A Very Straight Gay: Masculinity, Homosexual Experience, and the Dynamics of Gender

Author(s): R. W. Connell
Source: American Sociological Review, Vol. 57, No. 6 (Dec., 1992), pp. 735-751
Published by: American Sociological Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2096120
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 A VERY STRAIGHT GAY: MASCULINITY,HOMOSEXUAL
EXPERIENCE, AND THE DYNAMICS OF GENDER*

R. W. CONNELL
University
of California,
SantaCruz

I developa conceptualapproachto changesin masculinitythatemphasizesthedynamicsof

thegenderorderas a whole.Homosexualmasculinityis an importantlocusof thesedynam-
ics. Aftera critiqueof conventionaldiscoursesof masculinityI developa theorizedlife-
historymethodfor researchinggender.Analysisof eight life historiesfrom an Australian
gay communityfinds (1) initialengagementwithhegemonicmasculinity,(2) sexualityas the
keysiteof difference,and(3) gradualclosurebasedon relationships or on bodilyexperience
thateroticizessimilarity.Conventionalmasculinityis an aspectof theobjectof desire,yet is
subvertedbythisobject-choice;a contradictory masculinityisproduced.Thoughthemenin
thisstudydo notdirectlycontestthegenderorder,the reificationof "gayness"providesa
socialbasisfor sexualfreedom,andthestabilizationof a dissidentsexualityopenspossibili-
tiesfor changein thesocial structureof gender.

Recent media attentionto masculinityand tion, strugglesfor hegemony, and practicesof

male initiation,fueled in the United States
by enormoussales of Iron John: A Book About
Men(Bly 1990),does notrepresenta suddendis-
covery.Overthe last 20 years,in the wake of the
new feminism, debates on men's position in
sexualpoliticshave takenplace in most Western
countries,includingBritain(Tolson 1977), Ger-
many (Brzoska and Hafner 1990), Sweden
(Bengtsson and Frykman 1987) and Australia
(Lewis 1983).These debateshave given rise to a
body of descriptiveresearch,termed"male sex
role" or "masculinity"research in the United
States(Kimmel 1987;Brod 1987).
Withinthis literature,changein men's charac-
ter or in the "male role" have most often been
explainedby thepsychologicaldiscomfortof the
individualor by generalizedprocesses of mod-
ernizationandtechnologicalchange.I arguethat
we mustfocus on the social dynamicsgenerated
withingenderrelations.Thegenderorderitself is
the site of relationsof dominanceandsubordina-
*
Direct all correspondence to R. W Connell,
Stevenson College, University of California,Santa
Cruz CA 95064. I am deeply indebted to the men
interviewed,to Norm Radican and Pip Martin for
interviewing,and to colleagues Tim Carrigan,Gary
Dowsett, Mark Davis, Rosemary Pringle, Marie
O'Brien, Mike Messner,Alice Mellian, and the late
John Lee. This researchwas supportedby a grant
fromthe AustralianResearchGrantsCommitteewith
supplementaryfunding from MacquarieUniversity
andHarvardUniversity.
resistance.
I explore these issues by examining gender
dynamicsamong a groupof men who have sex
with men. Using eight life historiesI investigate
theirencounterswith conventionalmasculinity,
the contradictionsof sexualityand identity,and
the potentialfor change in the genderorderthat
their social practiceimplies. Their homosexual
masculinitysimultaneouslydependson and dis-
ruptsthe existing genderorderin ways thatillu-
minate long-termpossibilities of change in the
structureof genderrelations.
MASCULINITYIN GENDERDYNAMICS
The currentpopularliterature"aboutmen" has
an unrelentinglypsychological focus. Authors
speak of archetypes and "fatherwounds," of
men'spainandhealing;theyoffertherapeutic pro-
gramsto resolve crises of emotionandpersonal
meaning.They have littleto say aboutthe social
dimensionsof these issues, and most are start-
lingly ethnocentricand class-boundin outlook.
The researchliteraturehas a broaderperspective
- it has begun to documentmasculinitiesin a
rangeof class and ethnic contexts.The concep-
tualframeworkis usuallybasedon the idea of a
"malesex role"(strictly,a masculinegenderrole)
andmasculineidentity.The conceptualizationof
genderthroughrole theory,however,reifies ex-
exaggeratescon-
pectationsandself-descriptions,
sensus,marginalizesquestionsof power,andcan-

AmericanSociological Review, 1992, Vol. 57 (December:735-751) 735

736
not analyzehistoricalchange(StaceyandThorne
1985; Connell 1987).
But genderis an areato which the classic so-
ciological questionsof power, institutionalized
inequality,anddynamicsof socialchangedo ap-
ply. Thesequestionshavebeenposedin an inter-
nationalfeministliteraturecenteringon the con-
cept of "patriarchy" (Walby 1989). Seeing gen-
deras a structureof social powerhas immediate
implicationsfor researchon men.To understand
a systemof inequality,we mustexamineits domi-
nant group - the study of men is as vital for
genderanalysisas the studyof rulingclasses and
elites is for class analysis.With this perspective
the scope of research"aboutmen"expandsfrom
the conventionsof gender- the focus of gen-
der-rolestudies - to the full rangeof ways in
which men's social practicesshape the gender
order,includingeconomic relations,institutions
(such as the state),and sexuality(Segal 1990).
This is an importantadvance;yet masculinity
cannotbe treatedas a simplereflexof patriarchal
power,for two reasons.First,the conceptof "pa-
triarchy"has been sharplycriticizedwithinfemi-
nism(Rowbotham1979)as ahistorical,implying
an unchanging,universaldominationof women
by men. This is inconsistentwith the historical
record.Second,someofthe verywritingthatiden-
tifiesmenasholdersof socialpower(MacKinnon
1987) restson a categoricalmodelof genderthat
treatsmen as anundifferentiated class. Thisview
is inconsistentwithcontemporary research,which
documentsa considerablerangeof masculinities,
both in termsof culturalrepresentations of men,
and in termsof the institutionalizedpracticesof
men in genderrelations.Differences are found
notonly acrosscultures(Herdt1982)andthrough
historicaltime (Roperand Tosh 1991), but also
- a point vital for theory- withina particular
cultureat any given time, e.g., heterosexualand
homosexualmasculinitiesand the masculinities
of differentethnicand age groups(Kimmeland
Messner1989).
The problems of change and difference are
closely connected.The possibilitiesof historical
change in a gender orderare reflected-in divi-
sions among men as well as in the practicesof
women. At the same time, differences among
men can only be understoodwith referenceto
the structureof the genderorder.Therecognition
of multiple"masculinities" in recentresearchneed
not reduce the sociology of masculinity to a
postmodernkaleidoscopeof lifestyles.Rather,it
pointsto the relationalcharacterof gender.Dif-
ferentmasculinitiesareconstitutedin relationto
AMERICANSOCIOLOGICALREVIEW
othermasculinitiesandto femininities-through
the structureof genderrelations(Connell 1987,
pp. 175-88) and throughothersocial structures
(notably class and colonialism, Phillips 1987;
ethnicity,Blauner 1989). In modem social for-
mations,certainconstructionsof masculinityare
hegemonic, while others are subordinatedor
marginalized.
My approachto social changeis basedon this
relationalperspectiveon masculinity.Relations
of hegemonyreflectandproducea socialdynamic:
strugglesfor resourcesand power, processesof
exclusionandincorporation,splittingandrecon-
stitutionof genderforms.To analyzethisdynamic
is to explore the crisis tendenciesof the gender
orderas a whole. (Theconceptof "crisistenden-
cies" is borrowedfrom Habermas[1976], who
did not, however,applyit to gender.)
In the dynamics of hegemony in contempo-
raryWesternmasculinity,the relationbetween
heterosexualandhomosexualmenis central,car-
ryinga heavy symbolicfreight.To manypeople,
homosexualityis a negationof masculinity,and
homosexualmen mustbe effeminate.Giventhat
assumption,antagonismtowardhomosexualmen
maybe usedto definemasculinity,a stanceHerek
(1986) summedup in the propositionthat"tobe
'a man' in contemporaryAmericansociety is to
be homophobic- that is, to be hostile toward
homosexualpersonsin generaland gay men in
particular"(p. 563). The resultingoppressionof
gay men, as Pleck (1980) observed,providesa
symbolfor all cases of hierarchyamongmen.
While Herek'sformulationis oversimplified,
it. captures the significance of heterosexual-
versus-homosexualrelationsfor heterosexuality.
The emergenceof "thehomosexual"as a social
type in the last two centuriesof Europeanand
Americancultureandas documentedin the new
gay history (Kinsman 1987; Greenberg1988)
has a reciprocal.In the same historicalprocess,
erotic contactbetween men was expelled from
the legitimaterepertoireof dominantgroupsof
men, andhegemonicmasculinitywas thusrede-
fined as explicitlyandexclusively heterosexual.
Theprocessof expulsionconstructedhegemonic
masculinityas homophobic,in Herek's sense.
The view thathomophobiais a means of polic-
ing the boundariesof a traditionalmale sex role
(Lehne 1989) grasps the dynamic characterof
the processbut misconstruesits history:Hetero-
sexual masculinitydid not predatehomophobia
but was historicallyproducedalong with it.
Herek's formulationmisses the significance
of gay masculinities.Some groupsof openlygay
MASCULINITY
men emphasizemasculinityas partof theircul-
turalstyle (Humphries1985). Closetedgay men
enjoy the generaladvantagesof masculinegen-
der,andeven effeminategay men maydraweco-
nomicbenefitsfromthe overallsubordinationof
women. In our culture,men who have sex with
men are generallyoppressed,but they are not
definitivelyexcludedfrom masculinity.Rather,
they face structurally-inducedconflicts about
masculinity- conflictsbetweentheirsexuality
andtheirsocialpresenceas men,aboutthemean-
ing of theirchoice of sexual object, and in their
constructionof relationshipswith women and
with heterosexualmen. Out of these conflicts
have come unusuallysharpobservationsof het-
erosexual men and pioneering movements in
sexualpolitics.
The experiencesandpracticesof homosexual
men, therefore,are importantfor understanding
contemporarygender dynamics and the possi-
bilitiesforchange.Researchon masculinitymust
explorehow genderoperatesfor those men most
vehementlydefined as unmasculine:how mas-
culinityis constructedforthem,how homosexual
andheterosexualmasculinitiesinteract,andhow
homosexual men experience and respond to
changein the genderorder.
DISCOURSESOF HOMOSEXUALITY
These questionshave not been centralto the tra-
ditionaldiscoursesabout"homosexuals"in the
humansciences. (Using the term"homosexual"
as a nounalreadyreifiessexualobjectchoiceinto
a type of humanbeing.) Yet there is a conver-
gence with genderanalysis,especially in recent
critiques.
The discourseof homosexualitymost familiar
to sociologists is the sociology of deviance. In
classics of this field, one routinelyencounters
lists like "alcoholics,mentally disorderedper-
sons, stutterers,homosexuals,.and systematic
checkforgers"(Lemert1972:78;cf. Becker1963;
GQffrnan1963). The "labeling"approachin the
sociology of deviance raised useful questions
aboutthe apparatusof social control,the process
of stigmatization,the moral entrepreneurswho
stigmatized,and the need to negotiateassigned
identities.But placing homosexualitywithin a
"normality/deviance" frameworkvirtuallyerased
the dimensionof genderand sexualpolitics.For
example,Goffman(1963, pp. 98-99) quotedan
episodein whicha gay manwas severelybashed
forrevealinghis relationshipwith a manpassing
as straight,butdismissedthe episodewith a joke
737
as an exampleof "disciplinaryaction",failingto
see a dramaticandviolentmomentin thepolitics
of masculinity.When Plummer(1975) applied
interactionistlabelingtheoryin fine detailto gay
men, the result was a useful catalogueof pres-
sures experiencedin the individuallife-course,
but a conceptualretreatfrom the structuraland
dynamic questionsbeing raised by gay move-
menttheorists(Altman1972).
Homosexualmen have been the objects of a
moreindividualisticdiscoursein psychiatry,psy-
choanalysis,and psychology. The focus here is
the "etiology"of homosexuality- homosexual-
ity being understoodas a conditionof the indi-
vidualfor which causes mustbe found,whether
family pathology,genderaberration,or biologi-
cal predisposition(Friedman1988). Genderwas
emphasizedby psychoanalysis,butthe social di-
mensionof genderwas ignored.Lewes's (1988)
remarkable historyof psychoanalyticconceptions
of homosexualityshowed how Freud's radical
but ambiguousformulations,which linked ho-
mosexualityto the universalbisexualityof hu-
man beings, were graduallydisplacedby a doc-
trine of homosexualityas a specific condition,
and an inherentlypathologicalone to boot. Psy-
choanalysisthus merged with the medical and
juridicalapparatusthattreatedmale homosexu-
ality as "other"to a "natural" heterosexuality.
This discourse was challenged in the 1960s
and 1970s by therapistswho foundno particular
pathologyamonghomosexualmen,thoughsome
among the homophobic(Weinberg 1973), and
by gay liberationists,who consideredpsychia-
tristsattemptingto "cure"homosexualityas di-
rectagentsof oppression.Thispositionwas given
supportby studiesof sex thatdocumentedwide-
spreadsame-sex experiencesand failed to find
pathology(Kinsey, Pomeroy,and Martin1948;
Bell and Weinberg 1978). Kinsey's positivist
sexual science, however,left little space for de-
sire, culture,or social relations.It-wasdisplaced
in turn by social constructionistviews, which
saw homosexuality as scripted sexual perfor-
mance(GagnonandSimon 1974)or as the effect
of an apparatusof surveillanceandclassification
(Foucault1980).
The social constructionistview of homosexu-
ality (Plummer1981; Greenberg1988) has be-
come the meetingpoint of sexology, sociology,
anthropology,history,andgay theory.It has the
conceptualpower to integratea wide range of
evidence from a range of disciplines, and has
become so acceptedthat it is now the targetof
dissentingpolemics (Stein 1990). The central
738 AMERICANSOCIOLOGICAL
REVIEW

claim of social constructionism- that homo- masculinitiesrequiresan examinationof gender

