Is there such a thing as a gay job? Actually, it turns out there just might be
Evening Standard|October 27, 2023
MY first job was as a cashier in a South Manchester car park, a Saturday post I held between the ages of 14 and 19, the exact ages I was working out how being gay might pan out for me
Paul Flynn
Is there such a thing as a gay job? Actually, it turns out there just might be

I worked alongside the Corps of Commissionaires, a rum, witty bunch of pensioner ex-servicemen who’d shine their shoes to perfection in order to chase down local scallies trying to hotwire a tasty, second-hand Volkswagen Polo. They were great, dependable men, many widowers, committed smokers with a plentiful reserve of dirty jokes.

The boss’s best friend was local snooker-playing legend Alex “Hurricane” Higgins, whose arrival was mostly augured by swerving his bronze Jag into a specially-reserved spot as if at Brands Hatch, usually half-cut by midday. It was categorically not a gay job.

Does such a thing exist? Perusing some of the more niche results of the 2023 census, published yesterday, which for the first time has broken down the jobs most populated by a gay, lesbian and bisexual workforce, it would seem so. Predictable patterns emerge.

This story is from the October 27, 2023 edition of Evening Standard.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the October 27, 2023 edition of Evening Standard.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM EVENING STANDARDView All
Who is to blame for the lack of elite English managers?
The London Standard

Who is to blame for the lack of elite English managers?

Replacing Tuchel with a homegrown candidate will be no easy task

time-read
2 mins  |
January 09, 2025
Who your club will sign and sell in the January market
The London Standard

Who your club will sign and sell in the January market

Kolo Muani has more than one interested club in London, while there are big names unsettled and looking to move

time-read
7 mins  |
January 09, 2025
The debt disaster threatening to leave Londoners without a drop to drink
The London Standard

The debt disaster threatening to leave Londoners without a drop to drink

Crisis-hit Thames Water could go under in days

time-read
4 mins  |
January 09, 2025
Is 2025 the year of the first-time buyer?
The London Standard

Is 2025 the year of the first-time buyer?

This could be your best chance to buy a home in more than a decade here's where to look

time-read
5 mins  |
January 09, 2025
Kick back in the Caribbean BodyHoliday, Saint Lucia
The London Standard

Kick back in the Caribbean BodyHoliday, Saint Lucia

Green juices, beach workouts and supercharged facials: more and more of us are swapping piña coladas and indulgent food for a healthier, but no less glamorous, holiday.

time-read
2 mins  |
January 09, 2025
Dishoom's Kavi Thakraron why Mumbai is his inspiration
The London Standard

Dishoom's Kavi Thakraron why Mumbai is his inspiration

The best street food, fantastic markets and bars where the hours just disappear...the restaurateur shares his guide

time-read
5 mins  |
January 09, 2025
On the sauce - Adiamondis forever, after all
The London Standard

On the sauce - Adiamondis forever, after all

Double Diamond was supposedly Prince Philip’s favourite beer. He’s said to have enjoyed a bottle, nightly.

time-read
2 mins  |
January 09, 2025
At the table - Queen of W1 expands empire with chic Italian
The London Standard

At the table - Queen of W1 expands empire with chic Italian

I understand it's not the done thing to compare restaurateurs to murderous mob bosses, given it's rude and, well, they're notoriously litigious. But when I think of Samyukta Nair, sometimes I hear Jack Nicholson's mutterings in The Departed, Martin Scorsese's Boston gangster flick. \"I don't want to be a product of my environment,\" Nichol- son says. \"I want my environment to be a product of me.\"

time-read
3 mins  |
January 09, 2025
The Royal Academy's masterful show and mind-expanding surrealist paintings
The London Standard

The Royal Academy's masterful show and mind-expanding surrealist paintings

Known for his intricate and stunning handmade tapestries, Siributr creates these vast hangings to explore his native Thailand past and present.

time-read
1 min  |
January 09, 2025
Review - Adrien Brody's power and depth shine in this colossal epic
The London Standard

Review - Adrien Brody's power and depth shine in this colossal epic

The Brutalist, director Brady Corbet’s third feature, is a movie of such colossal size and scope it may well have been carved from marble; an epic paean to the immigrant experience in America in the wake of the Second World War.

time-read
2 mins  |
January 09, 2025