Despite an apparent sea change in public attitudes regarding sexual orientation, contemporary qualitative research demonstrates stereotypes persist towards gay men, in turn affecting their labor market outcomes and earnings. This research tests the effects of stereotypical gendered attributes ascribed to gay men in regards to employment and wages. Using data from the American Community Survey’s 2010-2014 5-year sample, and occupational sex ratios from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, I model gay men’s occupational outcomes against heterosexual men in three constructed occupational categories: female-dominated, male-dominated, or gender-neutral. I also model earnings in a regression with sexuality as the variable of interest. I then look at the intersection of race and sexual orientation to test interaction effects between sexual orientation and race on employment outcomes and earnings. The findings validate that the persistence of stereotypes affects marginalized identities in employment and earnings, but in more complex ways than previously conceived.