sexualrelationsexistonlywithincultureandshow relationsin the family (the terrainof psychoana-
deep historicalandcross-culturalvariation- is lytic discourse)and the sharedsocial life of gay
now well established(Altmanet al. 1989). So- men (theterrainof subculturalstudies).The con-
cialconstructionism underpinsa widespreadview structionof sexuality,in its problematicrelation-
of homosexualityas an identityformed gradu- ship with identityandsubculture,mustbe on the
ally througha series of steps or stages (Troiden agenda.Finally,the debateson etiology as well
1989) andas a subculture(or set of subcultures) as some recentsubculturalresearchindicatethat
maintainedin a pluralisticsociety by socializa- contradictorysocial andemotionalprocessesare
tion andboundarynegotiation(Herdt1992). likely to be involved.
However,a focus on identityand subculture
takes the emphasisoff large-scalesocial struc-
METHOD
ture,in this case structuralquestionsaboutgen-
der.-In this respect, social constructionismhas Four issues are the foci of this study: the con-
followed the sociology of deviance in leaching structionof masculinityin the lives of gay men;
genderoutof groupprocess.Paradoxically(given the constructionof sexualityand its relationship
the HIV epidemic)it also takesthe emphasisoff to identityand subculture;the interplaybetween
sexuality,which in muchof this literatureis pri- heterosexualandhomosexualmasculinities;and
marily a criterionof groupmembership.These the experienceof changein genderrelations.
tendenciesare clear in recentwork on gay cul- Thisagendarequiresclose-focusmethods.The
tureandidentityin NorthAmerica(Epstein1987; classic approachto the dynamicsof sexual ob-
Herdt1992). ject choice is throughlife-historycase studies.
Thesetrendshaveturnedgay studiesawayfrom Of these,Freud's(1955) "WolfMan"case study
questionsaboutmasculinityand the large-scale remainsthe model explorationof internalcon-
dynamicsof gender.Thereare, however, alter- tradictionsin masculinity.
native versions of social constructionism. Life historystudiesareenjoyinga revivalas a
Blachford(1981) reflectedon the interplaybe- way to includeformerlyunheardvoices in public
tweenthegay worldandthecultureof maledomi- discourse (McCall and Wittner 1990). The
nancein society. He foundbothreproductionof methodhas problems,includingthe limitations
that dominance,and resistanceto it, in what is of conscious memory(Rubin 1986), difficulties
ultimatelya "controlledspace."Weeks (1986) of corroboration,laboriousdata gathering,and
recastsocial constructionismby treatingsexual- time-consuminganalysis.At the sametimeit has
ity as the domainof a complex and constantly virtuesas a tool of verstehenthat is flexible in
changingpolitical struggle.A post-structuralist design andapplication(Plummer1983). I chose
view of socialorderallowedWeeksto see sexual thelife-historymethodbecauseof its capacity
subculturesas more diverse and having greater less discussed in the methodologicalliterature
potentialfor changethandid Blachford.Weeks butclearin classic life-historyresearch(Thomas
also emphasizedthe agency of gay men in the andZnaniecki1927) -to documentsocialstruc-
constructionof sexual subcultures.This brings ture,collectivities,andinstitutionalchangeatthe
Weeks closer to the Sartreanview of social pro- sametimeas personallife. Thefundamentalcon-
cess, whichemphasizescollectivepracticein the nectionbetweenlife-historyand social structure
making of history (Sartre1976). Finally, even has been theorizedby Sartre(1963), whose con-
the subculturalapproachcan leadbackto gender ceptionof personalpracticeas a projectdevelop-
if it focuses on gay subculturesthat dramatize ing throughtime underpinsthe method of this
genderissues. Klein (1990) and Levine (1992), study.
studyinghypermasculinebodybuildersand gay To decode structuraleffects in personalprac-
"clones"(a style of dressandinteractionevolved tice, the basic unit of study must be the single
in the 1970s), pointto significantcontradictions case. Personaltrajectoriesrevealthe interplayof
overmasculinitywithinhomosexualexperiences constraintsand possibilities,and the interaction
andshow the fruitfulnessof exploringhow those of structures.Accordingly,the single case is the
contradictionsget resolved. basisof thisstudy.However,if theresearchprob-
Although these debates about the nature of lem concernsthe dynamicsoperatingin a given
homosexualityhave not focusedon gender,they social location,a groupof cases from thatloca-
helprefinethe researchagendaon gay masculin- tion mustbe examinedso thatthe rangeof prac-
ity.To understand theconstruction of homosexual tical possibilitiesand the characterof collective
MASCULINITY
practicebecome clear. Further,exploringa dy-
namiclike the reconstructionof masculinitythat
operatesacrossdifferentsociallocationsrequires
comparisonof a range of groups.Accordingly,
the studydesignhadthreelevels:the singlecase,
a groupof cases from a particularlocation,and
comparisonsbetween groups in differentloca-
tions. This reportfocuses on a group of cases
from a particularlocation,but refersto the other
levels.
This logic requiresfeaturesof design and in-
terpretationthattakethe life historywell beyond
unstructured narrative.The sociallytheorizedlife
history, to give the approacha name, requires
prior analysis of the social structureinvolved.
Interviewsin this studywere basedon an analy-
sis of genderas a structureof social practiceand
of its three main substructures:the division of
labor,the structureof power,andthe structureof
cathexis (Connell 1987), each realized at both
collective andpersonallevels. For the substance
of the autobiographicalnarrative,interviewers
sought descriptionsof concrete practices(e.g.,
whata boy andhis fatheractuallydid in interac-
tion, not just how the relationshipwas experi-
enced). We used institutionaltransitions(e.g.,
entryto school,entryto workforce)as the frame-
workfor memory,and askedfor descriptionsof
interactivepractice in institutions(particularly
families,schools,andworkplaces).We explored
the sequencingof relationshipsin orderto under-
stand the constructionof gender as a project
throughtime.To gainclues to emotionaldynam-
ics, we also soughtaccountsof early memories,
family constellations,andrelationshipcrises.
The modeof analysisin life-historyresearchis
as importantas theinterviewdesign.Inthisstudy,
theindividualcaseswereintensivelyworkedover
andwrittenup beforethe analysisof groupswas
undertaken.A standardformatfor the case stud-
ies was developedwith threemain components,
eachexaminingthewholeinterviewmaterialfrom
a differentpointof view: (1) the life course(i.e.,
the narrativesequencingof events); (2) a struc-
turalanalysis,usinga gridof the substructures of
genderrelationsdefinedby thetheoreticalmodel;
and (3) a dynamicanalysisthat tracedthe con-
struction(and deconstruction)of masculinityin
the individuallife.
After the case studies were completed, the
group analysisbegan. The goal was to explore
the similaritiesand differencesbetween the tra-
jectories of men in a given location and their
collectiveinvolvementin the historicaldynamic
of gender.Cases were systematicallycompared
739
by mapping them on a synoptic grid that, for
each topic, kept all cases in view while preserv-
ing the gestaltof each life-course.
Because this projectconcernedcontemporary
transformations in masculinity,four social loca-
tions were chosen in which the institutionaliza-
tion of masculinitywas likely to be underpres-
sure,andthuscrisistendenciesmightbe decoded:
urbangay communitynetworks;environmental
or"green"activism(a locationwitha strongfemi-
nistinfluence);unemployedworking-classyouth;
andknowledge-basedoccupationsoutsidetheold
professions. My approach is similar to what
GlaserandStrauss(1967)called"theoretical sam-
pling." I judged that about 10 cases from each
locationwould reveal the diversityof dynamics
withoutbeingunmanageablein termsof funding
andreporting.Thirty-sixcase studieswere com-
pleted.
This reportpresentsthe resultsfor one loca-
tion - a groupof eight men recruitedfrom an
urbangay communityin Sydney,Australia.The
aim was to find respondentswho had a reason-
ably well-defined,sharedlocation in genderre-
lations. This groupreflects the social character
of the Sydneygay communityas establishedin a
subsequent quantitativestudy (Connell et al.
1989). The group also reflects the predominant
style of sexuality. It includes no drag queens,
weathermen,or aficionados of sexual exotica.
(Suchsexualstyles maybe prominenton the gay
culturalscene, butonly a smallproportionof the
gay communityis committedto themin practice
[ConnellandKippax1990].)Althoughrepresen-
tativenessis not measurablewith a small group
of case studies,I am confidentthat these cases
are not atypical. Interviews,lasting one to two
hours,wereconductedfrom 1985 through1986;
interviewswere taperecordedandtranscribed.
Reportingon a studylike this is difficult.The
designemphasizesintensiveanalysis,ratherthan
numbersof cases, while focusing on social pro-
cess. Condensationis essential; but condensa-
tion can underminethe goal of the life-history
method - to show life courses. In addition,a
project on gender tensions relatedto sexuality
can hardly avoid sensitive materialthat places
ethicalconstraintson reporting.It is not easy to
achieve a faithful representationof such data.
My approachto writing this text is a compro-
mise:Foreachresearchquestion,I selectenough
detailfrom one or a few cases to documentthe
mainprocessrevealedby the full dataset while
giving enough of other cases to indicatevaria-
tionsoralternatives.Althoughall cases werecon-
740
sideredin the analysisof eachtopic,not all cases
arequoted.
Although the study is set in Australia, the
analysiscenterson topics havingclose parallels
in North America and WesternEurope.These
regionsaresimilarin the overallpatternsof gen-
der relations(Bottomley, de Lepervancheand
Martin 1991) and the recent history of homo-
sexual masculinities(Aldrichand Wotherspoon
1992) because of shared cultural history and
contemporaryglobal economic and media inte-
gration.
THEPARTICIPANTS
Theparticipants wererecruitedby wordof mouth
throughinterpersonal networksin theSydneygay
community,inviting participationin a study of
"changesin the lives of men."Participantscame
from mixed class and regional backgrounds,
thoughtheirpresentlives converge.
MarkRichardsis in his earlytwenties,unmar-
ried, and a nurse trainee.The oldest child of a
business family, his childhood was dominated
by conflictbetweenhis parents,theirseparation,
andhis mother'sillnessanddeath.He boreheavy
responsibilitiesearly. Sent to a boys' private
school,he formedhis firstlong-termsexualrela-
tionship there and failed his exams. Rejecting
social conservatismanda career,he went to live
in a radicalcommunalhousehold.Womenfriends
suggestednursing,andhe startedworkin a hos-
pice for the dying.
Dean Carringtonis in his mid-twenties,un-
married,and works as a heavy-vehicle driver.
Theyoungestchildof a close-knitfamilythatran
a small business,he had a religious upbringing
but lost faithaftera sibling died. His family mi-
gratedseveraltimes. (He is the only one of the
eight men who was bornoutsideAustralia.)His
parentsencouragededucation,but he failed uni-
versityandthensupportedhimselfin a varietyof
manualjobs. He eventually migratedalone to
join the gay communityin Sydney.
Alan Andrewsis in his late twenties, unmar-
ried, works as a technician.He was a younger
child in a large family in a small countrytown.
His father,a tradesmanin a familybusiness,and
his mother,a housewife, were embeddedin an
extendedfamily.Successfulin school,he moved
away to attendcollege and began to breakwith
countryconservatism.He workedin the city be-
cause no jobs were availablein the region. He
linked up with gay social networksand eventu-
ally formeda long-termcouple relationship.
REVIEW
AMERICANSOCIOLOGICAL
JonathanHampdenis in his late twenties,un-
married, and is a tradesman's assistant. The
middle child in an affluentprofessionalfamily,
he was sentto privateschoolswherehe didpoorly.
His anxiousrelationshipwith an overworkedfa-
thermeantthathis father'sdeathprecipitatedan
emotionalbreakdownas well as a family eco-
nomiccrisis.He madea slow recoverythrougha
series of relationshipsand casualjobs. Recently
he has been deeply involved in growth-move-
ment therapy.
Damien Outhwaiteis in his early thirties,un-
married,andis anunemployedtaxidriver(works
only occasionally).He was the middlechild in a
working-classfamily in a remotecountrytown.
He moved to the regionalcity for highereduca-
tionandto escapecountryconservatism.A flam-
boyantstudent,he was pushedout of his profes-
sional course on suspicion of being gay. He
moved to Sydney and discoveredthe gay com-
munity, but lost his white-collarjob for being
gay. Livingon the dole andworkingperiodically
as a driver,he has become involved in creative
arts.
AdamSingeris in his earlythirties,unmarried,
and worksin the city office of a large organiza-
tion as a professionalspecialist.His family was
upwardlymobilefromthe workingclass;he was
pushed toward a profession and succeeded at
university,but lacks enthusiasmfor the work.
However,the environmentis secure,and he has
stayed with the same employer. His main en-
thusiasmslie in an active andvariedsex life and
a stronginterestin the artworld.
GordonAndersonis in his early forties, di-
vorced,a father,and is a companymanager.He
was the oldest child in a ruralfamily that was
disruptedby his father'salcoholismandsupported
by his mother'smanualwork. From school he
went to white-collarwork in the city, married,
and starteda family. He entered the "yuppie"
(his word) social world, but disliked its snob-
bery.He becameprominentworkingfor a volun-
taryorganizationthathad a high public profile.
His marriagegraduallybrokedown and separa-
tion followed; he keeps in touch with the chil-
dren.He shiftedhis careerto businessmanage-
ment. He has establisheda long-termcouple re-
lationship,but remainscloseted.
GerryLamontis in his late forties,married,a
father,and is a professionalin privatepractice.
He was theoldestchildin a working-classfamily
markedby violent conflict.Rejectingthis back-
groundhe became upwardlymobile via school-
ing andreligion.He entereda conventionalmar-
MASCULINITY
riage and built a successful, but increasingly
unsatisfying, bureaucraticprofessionalcareer.
Personal crises and encountergroups led to a
"periodof transition"in which he consciously
reconstructed his sexuality,personalrelations,and
workinglife. He formedgay relationshipsduring
and afterthis period.
CONSTRUCTINGMASCULINITY
Traditionaldiscoursesof homosexualityhavebeen
preoccupiedwiththe"causes"of homosexuality.
The psychiatricdiscoursein particularhas con-
nectedthe"etiology"of homosexualitywithsome
abnormalityin family relationsor genderdevel-
opment,althoughdebatehas raged about what
thatabnormalityis. Recentopinionhas been in-
fluencedby a SanFranciscostudythatfoundlittle
supportfortheseductive-mother/weak-father the-
sis (Bell, Weinberg,and Hammersmith1981).
However, homosexual men in the study often
reportedgendernonconformityin childhood.
Neitherview of the origins of homosexuality
throwslighton the life historiesin this study.All
the men grew up in familieswith a conventional
divisionof laboranda conventionalpowerstruc-
ture.Dean Carringtonjokingly refersto his fa-
ther as a "Victorianmale." One-halfof the fa-
therswerephysicallyabusivetowardtheirwives.
The mothers worked as housewives and child
caregivers;a few had occasionalpaidjobs. The
family constellationsof these eight men clearly
fell within the range of what was numerically
"normal"or sociallyconventionalin Australiain
the 1950s and 1960s (GameandPringle 1979).
There is little evidence of "gender non-
conformity"either.The masculinizingpractices
