Emerald | Equal Opportunities International | Metal signals and labour market disadvantage: Empirical evidence on visible body piercings and gay men in the UK

Metal signals and labour market disadvantage: Empirical evidence on visible body piercings and gay men in the UK

Document Information:
Title:	Metal signals and labour market disadvantage: Empirical evidence on visible body piercings and gay men in the UK
Author(s):	Samuel Cameron, (Department of Development and Economic Studies, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK), Alan Collins, (Department of Economics, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK), Ford Hickson, (Department of Economics, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK)
Citation:	Samuel Cameron, Alan Collins, Ford Hickson, (2009) "Metal signals and labour market disadvantage: Empirical evidence on visible body piercings and gay men in the UK", Equal Opportunities International, Vol. 28 Iss: 8, pp.646 - 659
Keywords:	Homosexuals, Jewellery, Sexual discrimination, Sexual orientation, United Kingdom
Article type:	Research paper
DOI:	10.1108/02610150911001689 (Permanent URL)
Publisher:	Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Acknowledgements:	The authors are grateful to Birgit Schyns for constructive comments and to the Terrence Higgins Trust, the UK Department of Health, Healthy Gay Scotland and the Northern Ireland Rainbow Project who collectively funded the survey work analysed in this study.
Abstract:	Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of visible body piercings (VBP) in explaining the extent of self-reported workplace sexual orientation discrimination. Design/methodology/approach – Using the 2002 wave of the UK Gay Mens’ Sex Survey, OLS and logit equations are estimated to analyse the extent of self-reported denial of job opportunities. Findings – The possession of visible body piercings is shown to increase the level of discriminatory activity. There is evidence that tongue piercings are the major contributory type of body decoration. The overall effect is seemingly ameliorated for those gay men who engage in more extensive concealment effort with regard to their sexual orientation. Research limitations/implications – The sample is to some extent self-selecting, which may affect the results. Further studies using alternative methodologies would be required to explore this issue. Practical implications – This paper sheds light on the importance, or otherwise, of presumed visual clues such as body piercing in triggering discriminatory behaviour towards gay men. Originality/value – This is the first study to examine the self-reported experience of post-entry discrimination by gay men using a major national survey comprising over 15,000 observations.