The organisation of sexuality and the sexuality of organisation. A genealogical analysis of sexual ‘inclusive exclusion’ at work

This paper problematises sexual inclusion in the workplace by theorising the social and historical processes that underpin heteronormativity in organisations. Drawing on a genealogical analysis (Foucault, 1977a, 1978, 1984a, 1984b) of sexuality and sexual exclusion in four Italian social firms that support the social inclusion of disadvantaged individuals, the paper provides an in-depth analysis of the historical conditions affecting the management of sexualities in organisations. The analysis exposes the fragility and contradictory character of the notion of inclusion by illustrating how efforts to ‘include’ are often grounded on normative principles. It also shows how heteronormativity works, in practice, to moderate different modalities of LGBTQ inclusion, recreating hierarchies and binaries within LGBTQ individuals. The paper discusses how the power of heteronormativity produces specific meanings of inclusion within which some LGBTQ workers are included and normalised, and others remain excluded because they do not conform to normative conventions and flaunt their ‘diversity’. The necessity of taking a queer perspective on ‘inclusion’ that scrutinises the heteronormative logic is also discussed. The paper concludes by shedding light on how, within a heteronormative regime shaped by neoliberal predicaments, “inclusive” organizations might contribute to the exclusion of marginalized individuals.