Sexual Coercion Among Gay and Bisexual Men in Aotearoa/New Zealand

Bibliographic Data

ID3615569
AuthorsBraun (0000-0002-3435-091X, University of Auckland), Virginia Braun, Johanna Schmidt (0000-0002-9638-6344), Johanna M Schmidt (0000-0001-7812-8774, University of Auckland), N Gavey (0000-0002-4184-589X, University of Auckland), John Fenaughty (0000-0002-6261-3975, University of Auckland)
Year2009
Volume56
Issue3
Pages336-360
Publication date2009-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Homosexuality (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0091-8369 • E-ISSN: 1540-3602
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00918360902728764
PMID19319741
OpenAlexW2089901606
LanguageEN
Citations received39
References cited33

Until recently, sexual coercion among gay men has been regarded as virtually oxymoronic. Discourses of male sexuality as ever-present and driven, and discourses of masculinity that portray men as in control and invulnerable, converge to almost disavow the possibilities that sex could be unwanted by men, or that men could be vulnerable to being pressured into sex against their will. This article reports on interviews with 19 gay and bisexual men about their experiences of forced, coerced, or unwanted sex. We identified four general patterns in these accounts: (1) incidents involving physical force; (2) experiences in which a man's ability to refuse sex was compromised by intoxication; (3) dynamics where young and inexperienced men were coerced or pressured into unwanted sex; and (4) situations in which men felt obligated to engage in unwanted sex. Specific issues included barriers to reporting sexual assault, power dynamics in intergenerational sex, and the difficulty of refusing unwanted sex. Importantly, many of the factors identified as driving sexual coercion relate not to gay sexuality per se, but rather to masculine sexuality. Conversely, some of the factors relating to men's vulnerability to coercion were exacerbated by some features of gay sexual culture; in particular those aspects associated with existing in a marginalized territory within a wider heteronormative context

Coercion (linguistics · Context (archaeology · Criminology · Geography · Human sexuality · Masculinity · Poison control · Sexual coercion · Sociology · Suicide prevention · Vulnerability (computing · Gender Studies · Intimate Partner and Family Violence · Medicine · Psychology · Sex work and related issues · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies · Social Psychology

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