Chapter 9: Identity Fusion or Fission?: A Look at How Gay School Administrators fit Their Personal Identities With Their Professional Lives

This chapter examines how queer educational administrators negotiate their sexual identity given the context of their professional lives. Through in-depth interviewing, data were gathered on the remembered experiences and reflections of six gay school administrators, one man and five women. A cross categorical analysis was then conducted with interview transcripts to find patterns and similarities in responses. Themes exposed challenges for participants pertaining to communication, identity negotiation, and stress for managing the fit between their personal identities and their professional lives.