The Sexuality of Gender
Gay Male Social Theories and Their Relations to Women
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12463561 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Eric Oifer (University of Southern California, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2001 |
| Publication date | 2001-04-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Thought and Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1094-5830 • E-ISSN: 2469-8466 |
| Publisher | The University of Kansas (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.17161/str.1808.5182 |
| OpenAlex | W2067409859 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 8 |
Men in various cultural locations of manhood employ heterosexual masculinity in a manner designed to maintain male privilege. This advantage relies on the exclusion of women from employing or participating in the codes of masculinity. A perspective of gender difference, that isa sensethat biologicalwomen are in some important way inherently different than biological men, thus not only underlies the effort to construct male exclusivity and privilege, but it exists as an explicit category in the maintenance of men's social power. Yet, gender difference is not the only aspect of male power. The dynamic of sexuality plays an implicit role in the attempt to essentialize manhood as heterosexual, in that heterosexuality contributes to the exclusivity of men's masculine power. The hierarchical gender structure supports men's sexualand familialprivileges. Among other reasons, such as their own ambiguous desires and sexual paranoia, heterosexual men exclude gay men from the category of privileged masculinity because, without sexual advantage over women, male power would be significantly weakened
Gender relations · Human sexuality · Sociology · Feminism, Gender, and Sexuality Studies · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes · Psychology
| Highly cited | No |
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