This report could only have been published in The Guardian.[1]

In its first report on the career experiences of gay and lesbian lawyers The Law Society, the professional body for solicitors, accused City law firms of having "undertones of homophobia" because of their emphasis on out-of-hours hard drinking and visits to lap dancing clubs.  It found most gay lawyers surveyed were reluctant to "come out" at work because they feared it would seriously hinder their career.

When I was an enthusiastic young lawyer[2], it seemed to be strip clubs, all-hours hard drinking and compulsory membership of the department football team who were expected to kick the hell out of the opposition early on a Sunday morning. I wasn’t having any of it.  I have little doubt that to a few of my contemporaries I was being a spoilsport. I was obviously a loner, a loser and the kind of person who would find himself alone in the kitchen at parties.  I could not have cared less.

We are told that the Law Society’s report did note that,

“…others[3] accepted this sort of behaviour as part of the “work hard, play hard” ethos.”

How very sensible, reasonable and mature of them. The Law Society sees it slightly differently, according to Law Society president, Fiona Woolf,

“These findings highlight the concerns of gay and lesbian solicitors and should alert firms of the need to review their policies to tackle discrimination based on sexual orientation and ensure a climate of acceptance and inclusiveness.”

The problem with this approach is that (in this instance) heterosexuals are causing social discomfort to a small number of gays simply by being themselves during out of work hours.  There is no evidence that the “straight” majority are being deliberately exclusive. In any event, “out of hours hard drinking and visits to lap dancing clubs” is hardly the leisure policy of any firm of solicitors, let alone a City Firm. The solution can never be that the majority must change its chosen, lawful behaviour to accommodate the oversensitive feelings of (here) a small number of gays, or whoever else might be the minority group.

[1] OK, so the story was probably lifted from The Law Society’s Gazette, but that’s no excuse for its wider dissemination, even by a low circulation national newspaper.  In fact, the Law Society’s report mainly focuses upon avoidance of “concrete” discrimination, for instance employee benefits being equal as between heterosexual married couples and same sex partnerships, and not “hurt feelings” arising from perceived exclusion.

[2] A condition that did not last long.

[3] In other words, a majority of gay lawyers.