The (in-)visibility of difference: gay and lesbian identities and the German police

Abstract

While modern police organizations have included diversity in their portfolio of guiding orientations, there has been little research on the sexual identity of police officers and their perceptions in Germany. Based on current scientific discourses on the construction and impact of human categories, this article provides an explorative empirical-qualitative analysis of views, perceptions, and experiences of German police officers with gay and lesbian sexual identities. We conducted in-depth semi-structured interview with officers who identified themselves as gay or lesbian (n = 8). Applying a reflexive thematic approach to data analysis, the results point to an internal police dominance of a two-gender identity concept, in which heterosexual masculinity forms the guiding value and third possibilities remain largely invisible. The findings offer a reason to critically reflect on the existing dominance of heterosexually formatted distinctions and thus to further expand German police organization’s claim to diversity.