Negotiating Dominant Masculinity Ideology: Strategies Used by Gay, Bisexual and Questioning Male Adolescents

Abstract

In the context of a U.S. dominant masculinity ideology, which devalues men who are not heterosexually identified, many gay, bisexual and questioning (GBQ) adolescent males must develop their own affirming and health-promoting sense of masculinity. In order to promote the well-being of GBQ young men, exploration of their reactions and responses to dominant images of masculinity is needed. We qualitatively analyzed interviews with 39 GBQ African American, Latino, and European American male adolescents (15-23 years old). Participants reported a range of responses to traditional masculinity ideologies, most of which centered on balancing presentations of masculine and feminine characteristics. Negotiation strategies served a variety of functions, including avoiding anti-gay violence, living up to expected images of masculinity, and creating unique images of personhood free of gender role expectations. These data suggest a complex picture of GBQ male adolescents' management of masculinity expectations and serve as a basis for culturally and developmentally specific HIV prevention programs.

Office-Based Care for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Youth

“…Studies examining how questioning adolescents resolve their inner struggles and reach a stable sexual identity are ongoing. 16 Definitions are summarized in Table 1. …”

“I don’t want to be seen as a screaming queen”: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of gay men’s masculine identities.

“…As a result, some young gay men may be more comfortable with overtly resisting the hegemonic masculinity discourse, notwithstanding their acknowledgement of its dominance (Morris, 2017;Wilson et al, 2010). Further, and as one participant in this study stated explicitly, embodying a feminized identity may facilitate expressions of defiance against normative cultural expectations of men -an opportunity to "own" and show pride in gayness.…”

“…Some gay men consciously eliminate femininity from their gender repertoire and adopt only behaviors that they understand to be masculine, as a response to pressure to conform to currently accepted hegemonic standards of manliness (Wilson et al, 2010).…”

“…Further, some gay men may value femininity over masculinity, which may be associated with their conflation of femininity with being gay, and a desire to make their sexual orientation known publicly (Wilson et al, 2010): "Gayness" can contribute to gay men's social and cultural capital (Morris, 2017). Brekhus (2003) would refer to these men as "gay peacocks", because their gayness is central to their identities.…”

“…Brekhus (2003) would refer to these men as "gay peacocks", because their gayness is central to their identities. Other gay men are comfortable with combining behaviors that they interpret as stereotypically feminine and masculine as part of a more balanced repertoire of gender expression (Wilson et al, 2010), and value the same in their romantic partners (Johns et al, 2012).…”