in these families parallel those in the study's
heterosexuallife histories.WhatI havecalledthe
"momentof engagement" withhegemonicmascu-
linity(Connell1990)alsooccurredforthesemen.
Theirmothersputthemin pantsratherthanskirts,
theirfatherstaughtthemfootball,andtheylearned
sexualdifference.Afterleaving the family, they
wereinductedintotheusualsex-typedpeergroups,
receivedthe usualsexist informalsex education,
were subjectedto the gender dichotomiesthat
pervadeschool life (Thorneforthcoming).
JonathanHampden'sfather,for example,was
the dominantpersonin his household,although
he increasinglywithdrewas his energiesfocused
on building up his professional business.
Jonathan's fatherhadbeenanacademicandsport-
ing success at the privateboys' school to which
he later sent Jonathan,and Jonathanwas pres-
741
sured to performsimilarly.Rebellious and re-
sentful in early adolescence, Jonathanbecame
involved - even something of a leader - in a
school-resistingpeer network that engaged in
heavysmoking,groupsex play,playgroundfight-
ing, antagonismtowardteachers,and poor aca-
demic performance.In puberty,Jonathangrew
physically large and became a successful
footballer.He recallsepisodesof violence on the
footballfield in whichhe bashedopposingplay-
ers, a practicethatis in tunewith rugby'shyper-
masculineculture(Dunning1986).
Thus, JonathanHampdenwas engaged in the
publicconstructionof a hegemonicformof mas-
culinity - entering a set of interpersonaland
institutionalpractices that connected him to a
publicworldand gave him a masculineposition
andstancewithinit. Thesepracticesareresilient:
Jonathanremainssocially masculinized,despite
tremendousturbulencein his personallife since
leavingschool-his fatherdied,his familyfaced
economic disaster,and he suffereda near-psy-
choticepisode.He is, for instance,workingcom-
fortablyin a male-dominatedmanual trade.A
similarsocial masculinizationis seen with other
men in the group.Dean Carringtondrivesheavy
vehicles. Regardlessof his sexualpreferencefor
men,Deandefinesmasculinityas sexualagency,
i.e., takingan active and directingpart.Gordon
Andersonrunshis office alongconventionalboss-
and-secretarylines and has the controlled,au-
thoritativemannerthat goes with the well-cut
graysuithe wore when interviewed.Gordonis a
skillful business tacticianand a knowledgeable
commentatoron politics.He is as effectivea par-
ticipantin thepublicworldof hegemonicmascu-
linity in business as JonathanHampdenwas in
the adolescentpeer worldof hegemonicmascu-
linity as a rebel.
Yetpsychoanalysiscautionsus notto takesuch
appearancesfor granted.The fundamentalpoint
of Freud's"WolfMan"studyis thatadultmas-
culinityis theproductof a long, complexprocess
thatleaves a layeredand contradictorystructure
of emotions. Institutionalcontradictionsalso
emerge.For example,competitivesportinstitu-
tionalizesmasculinityin contemporaryAustralia
as it does in NorthAmerica.But if skill and suc-
cess aremasculine,mostparticipants aredistanced
fromhegemonicmasculinityas well as inducted
intoit, becausethehierarchyof competitivesport
has many moreplaces for the unsuccessfulthan
for champions(Messner1992).
Moreover,theexistenceof a masculinizedpub-
lic culture- in peergroups,schools,workplaces,
742
sport organizations,media - makes gender a
candidatefor resistance.Resistancemay mean
seizing on a hypermasculinepersona, as did
JonathanHampdenand others (Connell 1991).
Resistancemay also meandoing somethingout-
rageouslyunmasculine.DamienOuthwaite,who
moved from a stifling ruralbackgroundto col-
lege in thecity,brokeoutby dyinghis hair,wear-
ing hipsterjeans,wearingnail-polish,andtaking
up knitting.MarkRichards,uncontrollableand
hostile as a teenager,reversedgears as a young
adultandbecamea nurse.
The currentpopularliteratureon masculinity
argues that true masculinityis formed only by
initiationamong men and urges men to with-
draw psychologicallyfrom women (Bly 1990;
Keen 1991). The psychoanalyticdiscourse on
homosexualityand Chodorow's(1978) psycho-
analytic/sociologicaltheoryof the reproduction
of genderhave a moreaccurateperceptionof the
importanceof boys' and men's relationswith
women (especiallytheirmothers)in the produc-
tion of masculinity.But these relationsshould
not be treatedas deterministic.The eightcases in
this study all show that the family setting is a
field of relationshipswithinwhich genderis ne-
gotiated - and the configurationof the field
often changes.Givenhouseholdswith a conven-
tional division of labor, relationswith mothers
and sisters are the primarymeans of marking
sexual differenceand the source of identifica-
tions that provide alternativesto identification
with the father.Thus,the conventionalstructure
of the patriarchalhouseholdopens up a rangeof
possibilitiesin emotionalrelationsandin thecon-
structionof gender.
Thus, in JonathanHampden'scase, thereis a
powerfulidentificationwithhis father,butalso a
distinctidentificationwith his older sister- a
relationshipthatdevelopedas his father'saffec-
tion was withdrawn.At a later stage, Jonathan
vehementlyrepudiatedthe relationwith his sis-
ter. Alan Andrews,a countryboy like Damien
Outhwaite,was alwayscloserto his mother,had
mainly girls as friendsin childhood,and gener-
ally admiresand feels close to women. While
Alan had to be pushed out of the nest by his
mother,Damiendodgedhis mother'scontroland
escaped to the city, althoughhe remainsemo-
tionallylinkedto her.
Theconstructionof masculinity,then,is a pow-
erfuldynamicin these men's lives. Theirhomo-
sexualityis clearlynot builton a lack of mascu-
linity. All the men had some engagementwith
hegemonicmasculinity.But the constructionof
AMERICANSOCIOLOGICAL
REVIEW
genderoperatessimultaneouslythrougha vari-
ety of relationshipsandculturalprocesses(West
and Zimmerman1987). The complexity of the
processallows it to be inflectedin differentways.
In thesemen's lives, the importantoccasionusu-
ally was a sexual experience- a discoveryof
sexuality,or a discoveryin sexuality.
SEXUALITYAND IDENTITY
Forthe majorityof the participants,the firstma-
jor sexual encounterswere heterosexual.Two
havebeenmarriedandhavechildren,othershave
beenclose to marriage.ForAlanAndrews,grow-
ing up in the country,sexualitywas effectively
defined as relationshipwith a girl. His mother
and his peer grouppressuredhim to find a girl-
friend.His mates tried to find one for him. He
tellsa comictaleaboutbeingpushedintothegirls'
tent- one nightwhenthepeergroupwas camp-
ing out in the bush - and grabbingthe wrong
girl. WhatRich (1980) called "compulsoryhet-
erosexuality"was taken for grantedas part of
growingup:
Therewas a lot of pressureon boys at the age of 16
or 17 to not be virgins, and I was a virgin. So I
always thoughtit will be really good when I meet
the rightgirl. But it happenedto be a boy.
The public discourse of sexuality is un-
reflectivelyheterosexual,butcompulsoryhetero-
sexualitywas notalwaysrealizedin practice.The
men's narrativesdocumentchildhoodsin which
both same-genderand cross-genderexperiences
are common. Adam Singer recalls being "very
sexual from as young as I can remember."He
tells of sex games with peers of both gendersin
primaryand secondaryschool, includinga de-
lightful vignette of a "nudistcolony" set up by
primaryschool boys in the bushjust beyondthe
school fence. Likewise, JonathanHampdenre-
callschildhoodsex playwithbothgenders,though
less idyllic - he was caught.
Such childhoodsexual experienceswith part-
ners of both gendersappearin life historiesof
heterosexualadultsas well as homosexualadults.
Earlysexual contactwith boys or men does not
in itself disruptheterosexuality.Generalpopula-
tion surveysfindthatmanymoreadultshavehad
such contactthanbecome wholly or mainlyho-
mosexual (Turner1989). Freud(1953) pointed
to free-formchildhoodsexuality(his joke about
the"polymorphously perversedisposition"of the
childis usuallytakenas a solemntheoreticalstate-
ment),but confinedit to earlychildhood.Cases
MASCULINITY 743

