Mouthrules and the Construction of Sexual Identities

Bibliographic Data

ID2392613
AuthorsNicki Thorogood (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, corresponding author)
Year2000
Volume3
Issue2
Pages165-182
Publication date2000-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSexualities (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1363-4607 • E-ISSN: 1461-7382
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/136346000003002004
OpenAlexW2036374949
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited36

The current work on the sociology of the body has shown it to be a key site of both the production of meaning and of regulation. There has however been little attention given to particular `body parts'. The research presented here suggests that mouths are particularly symbolic and that our oral hygiene habits are not just disciplinary techniques, but are one way in which our particular sexual and gender identities are constituted. This article, drawing on a series of in-depth interviews with lesbians and heterosexual men and women, explores how our `mouthrules', that is, what we do and more particularly don't do, with our mouths, construct, through the notion of intimacy, the contours of sexuality and gender. Differences are apparent between the groups. Developing Douglas's (1966) theory of `grid' and `group', it is suggested that adherence to mouthrules takes place along two axes: the level of personal `strictness' with which rules are applied (grid) and the rigidity of the gender/sex boundaries within which mouthrules are organized (group). The conclusion is drawn that, through the performance of these apparently trivial aspects of daily life we are performing aspects of our gender and sexual identities

Construct (python library · Discipline · Human sexuality · Meaning (existential · Sexual identity · Social science · Sociology · Gender Studies · Historical Gender and Feminism Studies · Obesity and Health Practices · Psychology · Sex work and related issues · Social Psychology

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