Notes on "On Heterosexual Masculinity"

Goals:

1. Sexual orientation construction

2. How sexual orientation, gender, and sex work together

Gregory M. Herek: Article here

Argument: "This article considers the proposition that to be 'a man' in contemporary American society is to be homophobic--that is, to be hostile toward homosexual persons in general and gay men in particular" (Herek 316).

Method: Statistics, scientific, evidence-driven

Objective:

• "We need change, and this is why." The why is the article with all of its evidence. Methodical (gives the problem, then the answer).
• pp. 326-327: "The Way Out"
• To solve the problem of heterosexual masculinity/homophobia

Assumptions: Educate others (aka the reader) about homophobia (without talking down to people) and how it works to support heterosexual masculinity)

Audience: Other psychologists or scientists

Wideman Question (What's left out):

• Discounts lesbians
• Doesn't think that bisexuality exists (Footnote 1: Although the category of bisexuality exists, its status as a true identity is suspect regardless of its accuracy, most people seem to hold the view that one is either heterosexual or homosexual.)

Trope: "Violent homophobes are secretly homosexual" (internal gay community belief)

• But when does this go too far? When is someone just homophobic?

Masculine/Feminine

• Imputation of homosexuality polices gender boundary
• "No homo" God...we'll talk later about how much I hate the term "no homo." More on this. Believe it.

Drescher: see page 207

• Intersexual:
• Transsexual:
• Homosexual:
• Bisexual:
• Heterosexual:
• Asexual:

Note that the first two have nothing to do with sexual activity. (Link to some interesting things about these terms here)