The folks at Diversity Inc. have posted an etiquette guide that is sure to be consulted by university human resource offices called “7 Things Never to Say to LGBT Coworkers.” For those of you who mercifully don’t have to cover the PC (and we don’t mean personal computer) world of higher education, LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.
As it turns out, Ls, Gs, Bs and Ts actually concocted the taboos. In other words, they were devised by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).
You may never have contemplated opening conversations with any of the following questions and cues but the people at GLSEN think you did. The conversation ice-breakers that they urge you to avoid are:
No. 1: “I suspected you were gay.”
No. 2: “I’m sorry.”
No. 3: “Why did you tell me that?”
No. 4: “Which bathroom do you use?”
No. 5: “We are not close enough for you to share that information with me.”
No. 6: Referring to coworkers as “she-male.”
No. 7: “What do you like to do in bed?”
Malcolm A. Kline is the executive director of Accuracy in Academia.
