James M. Croteau

On Being Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual in Student Affairs: A National Survey of Experiences on the Job

The authors present results of a study surveying lesbian, gay, and bisexual student affairs professionals about work experiences related to their sexual orientation.

Developing an Assessment of Sexual Identity Management for Lesbian and Gay Workers

Prior research examining disclosure of sexual orientation at work suggests that lesbian and gay people employ diverse strategies for managing this nonvisible aspect of their identity. Yet, research concerning sexual identity management has been hampered by inadequate conceptual definition and measurement. This paper reports initial development of the Workplace Sexual Identity Management Measure (WSIMM) based on a conceptual model of lesbian and gay identity management supported by prior qualitative research. Psychometric properties of the WSIMM were examined for a sample of 172 student affairs professionals. Results suggest the WSIMM successfully assesses a continuum of identity management strategies and lend partial support for individual scales. Recommendations concerning appropriate uses and further refinement of the measure are provided.

Models of Workplace Sexual Identity Disclosure and Management Reviewing and Extending Concepts

This article advances the understanding of workplace sexual identity management for lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals by examining three conceptual frameworks recently proposed in the organizational and psychological literature (Clair, Beatty, & MacLean, 2005; Lidderdale, Croteau, Anderson, Tovar-Murray, & Davis, 2007; Ragins, 2004, 2008). After exploring two of the models that are based in stigma theory and one that is based in social cognitive theory, the article addresses new directions for understanding and studying sexual identity in the workplace through expanding and clarifying the prior conceptual work in the three models. Specifically, directions for greater clarity in definitions of identity management are suggested, recommendations for the integration and extension of perspectives on the relationship of identity management and workplace climate are made, and the need for expanding notions of sexual identity itself is promoted.

Reflections on Understanding and Ameliorating Internalized Heterosexism

This Major Contribution of The Counseling Psychologist has the potential to be a keystone for those counseling psychologists who will place emphasis in their research, scholarship, practice, or advocacy work on heterosexism as well as for the wider profession in recognizing the destructive power of heterosexism. Brief critical ideas that add to, or expand on, discussion in this Major Contribution are offered in this response article. The restricted range of research samples and the potential for ethnocentric bias in the current conceptual and empirical approach to internalized heterosexism (IH) is discussed first. The need for “experience-near” information in IH scholarship is then discussed as an approach both to becoming less ethnocentric and to bringing about a deeper and more serious accounting for heterosexism within the profession. Finally, the importance of attention to the long-term effects of having “survived” the internalization of heterosexism is illustrated.