Visibility management in school and beyond: A qualitative study of gay, lesbian, bisexual youth

Grounded theory was utilized to develop a theory of gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) youths' interactions with and response to their environment. Data included in-depth interviews of 20 GLB youth. The central phenomenon that emerged from the qualitative data analysis was the strategy of visibility management. Visibility management refers to the dynamic, ongoing process by which GLB youth make careful, planned decisions about whether they will disclose their sexual orientation, and, if they decide to disclose, to whom and how they disclose, and how they continue to monitor the presentation of their sexual orientation in different environments. The process of visibility management is proposed as a key construct in GLB identity development. Implications are proposed for working with GLB youth and their families and for making schools safer for GLB youth. (C) 2003 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.