likethoseof AdamSingerandJonathanHampden ventionally contradicts"nurtured"- and this

show polymorphoussexualityextendingup to, contradictionis not abstract,butembodied.
and sometimeswell into, adolescence. The social processherecannotbe capturedby
Adulthomosexuality,like adultheterosexual- notions of "homosexualidentity"or a "homo-
ity, representsclosureof thisstructured-but-open sexual role." The sexuality concerns gendered
field. It is somethingthat happens,that is pro- bodies- thegivingandreceivingof bodilyplea-
duced by particularpractices,and is not prede- sures. The social process is conductedmainly
termined.The sexual closureinvolves choice of throughtouch. Yet it is unquestionablya social
an object (in Freud'ssense), and this narrowing process, an interpersonalpracticegoverned by
of focus can be tracedin some of the interviews. the large-scalestructureof gender.
With MarkRichards,a periodof severe adoles- Dean Carrington,who has had relationships
cent unhappinessand rejectionof authoritywas with men and women, evokes a similarpattern.
resolvedby fallingin love with a classmateafter Whenaskedaboutthe difference,his answerfo-
he was sent to an all-boys boardingschool. He cused on bodily sensation:
calls it "aclassicboarding-housestory... a very
close friendshipand on top of that... quite a In the traditionalsense it's been the same. I mean
strong sexual relationshipas well." It was fur- anal sex, or anythingelse: kissing, touching,suck-
ing, licking, the whole works has been the same
tive, but intense: physically. But I've decided to thinkperhapshow
We didn'tget caught- andwherewe didn'tdo it! muchmoreexcitingit is witha man.BecauseI know
I mean,undertheAssemblyHallandunderthestairs. I canstimulatea man.I knowhow I like to be stimu-
He took up music lessonsjust becauseI was taking lated. And that's good, it's fantastic,I'm actually
music lessons; we'd go out on the same days.... relatingmore.Whereasmy lover B (female) never
(Did people in the school knowabout it?) would say. She loved everythingbut she wouldn't
pointout one thingandsay "I'dlike you to do it this
Oh God no. No. Absolutelynot. I don'tknow how, way, I'd like you to putpressureon, or do a certain
but no. thing,or wearcertainclothes...." I feel I can relate
Fromthen on, Mark'schoice of men as objects more to a man because his body's the same as
mine.... Having sex with a man, I'm able to find
of cathexiswas never in doubt.This choice was out how I feel better.... I'm actuallyfinding out
not a fetishisticfixationon a particularfeatureof moreaboutmy body.... I've developedtwobreasts,
the object;ratherit representeda consolidation I knowwhatthey'relike,thesetwotitsthere:They're
of Mark'ssexualityaroundthe relationship,cre- not verybig, they'revery flat,butthey'rebeautiful.
atinga structurethatMarktransferred to laterat- And I've missed out on so many things. Such a
tachments.Mark'ssex life has,accordingly,been shame,such a bloody waste.
conductedthroughseveral relativelylong-term
relationships.He rejectsfast-lanesexualityand Dean'sanswerrocksbackandforthbetweensimi-
speakswith heavy irony of the "wonderful"ef- larityanddifference.He experiencesno categori-
fects of AIDS, which "stop everyone fucking cal eroticdifferencebetweenthe sexes and does
aroundeverywhere." not engage in differentpractices with the two
Sexualclosurecan happen,as in Mark'scase, sexes. His answeris in accordwith the conclu-
withoutany referenceto homosexualidentityor sions of ourquantitativestudyof the sexualrep-
any social definitionas gay - the relationship ertoireamong gay and bisexualmen in this mi-
itself is its basis. Adam Singer's sexuality,free- lieu (ConnellandKippax1990):The most com-
form to an extremein childhood,also consoli- mon practicesin male-to-malesex in thisculture
datedaroundemotionalrelationships,including (kissing,erotichugging,andso on) arethe same
relationshipswithwomenbutplacingmuchmore as those in female-to-malesex. Whatis different
emphasison men. In high school Adambecame with a man, Dean makes clear, is the gestalt of
sexually awareof the masculineauraof senior the body - a configurationwhose similarityis
students:"Theywere studentsjust like me, but bothdisturbingandreassuring.The similarityal-
theirmalenesswasvery,verystrong."As anadult lows explorationof another'sbodyto be a means
he expresseshisdesire,facetiouslybuteffectively: of exploringone's own.
A big muscley man who I feel I can cuddle up to; A genderedsexuality,the evidence implies,is
and I love being nurtured. likely to be a gradualand provisionalconstruc-
tion. But the social identityof being gay is an-
The choice of object here is defined througha othermatter.Thecategoryis now so well-formed
genderimagery- "muscley"con-
contradictory and readilyavailablethat it can be imposed on
744
people. As a late-adolescent rebel, Damien
Outhwaiteexperiencedthe processthatlabeling
theorydescribes,when he was still actively in-
terestedin women:
Therewasone guy atcollege thatimmediatelyiden-
tifiedme as being gay, andhe used to give me a bit
of a hassle aboutit. . . , used to identify things I
woulddo to beinggay. One of the thingswas thatI
was one of the firstto wearhipsterjeans when they
came in - he thoughtof thatas being gay. And the
otherthing that I did was that I used to carrymy
books aroundin a shoulderbag - he thoughtthat
was particularlygay too.
In due course,Damien embracedthis definition
of himself, which was confirmedby oppression
- losing jobs - and by increasingembedded-
ness in gay social networks.
Gayness is now so reified that it is easy for
men to experiencethe process of adoptingthis
socialdefinitionas discoveringa truthaboutthem-
selves. GordonAndersonspeaksof having"real-
ized"he was gay; Alan Andrewsuses the same
term.Alan offers a classic coming-outnarrative
encompassingsix stages. Prehistory:Growing
up in a country town; a relaxed, conservative
family;no particulartensions.Preparation:Ado-
lescent uncertainties- liking to be with girls,
but not havinga girlfriend;sex play with a boy-
friend who backs off. Contact: Age 19, he
stumblesacross a beat (a venue for semipublic
encounters,similarto the U.S. "tea-room")and
has sex withmen.Thenhe goes lookingforbeats,
getsbetteratit,hasa "wonderful" sex-filledbeach
holiday. Acknowledgement:Age 20, "I finally
came to the conclusionI was gay, and I went to
my first gay dance."Immersion:Does the bars
on his own, has multiplerelationships.Consoli-
dation:Age 22, meets Mr.Rightand settlesinto
a couplerelationship;hasmoregay malefriends;
joins some gay organizations;comes out to his
parents.
Althoughthesesoundverymuchlikethestages
of "homosexualidentityformation"in the mod-
els proposedby Cass(1990) andTroiden(1989),
theneatnessof the sequenceis deceptive,andthe
outcomeis notthehomogeneousidentityposited
by the ego-psychology on which such models
arebased.Alan's first sexualexperienceson the
beat were disappointing- it took time for him
to become skilled and to experiencemuchplea-
sure. When he hit the bar scene in Sydney -
"notoriouslyantisocial..., verycold places"
he was exploited.A big, handsome,slow-talking
countryboy, he must have been somethingof a
AMERICANSOCIOLOGICALREVIEW
phenomenonaroundthe Sydneybarsanddid not
lack for partners.He was looking for love and
affection;his partnerswantedsex. He even feels
he was "raped"by a coupleof partners- "Iwas
forced into anal sex by them."He became criti-
cal of gay studs,interpretingtheirexpertiseas an
overcompensationfor insecurity.He learnedto
dissemblein heterosexualgroups,to flirtsurrep-
titiously.Comingout to his parentswas hardand
was not successful:His motherwas upset, his
fatherrefusedto talk, and both did theirbest to
keep Alan's younger brotheraway from him,
lest the corruptionbe passed on. Alan is not so
hostile to themthatthis can pass withouthurt.
Ina storylikethis,"comingout"actuallymeans
coming in to an existinggay milieu.Gay theore-
ticians,especiallythose influencedby Foucault,
have debatedwhetherthe collectiveidentitysus-
tainedin this milieu is a means of "regulation"
and ultimatelya means of oppression(Sargent
1983; Weeks 1986). CertainlyDamien Outh-
waite's experience- being accusedof gayness
because of his jeans and his shoulderbag
couldbe readthatway. So could Alan Andrews'
passage throughbeats and bars.MarkRichards
distanceshimselffromthefast-tracklifestyleand
the gay subculture,from both effeminatesand
leathermen,in an implicit critique of what he
sees as the conformitiesof the gay world.
But thereis no doubtthatDamien, Alan, and
Markalsoexperiencedtheirgay sexualityas free-
dom,as thecapacityto dowhattheyreallywanted
to do. This was not false consciousness.Dean
Carringtonvividlyexpressesthefestivalelement
in coming out:
Rage, rage, rage! Let's do everythingyou've de-
nied yourselffor 25 years.Let's get into it andhave
a good timesexually.Andgo outpartyinganddanc-
ing and drinking.
Festivalwas a key partof the originalexperience
of Gay Liberation(Altman1979),andit remains
in thepost-AIDSera;theLesbianandGayMardi
Grasis always one of Sydney's largestpopular
gatheringsof theyear.ForGordonAnderson,who
remainsclosetedfor powerfulreasons(he would
certainlylose his job andprobablylose access to
his children),gay sexuality and friendshipnet-
works are less flamboyant,but nonethelessare
experiencedas a realmof freedomandpleasure
outsidethesevereconstraintsof otherdepartments
of his life.
Sexual freedom, "partying"or "kicking up
one's heels" (GordonAnderson'sphrase),im-
portantas it is, does not define the most wished-
MASCULINITY 745

