the first hypothesis of this study from the other side. Lesbians will choose a workplace where they can have harmonious and just relationships with other people but not depend on other coworkers for support (Parker, 2018). This factor is essential for research, as it allows one to determine that lesbians can pre-empt or significantly reduce possible challenges in relationships in male-dominated workplaces.
An important step in further studying the research topic will be to consider how lesbians are perceived under different circumstances and, in particular, in different professions. For example, in the article “Taboos and Stigmas Facing Military Women,” the author, Vermelj (2020), states that women are forced to adapt to male society. As a result of this action, Vermeji (2020) states, “Communities see us as masculine, angry, and more aggressive than ‘normal’ women, as we are trying to fit in with a male-dominated culture” (p. 3). In addition, the author states in the article that one of the factors that women experience significant stress in a masculine society and, therefore, use coping methods is sexuality (Vermeji, 2020). Consequently, it can be stated that lesbians experience even more profound necessities in coping methods because they need to survive.
To advance the research, it is essential to consider the possible causes of these issues. One of them is a high level of bullying towards women in masculine environments, such as military forces, caused by a distorted understanding of women’s societal role. The first variant considers women as slut, when she communicates with men, and the second assumes that women as lesbians if she communicates with women (Vermeji, 2020).
It is important to emphasize that often, in military forces, there are homophobic sentiments, and people with non-traditional sexual orientations are exposed to insults (Wright, 2016). For this reason, lesbians strive to find support and assistance and adapt to the masculine environment using coping methods (Raine, 2019). These findings are critical to the study, as they directly demonstrate how lesbians face relationship challenges in society in the context of professions and specific environments.
New Findings and Understandings
Exploring the example of military forces, the influence of gender stereotypes on women’s desire to adapt to the male environment using coping methods was studied. The findings showed that the high level of stereotyping contributes to the abusive treatment of women in such professions. It makes it possible to understand specific aspects of environmental influence on difficulties for lesbians in relationships in society, as sexuality only complicates the situation (Wright, 2014).
Among other understandings found during the research, it is vital to stress that lesbians can reduce or avoid possible difficulties adapting to male-dominated workplaces (Barrantes et al., 2017). However, it demonstrates a severe problem expressed in the high degree of discrediting of lesbians, which is why they abandon particular professions (Denissen & Saguy, 2014). Therefore, the study has found that willingness to use coping methods and dependence on other coworkers are caused by the significant challenges that lesbians face in male-dominated working environments.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is important to stress that the difficulties faced by lesbians are expressed in a distorted and discrediting attitude towards women based on stereotypes about the suitability or unfitness of women for particular professions. However, in the context of sexuality, the issue takes on new meaning as the range of workplaces where lesbians are under bullying expands to the maximum. In other words, lesbians have difficulties in relationships in male-dominated workplaces everywhere. The results include the desire to use coping methods and the selection of suitable workplaces to avoid discrediting.
References
Barrantes, R. J., Eaton, A. A., Veldhuis, C. B., & Hughes, T. L. (2017). The Role of Minority Stressors in Lesbian Relationship Commitment and Persistence Over Time. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity. Web.
Denissen, A. M., & Saguy, A. C. (2014). Gendered homophobia and the contradictions of workplace discrimination for women in the building trades. Gender and Society, 28(3), 381-403. Web.
Lim, A. C., Trau, R. N., & Foo, M. D. (2018). Task interdependence and the discrimination of gay men and lesbians in the workplace. Hum Resour Manage, 57, 1385–1397. Web.
Parker, K. (2018, March 7). Women in majority-male workplaces report higher rates of gender discrimination. Pew Research Center. Web.
Raine, D. (2019) “You Look Like a Dude, Dude”: Masculine Females Undoing Gender in the Workplace. Journal of Homosexuality, 66(9), 1219-1237. Web.
Vermelj, L. (2020). Taboos and Stigmas Facing Military Women. International Peace Institute. Web.
Wright, T. (2014). Gender, sexuality, and male-dominated work: the intersection of long-hours working and domestic life. Work, Employment & Society, 28(6), pp. 985-1002. Web.
Wright, T. (2016). Women’s Experience of Workplace Interactions in Male-Dominated Work: The Intersections of Gender, Sexuality and Occupational Group. Gender, Work & Organization, 23(3). Web.