Should You Disclose an Invisible Marginalized Identity at Work?

When I was a freshman in college, I worked overnights as a shift manager at the local McDonald’s. One night, my team members in the prep line were talking about their love lives. A colleague made a comment about their friend who happened to be in a queer relationship. The response was universal: disgust. I had yet to come out to my peers and was left in the uncomfortable position of leading a group of people who found me repulsive. I was terrified. What if my girlfriend popped in for lunch? What if my classmates saw me at the register and mentioned my personal life? Despite my positional power, I felt unsafe.