Embodying the gay self

Body image, reflexivity and embodied identity

Dados Bibliográficos

ID3607741
AutoresD Duncan (0000-0003-3408-6669, La Trobe University, autor correspondente)
Ano2010
Volume19
Fascículo4
Páginas437-450
Data de publicação2010-12-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoHealth Sociology Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1446-1242 • E-ISSN: 1839-3551
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.5172/hesr.2010.19.4.437
OpenAlexW2138220823
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas22
Referências citadas30

The emphasis on a sexualised muscular body ideal in gay social and cultural settings has been described as facilitating body image dissatisfaction among gay men. Drawing on a concept of reflexive embodiment, this paper uses qualitative interviews to analyse gay men’s embodiment practices in relation to discourses and norms that can be found across and beyond any coherent notion of ‘gay subculture’. The findings reveal body image to be more complex than a limited focus on subculture or dissatisfaction can account for. In particular, gay men negotiate a gay pride discourse in which the muscular male body generates both social status and self-esteem, and deploy notions of everyday masculinity that imply rationality and control to resist gendered assumptions about gay men’s body image relationships

Aesthetics · Embodied cognition · Epistemology · Masculinity · Pride · Qualitative research · Queer · Reflexivity · Sociology · Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies · Eating Disorders and Behaviors · Fashion and Cultural Textiles · Gender Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology