While Closeted, I Tokenized My Lesbian Roommate in a Job Interview
A clueless trans woman, cultural queerness, and safe space confusion
“On the job, you’ll likely encounter a wide range of people seeking writing assistance, some of a minority sexual or gender identity. How would you help them feel welcomed?”
My brain froze. Isn’t the school already welcoming?
This question cropped up during an interview for a writing support position at my alma mater. Armed with a leg up as a recent English and creative-writing master’s graduate, my chances heading in felt positive — until a vague ask about welcoming queer and trans students.
Clarification wasn’t impossible. I could dig for what precisely she seemed to be searching for.
Yet I wanted to ace this interview. And to clueless, young-twenties me, ace-interview material was not asking clarifying questions about what the interviewer believed self-evident; jamming my foot into my mouth was far preferable.
“Well, you see, I once had a lesbian roommate, and…”
In short? I (sort of) committed a cardinal sin in the vein of a defense some bigots choose to employ: I’m not a bigot, I have [insert minority identity here] friends, but [bigotry].
