The boys’ club no one was supposed to write about

If you work in tech, Wired’s new cover story probably won’t shatter your worldview, but it’s still a genuinely strong read.

Reporter Zoë Bernard spent months speaking with 51 people — 31 of them gay men — to map out a Silicon Valley subculture that has been an open secret for years: gay men at the upper levels of tech quietly building and reinforcing their own networks, in the same way powerful groups have always supported one another.

One angel investor describes it bluntly: “The gays who work in tech are succeeding vastly… they support each other, whether that’s to hire someone or angel invest in their companies or lead their funding rounds.” Another source puts it more philosophically: “Straight guys have the golf course. Gay guys have the orgy. It doesn’t mean it’s problematic. It’s a way we bond and connect.”

At the same time, the story doesn’t give the culture a free pass. As with any environment where power dynamics exist, nine of the gay men interviewed said they experienced unwanted advances from more senior colleagues — and Bernard explores the uncomfortable space where networking can blur into coercion. But her sources are also cautious about how the topic is interpreted: “This is a complex subject, and I don’t think readers can distinguish some bad men being gay and all gay men being bad. It can be a slippery slope into homophobia.”