‘‘Coming Out’’ as Patients 149
Choosing Silence: Not Tell Why?
‘‘For a long time, I remained closeted in my professional career,’’ Alex,
the HIV-infected gay dentist, said. Terrified by the potential repercus-
sions, many of the practitioners here chose total concealment. These
providers often denied experience of any stigma or discrimination, be-
cause they purposely hadn’t told anyone. The potential loss of future job
opportunities or insurance made privacy valuable in and of itself.
In general, norms mitigate against the disclosure of personal informa-
tion in the workplace. Indeed, many of these providers remained ‘‘clo-
seted’