A sequel to a previous article, a Twin Cities IWW member writes about how he’s dealt with homophobic remarks and sentiments at work. This originally appeared in YOU BETTER WORK: queer, trans, feminist workers stories #1
I knew it would be hard going into it. Friends who already worked in the distribution center I was about to start work at had warned me about the specific difficulties I would have as a queer person in an environment where the work culture was dominated by a hypermasculine, sexist and homophobic atmosphere. I listened intently, and did my best to prepare myself. “It’s ok,” I thought, “this will certainly not be the first time I’ve dealt with this. I have a thick skin. I know how to stand up for myself. I’m can deal with this. I’m prepared.”
Quite frankly, I was wrong. To say that it was a hostile environment for me would be a massive understatement. The workplace, like many, is almost completely gender-segregated, with my work area and all those like it being entirely staffed by men. Homophobic comments, slurs, and “jokes” were traded between my co-workers on the regular. I struggled daily to try and deal with the anger, frustration, and depression that I felt clocking out after having heard “faggot,” “fag,” “pansy,” “no homo,” and other shit like it thrown around more often than I had experienced since middle school. Like then, I found myself acting quiet and withdrawn in those first few weeks as I struggled not to let my anger get the best of me.
If it had been less all-encompassing, less of the status quo of the job, I probably would’ve known how to handle it. Instead, I felt lost, trying to figure out how to address something that seemed so deeply rooted it was unmovable.
I quickly found that this environment was fairly deliberately set up and encouraged by our bosses. Unlike FW de Bord, who
Industrial Workers of the World Dorset 