When two become one: sexuality studies and critical studies of men and masculinities

Karioris, Frank G.; Allan, Jonathan A.

doi:10.1080/09589236.2018.1429257

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Thus far, research on sexual behavior in the field of men and masculinities has largely focused on traditional masculinity as a correlate of sexual perpetration and/or sexual victimization (Karioris & Allan, 2019). Expanding that focus to address UCS has many potential benefits: It could lead to interventions that result in fewer negative experiences of UCS among men and their partners.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond sexual victimization and perpetration: Men, masculinities, and unwanted consensual sex.

Peterson

2024

Psychology of Men & Masculinities

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The field of men and masculinities has examined rigid adherence to traditional masculine gender roles as a risk factor for sexual perpetration and as a vulnerability factor for sexual victimization. Very little research, however, has examined the role of masculinities in unwanted consensual sex (UCS). UCS is sex that is not wanted or desired by an individual but to which the individual consents or agrees-even though there is no immediate pressure from their partner to do so. UCS is sometimes called "sexual compliance" or "sexual acquiescence." This conceptual article reviews the literature on UCS, including describing the theoretical distinction between unwanted and nonconsensual sex, discussing sexual script theory as the predominate theoretical approach to research on UCS, summarizing the potential consequences of UCS, and addressing the-fairly limitedresearch on the intersections between masculinities and UCS. This article argues that traditional masculine ideologies may put men at risk for consenting to sex that they do want and may make them less sensitive to their partners' lack of desire during consensual sex. The article offers several future directions for research on men, masculinities, and UCS, and it discusses how research on UCS might guide prevention and therapeutic interventions to reduce rates of problematic UCS for men and their sexual partners. Public Significance StatementResearch has demonstrated that wanting (i.e., desiring or wishing for) sex and consenting (i.e., agreeing or giving permission) to sex do not always correspond. Adherence to traditional masculine gender roles may make men more likely to consent to unwanted sex, and it may make them more likely to have a partner who consents to unwanted sex, but these proposals have rarely been researched. The intersection of masculinities and unwanted consensual sex represents an important future research direction that could expand the understanding of men's sexuality. For example, understanding the role of traditional masculine ideologies in unwanted consensual sex may help to guide prevention and therapeutic interventions (e.g., involving deconstructing stereotypes of men's sexuality) to reduce negative sexual experiences among men and their partners.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond sexual victimization and perpetration: Men, masculinities, and unwanted consensual sex.

Peterson

2024

Psychology of Men & Masculinities

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“…Setty, 2020). Along the lines of Karioris and Allan (2019), we think through masculinity and heterosexuality more broadly to position heterosexual men's sexting practices as something that is 'fraught and contradictory' and as something that can be understood as an act, relation and event.…”

Section: Masculinity Heterosexuality and Sexual Objectificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Setty, 2020). Along the lines of Karioris and Allan (2019), we think through masculinity and heterosexuality more broadly to position heterosexual men’s sexting practices as something that is ‘fraught and contradictory’ and as something that can be understood as an act, relation and event. Masculinity in this sense can be seen as both a shaper of and a product emerging from these relations and interactions rather than something that only shapes them (Waling, 2019a, 2019b, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘It’s nice to be appreciated’: Understanding heterosexual men’s engagements with sexting and sharing Dick Pics

Waling¹,

Kerr²,

Bourne³

et al. 2020

Sexualities

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This paper explores heterosexual men’s experiences of sexting with a primary focus on how, when and why men send sexually explicit photos to women. Previous research has focused either on gay and bisexual men’s experiences or considered sexting within a broader youth context. This research considers young men and their engagement with sexting practices and its relationship to how they view and understand their bodies as desirable and sexual. Drawing from work that has called for more reflexive considerations of men’s emotions and sexuality, we explore the processes by which men engage in the practice of sexting (how/where they take photos), the affects that sexting provides (how it makes them feel), their rationale for engaging in the practice (why they do it) and their expectations from partners (e.g. reciprocal photos, partner’s responses). The findings of this paper suggest that while men highlight a range of affects and experiences with sexting, on the whole, it helps boost sexual confidence with partners and create and sustain intimacy, particularly in between seeing (in person) a partner or partners. Our research further suggests that men share similar concerns to women in other studies who are concerned about their photos becoming public, thus revealing a primary reason why this particular population of heterosexual men may not engage in the sending of erotic photos.

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“…For example, emerging research notes that men may feel awkward or pressured into engaging in an aggressive form of heterosexuality that does not speak to their actual wants or desires for intimacy, relationships and connection (Meenagh, 2021; Ford, 2018). Others note that heterosexual men’s desires are already caught up in a discourse of violence and patriarchy, making it challenging to explore what is possible for such men outside of these framings (Beasley, 2015; Karioris and Allan, 2019; Monaghan and Robertson, 2012; Robertson and Monaghan, 2012). As a result, difficulties or uncertainties may ensue about how sexual communication can be achieved in either casual hook-ups or long-term relationships.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Pay close attention to what my eyes are saying without having to spell it out’: Heterosexual relations and discourses of sexual communication in #MeToo commentaries

Waling

2022

Sexualities

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This paper explores how concepts of sexual communication and sex are discussed in #MeToo commentaries. Previous research has focused primarily on questions of consent, gendered power relations and sexual violence against women. Drawing from work that has called for more reflexive considerations of desire and pleasure in #MeToo, I undertake a critical feminist discourse analysis of over 163 traditional news, online magazine and social news articles commenting on #MeToo, sexual communication, dating and heterosexual relations between men and women. The findings of this analysis note discourses underpinning tensions between what constitutes ideal or appropriate forms of sexual communication, uncertainties as to what effectively makes sex ‘good’ or ‘bad’, moralisations regarding how ‘good’ and ‘bad’ sex are possible, and contradicting accounts of women’s capacity for sexual empowerment. Through highlighting the incongruities in expectations as to how individuals should proceed sexually and romantically in a #MeToo era, I conclude with a discussion on how we can think about such relations within a consideration of a ‘self-in-process’ and ‘subject-act-ivity’ framework.

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When two become one: sexuality studies and critical studies of men and masculinities

Cited by 8 publications

References 28 publications

Beyond sexual victimization and perpetration: Men, masculinities, and unwanted consensual sex.

Beyond sexual victimization and perpetration: Men, masculinities, and unwanted consensual sex.

‘It’s nice to be appreciated’: Understanding heterosexual men’s engagements with sexting and sharing Dick Pics

‘Pay close attention to what my eyes are saying without having to spell it out’: Heterosexual relations and discourses of sexual communication in #MeToo commentaries

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