forkindof sexualconnection.AdamSingercalls transsexuality(King 1981).Butdifferenceis only

his first sexual experience with a man "not a partof the story;institutionalandpersonalprac-
relationship,but a sexual encounter."Most of tices are also vital. The relationbetween hege-
themenrecognizethisdistinctionandagreewith monic masculinityand homosexualmasculinity
Adam in valuing the "relationship"far more. includes criminalizationof male-to-male sex,
Theirsharedidealis a long-termcouplerelation- homophobicspeechandculture,anda bitterhis-
ship, perhapsopen to casual sex, but with an tory of intimidationand violence (Greenberg
emphasison a primarycommitment.Its value is 1988). Modem gay politics bearsthe collective
bothin sexualpleasureandin "honesty... ., car- memoryof theNazi finalsolutionforhomosexu-
ing andsharingandlearningfromeachother,"in als in the concentrationcamps (Plant 1986). At
Alan Andrews' words. Othersmention mutual the time I began writing this paper a group of
emotionalinvolvement,common interests,and young Sydneymen had recentlybeen convicted
just sittingandlisteningto each other,as compo- for beatinga gay man to deathin an inner-city
nentsof relationshipsthatwork. park.Attackson gays are common enough that
How does thewishtranslateintopractice?This they have become an issue in Sydney's urban
is themostdifficultpartof the interviewmaterial politics. Ethnographicresearchhas documented
to report,and for some participantsit was the deep homophobiain inner-cityyouth culturein
most difficult to discuss. Three of the men are the same area(Walker1988).
currentlyliving with male lovers in long-term None of the men interviewedin this studyhad
relationships- 11 years in one case. The most been bashed, but some had been intimidated.
troubledof these relationshipsinvolves a large Theirconversationtakes it for grantedthatthey
age difference,which makes mutualityhardto live in a homophobic environment. Damien
achieve.Threeotherparticipantsareconsciously Outhwaitehas lost jobs, andAdam Singerstuck
searchingfor a long-termrelationship- either with a not very engagingcareerpartlybecauseit
rekindlingan old flame or findinga new partner provideda safe milieu for a gay man. Gordon
- and are makingdo with "encounters"or just Andersonstaysin the closet for fearof losing his
waiting,as one of them put it, for "thedrought" job andhis children:
to break.Anotherhas been involved mainly in
I don'twantto stopwhatI am doing,I don'twantto
short-term encounterswithmen(longer-term with stop being a good father,I can never see myself
women)andis now worryingaboutthe ethics of being veryprominentaboutmy lifestyle.That'sthe
short-termrelationships.Only one of the eight price I suppose.
men places the emotional emphasis on casual
encounters,and he is tryingto weave togethera
Gordondescribeshow theillusionof heterosexual
mainlygay eroticlife witha continuingdomestic
masculinityis sustainedwhen visiting business-
relationshipwith the motherof his children.
menhaveto be entertained. He hasfemalefriends
Thus, the preferredpattern,as in the hetero-
who will come to his apartmentand act as host-
ess, althoughthe illusion wears thin when they
sexual world, is a committedlong-termcouple
have to ask him wherehe keeps the pepper.
relationship;but such relationshipsare not easy
to come by. Casual encounters(in beats, bars,
Heterosexualmasculinity,then,is encountered
in everydayrelationswith straightmen thatoften
saunas,and so on) remainan importantpartof
have an undercurrentof threat.Wariness,con-
the totalexperience.All the men have had short-
term encounters- this was one path into gay
trolled disclosure,and turninginwardto a gay
sexuality- and "encounters"remaina signifi-
networkarefamiliarresponses.However,legiti-
macy is not necessarilyconcededto heterosexu-
cant possibility even after couple relationships
areestablished. ality. Straightmen may also be seen as pathetic
bearersof outmodedideas and a boringway of
life. Dean Carringtonwent back to the country
RELATIONSBETWEENHETEROSEXUAL
AND HOMOSEXUALMASCULINITIES town of his childhood:
I've seen friends, like a chap I went to school
A specificmasculinityis not constitutedin isola- with.... He's now 25, thirdchild,andhe's stuckin
tion, but in relationto othermasculinitiesandto a rut. I went back to see him. I did one of those
femininities.This relationis partlya questionof terriblethings of going back to your home town;
differentiation,as in thedistinctionsonly recently and God, what an eye-opener! There's all these
drawnbetweenhomosexuality(eroticattraction people grownup, andI hadn'tgot marriedandthey
within the same gender), cross-dressing, and had. They'd "donethe rightthing."
746
Alan Andrewshad a similarexperiencewatch-
inghis brotherbecomea drunkenboor.Compared
withtheseimagesof hegemonicmasculinity,gay
masculinityis all sophisticationand modernity.
Negotiatingtherelationbetweenthetwo is mainly
a question of establishing cultural, and often
physical,distance.
Personalrelationships, however,do notexhaust
the relationbetween masculinities.Hegemonic
masculinityis also an institutionaland cultural
presence- collectivepracticesare involved.A
clear example is the football cult in Jonathan
Hampden's school, which was sustained by
school policy and institutionalizedbodily con-
frontationandaggression.Masculinizedauthor-
ity in the workplacewas a sourceof frictionfor
Damien Outhwaite and Mark Richards, and
AdamSingerandGerryLamontdistancedthem-
selves frommale-dominatedprofessions.
Theinstitutionaldimensionof hegemonicmas-
culinity gives it a social authoritythat shapes
perceptionsof gayness.GordonAnderson,com-
mitted to his strategyof evasion, is critical of
men who "flaunt"theirgayness. AlthoughGor-
don sees this as characteristicof Australiangays,
a similarcriticismis made by "suburbanhomo-
sexuals"in theUnitedStates(Lynch1992).Adam
Singer, Damien Outhwaite(despite his outra-
geousness),andMarkRichardsrejecthypermas-
culinity,but also dislike queens,i.e., effeminate
gays. Markputsthe issue succinctly:
If you'rea guywhydon'tyoujustactlikea guy?
You'renot a female,don'tact like one.That'sa
fairlystrongpoint.Andleatherandall thisother
jazz,Ijustdon'tunderstand it I suppose.That'sall
thereis to it. I ama verystraightgay.
HereMarkhas identifieda sexual/culturaldy-
namicof some importance.The choice of a man
as sexualobjectis notjust the choice of a-body-
with-penis;it is the choice of embodied-mascu-
linity. The culturalmeaningsof masculinityare
(generally)part of the package. In this sense,
most gays are "verystraight."Being a "straight
gay"is notjust a matterof middle-classrespect-
ability- similarpositions are taken by work-
ing-class men outside the gay community
(Connell,Davis, andDowsett forthcoming).
FACINGCHANGE
Dean Carrington'sstoryof his boyhoodfriends
who had "donethe rightthing"says something
aboutsmall-townlife as well as masculinity.Dean
movedto Sydneyandimmediatelybeganto have
AMERICANSOCIOLOGICAL
REVIEW
sex with men, to come out as gay, andto "rage"
aroundthe bars and nightclubs.Movementbe-
tweenmilieuxis common,whetherfromcountry
conservatismto the city lights,or,withinthecity,
from the bourgeoisschool to the radicalhouse-
hold (MarkRichards),from the business work-
place to the gay social network(GordonAnder-
son), fromthe professionalcareerto the encoun-
tergroupsof thetherapeutic"growthmovement"
(GerryLamont).
The process of coming out, establishingone-
self as homosexualin a homophobicworld, al-
most necessarilygives this structureto the narra-
tives. The life historyis experiencedas a journey
to one's currentplace. Contraryto Foucaultian
argumentsthatsee homosexualidentityas regu-
lation,I emphasizetheagenticnatureof thisjour-
ney. Dean Carringtonpicturesit as both escape
and self-exploration:
And this is one of the big thingsthatled to me com-
ing [to Sydney], to be able to get away from my
parents,to think, and to find out who I really am,
and what I really want, and why I was doing these
things over the years, why I was changing, what
was I hiding from.
Contraryto the traditionalpsychiatricview that
men's homosexualityresults from disordersof
relationshipswith parents,the majorityof these
cases show successfulego-developmentthatal-
lows separationfrom both mother and father.
Most of the men still maintainas good relations
with theirparentsas the parentsallow.
Personalchangemay furthertakethe shapeof
a deliberatereformof masculinity,of the kind
now undertakenin certain counterculturaland
radical groups (Connell 1990). Damien Outh-
waite, in particular,is workingto overcomehis
"competitiveness"and dominance,and enjoys
breakingconventionsof masculinity.He hasbeen
to a "men'smovement"event,andwantsto pur-
sue nonsexualphysicalcloseness betweenmen.
JonathanHampden, despite an uncontrollable
distaste for vegan coffee, has been living in a
vegetarian household, has done "re-birthing"
therapy,andnow has the "dream"of settingup a
centerfor workshopson sexuality.
Deliberatereform is only one possibility. A
sense thatgenderrelationsarechangingis wide-
spreadamong the groupsof men in this study,
anda demandfor changein masculinitydoes not
requirethe supportof the counterculture.It is
widely believed that sex differencesare lessen-
ing and thatmen are coming emotionallycloser
to women.Sucha changemaybe occurringwithin
MASCULINITY 747

gay masculinityas well. Damien Outhwaitere- mula of "structurally-inducedconflict" about

