Butches and Jobs

I've been thinking lately about the myriad ways in which sexual orientation, gender identification, and gender presentation affect our occupational choices.  We might imagine multiple ways this could happen:

1. Maybe we choose a job where we can present as we want to and not feel alienated.  For some of us, this might mean being able to bring our partner to the holiday party; for others, it might mean not being the only woman at work who's not wearing a skirt.
2. Maybe we choose a job in which our partners aren't denied health benefits (and we probably also want to work somewhere where we can't be fired simply for loving whom we choose).
3. The dyke cop, the dyke librarian, and the dyke P.E. teacher are all cliches, yes...  but often there's a reason that things become cliches.  Whatever personality characteristics are associated with being a lesbian (and particularly a butch) may also be associated with whatever characteristics make people pursue certain professions.

Of course, lesbians can do anything.  We can be (and are) everything from ballerinas to surgeons, from firefighters to custodians.  But I know that in my own life, I've gravitated toward work that lets me be myself, and away from work that tends to favor or privilege those who conform to gender norms.

I'm really curious about what your experiences have been.  I would LOVE it if you would fill out the following brief survey and send it to me!  I'll tally the results and report them (anonymously, of course) in a future post:

Thanks for participating.  The more people who fill it out, the better and more interesting the results are likely to be, and the more interesting it will be to read about in a few days.  :-)