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"I don't want to be seen as a screaming queen": an interpretative phenomenological analysis of gay men's masculine identities
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-21, 06:02 authored by James P Ravenhill, Richard De VisserRichard De VisserIt has been argued that gay men who live in Western societies must negotiate masculine identities against a cultural backdrop where the most desirable and locally hegemonic masculinity is heterosexual. However, contemporary masculinity theories conceptualize masculinities as increasingly inclusive of gay men. The purpose of this study was to use a discourse-dynamic approach to studying masculine subjectivity to identify how gay men in England and Wales negotiated masculinity discourses to construct their masculine identities. One-to-one, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with six younger gay men aged 20 to 24, and 11 older gay men aged 30 to 42. Participants were asked to describe their subjective experiences of masculinity. The results of an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis indicated that discourses of hegemonic and alternative masculinities had implications for lived experiences of masculinity. Older participants in particular emphasized their attributes they associated with masculine dominance, including anti-effeminacy attitudes. The majority of younger participants did not feel masculine. Irrespective of age, many participants resisted hegemonic masculinity by highlighting the value of “gayness” at times. The findings suggested that hegemonic masculinity was the most readily available discourse for conceptualizing masculinity, but that lived experiences of masculinity were not necessarily located within this discourse.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Psychology of Men and MasculinityISSN
1524-9220Publisher
American Psychological AssociationExternal DOI
Issue
3Volume
20Page range
324-336Department affiliated with
- Psychology Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2018-03-05First Open Access (FOA) Date
2018-03-05First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2018-03-02Usage metrics
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