Blog 6

1c. In Queer Masculinities of a Straight Men, Heasley explained the notions of masculinity, queer, gender and hetero-normative. In this paper there is part that is a little confusing to me. The writer said that he constantly gets accused of being gay even though he is married and has children. However, he goes on to say that he has sexual desires toward men and that he kisses men on the mouth, hugs them and dances with them. This is a little confusing to me because to me it seems a little contradictory. I understand the fact that you don’t have to be specifically gay or straight, but people can choose to be both. I just don’t I agree that if you are involved in a relationship that you should be kissing people other than your partner on the mouth.

1a. Bear Bodies Bear Masculinity, by Peter Hennen, is a study that examines the resistance and conformity in hegemonic masculinity among Bears, a subculture within the gay male community. Men who identify themselves as Bears are drawn to this community in part because they perceive themselves to be larger and hairier than the stereotypical gay ideal. Bears seek to naturalize and normalize gay masculinity by striving toward “regular guy” status. While Bear culture encodes certain misogynistic tendencies, it also presents a challenge to some of the fundamental systems of belief of hegemonic masculinity. This study was quite confusing to me because I did not really understand what was it they wanted to prove. If they were already accepted in the gay community, why did they want to be treated more masculine?

1b.Sissyphobia and Everything After, by Tim Bergling, is a study that the author did in order to find out more about effeminate men. This was of particular interest to him since his son was gay and he wanted to understand his son better. So he did the study to get answers about why gay men act so effeminate, but in the end found out that there were no right answers for it. As I read this study I could not stop thinking of my best friend. He is gay and does not like to be thought of as effeminate. He does not like to show he is gay, but wants to be treated as a heterosexual man.
2b. In Sissyphobia and Everything After, Bergling brought up an interesting point that as soon as we know that someone is gay we assume they are going to behave like women. Somehow this makes gay men less manly in our minds. My friend who is gay does not like to be seen as effeminate, because to him being gay does not mean to act more like a women. He knows that he is still a man, with the exception that he has a sexual desire towards other men. I also believe that he is more hesitant about behaving effeminate because of the fact that he has not told his family about his homosexuality. He is still trying to disguise his homosexuality out of fear of not being accepted by his family and society.