Young Men’s Vulnerability in Constituting Hegemonic Masculinity in Sexual Relations

Abstract

238their experiences in negotiating heterosexual liaisons in a peer culture of compulsory male-dominated heterosexuality is presented. A focus on peer influences on the development of a masculine identity is particularly important during adolescence as masculinity may be referenced by virtue of career success and one's capacity as a breadwinner in adulthood and in a more flexible way in older years (Diamond, 2006). In particular, what Measor, Tiffin, and Miller (2000, p. 101) have coined "the price [men] pay for their dominance," that is, the vulnerabilities and pressures that young men face in trying to live up to ideals of gendered normative expectations, is foregrounded in this article. Male vulnerabilities are accentuated in the course of the analysis in an effort to move away from traditional notions of male dominance and to lay bare more complex notions around male sexual perspectives that include uncertainty, apprehension, disquiet, and rejection. One of the themes that will be explored is the way in which the young men's quest to be adept at sexual technique is not merely rooted in self-serving motives to achieve sexual mastery but is linked to an aspiration to please a sex partner.Sexual health is inherently connected to gender and sexuality. It is not only concerned with the physical . . . but also with the social/cultural (for example, how young people behave with each other and with the opposite gender; how they negotiate their sexual and relationship desires) and with the emotional (for example, how young men and women develop in their social context and how they feel about themselves). (Blake, 2004, p. 155) With this broad definition of sexual health in mind, a qualitative analysis of young men's accounts of Young Men's Vulnerability in Constituting Hegemonic Masculinity in Sexual RelationsAbbey Hyde, BSocSc, MSocSc, PhD, RGN, Jonathan Drennan, BSc (Hons), MEd, RMHN, RPN, RGN, RNT, PhD, Etaoine Howlett, BSocSc, MSocSc, and Dympna Brady, BNS, MSc, RSCN, RGN This article reports on a qualitative analysis of the accounts of young men on their experiences of heterosexual encounters. Based on data collected in Ireland using 17 focus groups with 124 young men aged between 14 and 19 years (a subsection of a wider study), the manner in which intricate peer group mechanisms acted as surveillance strategies in regulating the young men toward presenting themselves in ways consistent with hegemonic manifestations of masculinity is explored. However, there were also elements of resistance to such a culture in the way in which sexual pleasure for some young men was derived relationally through giving pleasure rather than merely through mechanical, emotionally detached sexual acts that characterize hegemonic masculinity. In emphasizing male vulnerabilities such as uncertainty, fear, and rejection in the realm of sexuality, it is proposed that one must not lose sight of the broader context of male sexual dominance for which, as data indicate, men themselves pay a price.

Parents' constructions of the sexual self-presentation and sexual conduct of adolescents: discourses of gendering and protecting

“…Far from benefiting unanimously from the power they are expected to exercise through normative heterosexual practices, this genre of work proposes that many men, especially adolescents, may actually experience as oppressive the pressure to present themselves as sexual dynamite (see Mac an Ghaill 1994;Wight 1994;Hyde et al 2009).…”

Sexual behaviour and knowledge among adolescents in Ireland

“…(Aspects of the wider study are published elsewhere [9,10,11,12,13]). In the wider study, 29 focus group interviews were conducted with 226 secondary school pupils (102 females and 124 males) in Ireland during 2003-4, and after each focus group, participants were invited to fill out a short anonymous questionnaire.…”

“I Don’t Shag Dirty Girls”

“…Furthermore, as Holland et al (1994) reflected, the strategies that some young men adopt to manage and reduce their vulnerabilities have significant implications for young women as they are often reliant on the reinforcing effects of ever tighter adherence to peer norms, the objectification and dismissal of women generally and the attribution of negative labels to specific young women. The attachment of labels on young women to enable young men to position and appropriately respond to them sexually is identified in the literature, including the use of "dirty" to denote a woman who is thought to have a sexually transmitted infection, including HIV (Hyde et al, 2009;Waldby, Kippax, & Crawford, 1993). The label is conferred in relation to rumor and hearsay and based not only on sexual behaviors but on dress, demeanor, and appearance (Hyde, Howlett, Brady, & Drennan, 2008) and it allows young men to perform different sexualized masculinities depending on the label they have chosen to confer (Bamberg, 2004;Hird & Jackson, 2001).…”

“…Underpinning these norms is compulsory heterosexuality with intercourse as the defining sexual activity (Frosh et al, 2002;Holland et al, 1998;Richardson, 2010;Segal, 1997). Sex not only has the ability to enhance masculinities, but to undermine them-meeting the approved masculine standard requires that young men be expert, proactive, and voracious (Allen, 2005;Hyde, Howlett, Brady, & Drennan, 2009;Ott, 2009). The fear of failure, of being seen not to measure up sexually, can be a significant driving force for young men making sex a site of vulnerability as well as power (Giordano, Longmore, & Manning, 2006;Holland, Ramazanoglu, Sharpe, & Thomson, 1994;Hyde et al, 2009).…”

“…Sex not only has the ability to enhance masculinities, but to undermine them-meeting the approved masculine standard requires that young men be expert, proactive, and voracious (Allen, 2005;Hyde, Howlett, Brady, & Drennan, 2009;Ott, 2009). The fear of failure, of being seen not to measure up sexually, can be a significant driving force for young men making sex a site of vulnerability as well as power (Giordano, Longmore, & Manning, 2006;Holland, Ramazanoglu, Sharpe, & Thomson, 1994;Hyde et al, 2009). Furthermore, as Holland et al (1994) reflected, the strategies that some young men adopt to manage and reduce their vulnerabilities have significant implications for young women as they are often reliant on the reinforcing effects of ever tighter adherence to peer norms, the objectification and dismissal of women generally and the attribution of negative labels to specific young women.…”