calls a party put on by a young gay man in a masculinityis inadequate.The narrativesreveal
provincialcity.Thehosthadinvitedsomewomen, multilateralnegotiationsof emotionalrelations
and when they arrived,the oldergay men at the in the home andin the sexualmarketplace,nego-
party left. The older men's social networkex- tiations of economic and workplace relations,
cluded women, and their outlook was misogy- negotiationsof authorityrelationsandfriendships.
nist - but this was not true of the young men. These relationshipsoften push the personin dif-
Consistent with this, the three youngest men ferent directionsand are linked in differentse-
amongthegroupof eight -Mark Richards,Dean quencesfor differentmen.
Carrington,and Alan Andrews- are the ones These observationsdo not deny the signifi-
who most value and cultivatetheir friendships cance of social structure.Ratherthey underline
with women. the complexityof the social structuringof gen-
This consciousnessof changehas hadfew po- derandof the ways individuallives arelinkedto
liticaleffects.Thedilutionof GayLiberationpoli- this structure.These links are complex, but not
tics into an affirmationof gay identityanda con- random.Despite the varietyof detail, the same
solidationof gay communities(Altman 1982) logical "moments,"or elementsof historicalpro-
has had a containingeffect. The men have little cess, appearin all these narratives:(1) an en-
senseof beingconnectedto a broadreformmove- gagementwithhegemonicmasculinity,(2) a clo-
ment. The only commitmentto a practice be- sureof sexualityaroundrelationshipswith men,
yond the self is to a therapeuticpractice(Gerry and(3) participationin the collectivepracticesof
Lamont'sworkshops,JonathanHampden'ssexu- a gay community.
ality center)that assists other men in pursuing These momentsshould not be construedas a
individualizedreformprojects. new model of "homosexualidentityformation."
The apoliticalcharacterof theiroutlookis in- Manymen who have sex with men neverentera
dicated by their stance toward feminism. Al- gay community (Connell et al. forthcoming);
though most of the men express some support some men who do entera gay communityhave
for feminism,they disapprove"ThoseWho Go additionalsignificantmomentsin the construc-
Too Far": tion of sexuality, e.g., the "leatherand all this
I can'tstandthe butchdykes [who think]thatmales otherjazz"mentionedby MarkRichards.Rather,
are shits. (MarkRichards) these are the logical componentsof the project
thatcan be documentedin this specificsettingas
I haveneverhada personalconflictaboutit. I don't
like extremismsof anything the bum-brathing
-
the social makingof a homosexualmasculinity.
sortof went over my head. (GordonAnderson) This is not socializationinto a stigmatizediden-
tity. Ratherit is an agentic,multilevelcollective
Theirattitudestowardfeminismandlevel of ig- project,of the kind analyzedin Sartre's(1976)
noranceabout it match the views of feminism theory of social process. Its outcome is not a
amongheterosexualgroupsinterviewed. necessarystructureof personality,as mechanis-
tic etiologiesof homosexualityassume,buta his-
CONCLUSION:THE HISTORICAL torically realizedconfiguration of practice.Analy-
PROCESS sis of how this configuration was realizedillumi-
nates other historicalpossibilities in the same
Intheintroductionto thispaper,I posedtheques- field of social relations.
tionof how homosexualmasculinitiesarerelated It is theinterconnection of thesethreemoments
to thehistoricaldynamicof thegenderorder.The thatdefinestheproject.The closureof the sexual
life historiesdiscussed here show that familiar field aroundrelationshipswith othermen is de-
interpretations of homosexuality- boththe tra- terminedby the engagement,however ambiva-
ditional schema of "normal/deviant"and the lent, with hegemonicmasculinity.Gay men are
newerschemaof "dominantculture/subculture" not free to inventnew objectsof desireany more
are too monolithicto capturethe historical thanheterosexualmen are theirchoice of ob-
process.Subculturaldiversityamonggay men is ject is structuredby the existing gender order.
importantto recognize(Weeks 1986). The life- AdamSingerdesiresnot a male body buta mas-
historymaterial,however, shows anotherlevel culine body doing feminine things; Dean Car-
of complexitybeyondthis,the internalcomplex- rington'seroticismrevolvesaroundbodily simi-
ity of the relationshipsthroughwhich a homo- larityseen in genderterms,e.g. his attentionto
sexualmasculinityis constructed.Even the for- breasts,a majorgendersymbolin oureroticcul-
748
ture.Such genderederoticismunderpinsthe ur-
bangay communitywhichcurrentlydefineswhat
it is to be a gay man.
Relationshipsin this milieu are usually peer
relationshipsmarkedby a higher level of reci-
procitythanthatcharacterizingheterosexualre-
lations.Reciprocityis emphasizedas anidealand
is to a largeextentpracticed.The conditionsfor
reciprocityincludesimilaragesof partners,shared
class position,and sharedpositionin the overall
structureof gender.Ironically,the difficulty of
establishinglong-termcouple relationshipsmay
alsopushtowardreciprocityin thesexualculture.
In short-termencounters,in which giving and
receivingpleasureis the only agenda,thereis an
approximateequalityof position.Finally,thereis
the specific way the body is implicatedin sexual
practice- thatmirroringof lover and beloved,
naively but vigorouslyexpressedby Dean Car-
rington,in whichtheexplorationof another'sbody
becomesthe explorationof one's own.
Whatis the historicaldirectionof a collective
projectstructuredin this way? Whatarethe pos-
sibilitiesfor transformation of social relations?
These men are more easily seen as products
thanproducersof history.Theirprivatizedpoli-
tics offer little leverage on the state of gender
relations.The life course shaped as a journey
betweenmilieux, exemplifiedby Dean Carring-
ton's literalmigrationto thegay community,pre-
supposesthe historyin which the milieux were
formed.The men can adopt,negotiate,or rejecta
gay identity,a gay commercialscene, and gay
sexual and social networks,all of which already
exist. Althoughthey arethe inheritorsof a world
madeby the gay liberationistsand"pinkcapital-
ists"of the 1970s - the generationnow devas-
tatedby AIDS - they have little awarenessof,
or commitmentto, this history.
Intheserespectsthepictureresemblesthe"con-
trolledspace"theorizedby Blachford(1981),who
saw only limited social change effected by gay
politics. The genderederoticism of these men,
their predominantlymasculine social presence,
their focus on privatecouple relationships,and
their lack of solidaritywith feminism, point in
the same direction- thereis no open challenge
to the genderorderhere.
But in two ways, the processes documented
heredo pointtowardchange.First,thereification
of homosexualitythat is usually theorizedas a
form of social regulation,is in these men's lives
a conditionof freedom.This reificationis a nec-
essary counterbalanceto the institutionalized
compulsoryheterosexualitythatsurroundsthem.
AMERICANSOCIOLOGICALREVIEW
It allows the realizationof forbiddenpleasure,
the elementof festival in theirsexuality,andthe
building of long-termrelationshipswith other
gay men. The longest couple relationshipin the
group began at a beat - a site for casual
encounters.
This is an effect specificallyabouthomosexu-
ality. Althoughmost of these men have sexual
experiencewith women, in this culturalcontext
there is no positive social category of "the bi-
sexual" on which a collective practice can be
based. For these men, both object-choice and
personalityare formed within a frameworkof
masculinity.
Second,the familiarheterosexualdefinitionof
homosexualmen as effeminateis an inaccurate
descriptionof menliketheones interviewedhere,
who mostly do "act like a guy." But it is not
wrong in sensing the outragethey do to hege-
monic masculinity.A masculine object-choice
subvertsthe masculinityof characterand social
presence.This subversionis a structuralfeature
of homosexualityin a patriarchal societyin which
hegemonicmasculinityis definedas exclusively
heterosexualand its hegemonyincludesthe for-
mationof characterin the rearingof boys. So it is
not surprisingto find,jammedin beside the ele-
ments of mainstreammasculinity, items like
Damien Outhwaite's flamboyant fingernails,
MarkRichards'snursing,or AlanAndrews'sand
JonathanHampden'sidentificationswithwomen.
Hence gay theorists(notablyMieli 1980) who
see a necessaryeffeminacyin male homosexual-
ity have a point, if not quite in the way they
intend.At the same time,heterosexualmen must
deny desireexceptfor the genderedOther,while
making a hated Other of the men who desire
them (or desire the embodied-masculinitythey
share).The historicalexclusion of homosexual
object-choice from heterosexual masculinity
buildscontradictioninto the masculinityof both
homosexualandheterosexualmen.
Put in these abstractterms,this contradiction
is merely a possible crisis tendencyin a gender
orderstructuredin the way modernWesternsys-
tems are.But the studyof these men revealsthat
the possibility has been realized.The apolitical
characterof the groupindicatesthe stabilization
of a publicalternativeto hegemonicmasculinity
- they do not have to fight for theirexistenceas
gay men, in the way gay men in earliergenera-
tions did.This is all the moresignificantbecause
the men started out within the frameworkof
hegemonicmasculinity.Theirtrajectoriesbegan
in conventionalsettings and moved some dis-
MASCULINITY
tance toward hegemonic masculinity."A very
straightgay" neatly summarizesthe contradic-
tion introducedinto the politicsof gender.
Sexualityis the point of disruptionof orderly
genderrelations.Underthe influenceof Foucault
(1980) andMarcuse(1964), sexualityis takento
be a stabilizingforce in social relations,or at
least a site wheresocial controlis accomplished.
It is time to revive the insight of Reich (1972)
and Freud(1959), that sexualityis also disrup-
tive andcreative.
The creativepossibilities can be seen in the
shapingof sexualpracticeitself. Hegemonichet-
erosexuality,which eroticisesdifferencewithin
a large structureof genderinequalities,hinders
equalityand mutualityin the conductof sexual
relations.Observed in earlier research (Rubin
1976), this has been rediscoveredin studies of
heterosexualityand AIDS prevention(Waldby,
Kippax,andCrawford1990).A higherdegreeof
reciprocityhas been createdin gay men's sexual
practice.The relativeequalitythatpermitsthis is
not easily reproducedin heterosexualrelations;
but the contrastdoes suggest directionsfor ac-
tion in heterosexuallife.
Despite the lack of commitmentto feminism,
the youngermen in the group studiedhere are
alreadyforming friendly, pacific relationships
withyoungwomenin theirworkplacesandhouse-
holds. A more reciprocalsexuality and pacific
everydayinteractionsare necessaryif relations
between men and women are to move beyond
the currentstateof inequality,violence, and mi-
sogyny. Although far from revolutionary,this
groupof homosexualmen defines possibilities
andprovidessome models for majorchangesin
the social relationsof gender.
R. W. CONNELL is Professor of Sociology at the Uni-
versityof California,SantaCruz.He was Foundation
Professor of Sociology at Macquarie University,
Sydney,and 1991-1992 Professorof AustralianStud-
ies, HarvardUniversity.He is authoror coauthorof
RethinkingSex,GenderandPower,MakingtheDif-
inAustralian
ference,andClassStructure His
History.
recent researchfocuses on poverty and education,
AIDSpreventionand gay sexuality,changes in mas-
culinity,and historicityandpolitics in social theory.
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