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The Possible Forms of Professionalism: Credibility and the Performance of Queer Sexualities Among Barristers in England & Wales

Mason, Marc; Vaughan, Steven; Weil, Benjamin; (2023) The Possible Forms of Professionalism: Credibility and the Performance of Queer Sexualities Among Barristers in England & Wales. Journal of Law and Society , 50 (1) pp. 77-99. 10.1111/jols.12408. Green open access

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Abstract

This article constitutes the first account of sexual minority barristers’ experience of and relation to professionalism at the Bar. Drawing on survey and interview data, it presents the Bar as a site of heteronormativity, where masculinist heterosexuality is pervasively assumed and publicly valorized. The ‘credible’ barrister – authoritative, respected, competent – is constructed as heterosexual. In this context, sexual minority barristers risk a loss of credibility in coming out or being out in the workplace. Our data presents mechanisms by which these individuals manage the public expression of their sexuality. Some – in contrast to heterosexual colleagues – deny entirely the professional relevance of their sexuality. Others adopt assimilationist strategies, curating a ‘credible’ public persona: out, but otherwise conforming to heteronormative expectations and values. While the data includes exceptions that give cause for hope, many sexual minority barristers experience professionalism as pressure to render their sexuality effectively invisible, at significant cost personally and professionally.

Type: Article
Title: The Possible Forms of Professionalism: Credibility and the Performance of Queer Sexualities Among Barristers in England & Wales
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1111/jols.12408
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1111/jols.12408
Language: English
Additional information: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Laws
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10159970
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