ABSTRACT

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents a study of how gay men understand the role and meaning of friendship in the workplace. It aims to understanding of how gay men's friendships are developed and understood in different work contexts, paying particular attention to the various roles they play in gay men's work lives. The book mobilises theoretical resources derived from sociology as well as feminism and poststructuralism. Sociologists and feminists especially have made vital contributions to the study of friendship, some of whom have exposed and condemned the heterosexual bias in the friendship literature for ignoring the friendship experiences of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transpeople (LGBT) people. The book engages with both established and emerging theories on friendship in order to underpin the empirical analysis of gay men's friendships in the workplace.