The Girl Hunt: Urban Nightlife and the Performance of Masculinity as Collective Activity

The purpose of this article is to document the collective nature of gender performance and sexual pursuit, activities typically associated with individual rather than group behavior. Drawing on narrative accounts, I analyze how young heterosexual male students employ the power of collective rituals of homosociality to perform sexual competence and masculine identity by “girl hunting” in the context of urban nightlife. These rituals are designed to reinforce dominant sexual myths and expectations of masculine behavior, boost confidence in one's performance of masculinity and heterosexual power, and assist in the performance of masculinity in the presence of women. This analysis illustrates how contemporary courtship rituals operate as collective strategies of impression management that men perform not only for women but for other men. In doing so, interaction rituals associated with the girl hunt reproduce structures of inequality within as well as across the socially constructed gender divide between women and men.     

If I Am Not Straight or Gay,Who Am I?

Women that are violating heterosexual norms for sexual desire will run into issues about identity. This study explores ways of dealing with sexual identities that seems to provide a workable solution for women when they navigate and negotiate their lives as lesbians in a society dominated by heterosexual norms. The data sources are therapeutic conversations and followed-up interviews with ten women. The stories told by these women fail to fit the phases and the categorizations of the traditional coming out model. In handling dilemmas, ambiguity seems to be a resource to them. Their efforts and solutions are more in accordance with queer theory, when they navigate between dichotomies of homosexual/heterosexual, feminine/masculine, normality/deviance and personal responsibility/coincidence.     

Le métier de pornographe : rhétorique, contrôle et savoirs d’un groupe professionnel discrédité

This article deals with the professionalization of heterosexual pornography in France since 1975. Although pornography is discredited by public authorities and lacks any institutionalized training programs, pornographers have developed an occupational rhetoric whereby they present themselves as the entrepreneurs of fantasy, claim sexual expertise and control a masculine, heterosexual business. They present the boundaries of sexual and gender identities as natural, and the professionalization of pornography relies on a differential distribution of the know-how underlying a sex-based division of labor. This professionalization of sexuality involves not only a work of legitimation for turning sex into a subject matter for pornography but also an appropriation by men of sexual know-how and knowledge. What defines the job of pornographers is not only the turning of consumers’ fantasies into images but also male control over female sexuality.     

Light and Heavy Heterosexual Activities of Young Canadian Adolescents: Normative Patterns and Differential Predictors

The objectives of this research were to explore patterns of heterosexual activity in early adolescence and to examine the differential pathways to light and heavy heterosexuality. We utilized the National Longitudinal Survey of Canadian Children and Youth (NLSCY) in which heterosexual behaviors, as well as puberty, parenting processes, peer self‐concept, and problem behaviors were examined. The heterosexual activities of the majority of 12‐ and 13‐year‐old adolescents were largely confined to light activities of hugging, holding hands, and kissing. Heavy activities such as petting and sexual intercourse were reported less often. Using predictor variables from Cycle 1 of the NLSCY when participants were 10‐ and 11‐year‐olds, SEM analyses indicated that puberty and higher peer self‐concept shared significant direct pathways to both light and heavy heterosexuality. Heavy sexual activity, however, was uniquely associated with the risk factors of adolescent problem behaviors. Positive and hostile parenting styles were indirectly associated with light sexual activity through peer self‐concept. Positive and hostile parenting styles were also indirectly associated with heavy sexual activity through both peer‐oriented self‐concept and problem behaviors. Results support differential patterns and predictors of light and heavy sexuality in early adolescence.     

“I Want to Feel Like a Full Man”: Conceptualizing Gay,Bisexual, and Heterosexual Men’s Sexual Difficulties

Current understandings of sexual difficulties originate from a model that is based on the study of heterosexual men and women. Most research has focused on sexual difficulties experienced by heterosexual men incapable of engaging in vaginal penetration. To better understand men’s perceptions and experiences of sexual difficulties, seven focus groups and 29 individual interviews were conducted with gay (n = 22), bisexual (n = 5), and heterosexual (n = 25) men. In addition, the extent to which difficulties reported by gay and bisexual men differ from heterosexual men was explored. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis applying an inductive approach. Two intercorrelated conceptualizations were identified: penis function (themes: medicalization, masculine identity, psychological consequences, coping mechanisms) and pain (themes: penile pain, pain during receptive anal sex). For the most part, gay, bisexual, and heterosexual men reported similar sexual difficulties; differences were evident regarding alternative masculinity, penis size competition, and pain during receptive anal sex. The results of this study demonstrate the complexity of men’s sexual difficulties and the important role of sociocultural, interpersonal, and psychological factors. Limitations and suggested directions for future research are outlined.     

Age and embodied masculinities: Midlife gay and heterosexual men talk about their bodies

This article integrates critical gerontology and masculinities theories to examine how midlife gay and heterosexual men experience their bodies in relation to cultural discourses of aging. Analyses of in-depth interviews with 15 gay and 15 heterosexual men ages 40–60 reveal that while both groups of men describe their bodies as deteriorating or declining in terms of functionality and are often distressed by these changes, midlife gay men also articulate a concern with a perceived decline in bodily appearance. Both gay and heterosexual midlife men frame their bodies as fundamentally different from women's, possibly in an attempt to protect a masculine identity in response to the threat that aging bodies pose to that identity. We argue that midlife men's embodied experiences are shaped by a discourse of midlife decline as well as inequalities between gay and heterosexual men. We also discuss the implications of embodiment for midlife men's well-being.     

Developmental Precursors of Number of Sexual Partners From Ages 16 to 22

This study examines family and child characteristics, parent and peer relationships, and early adolescent behavior as statistical predictors of trajectories of number of sexual partners from midadolescence through early adulthood using data from 527 participants in the Child Development Project. Early adolescent developmental antecedents accounted for modest variance in number of sexual partners. Latent growth models revealed that African American race, more advanced pubertal development, lower parental monitoring knowledge, association with more deviant peers, and lower grade point average in early adolescence each predicted having more sexual partners at age 16. In addition, non‐African American race, lower child IQ, higher parental monitoring knowledge, and lower early adolescent internalizing problems each was associated with a higher rate of growth in number of sexual partners over time at the ages following 16. Latent growth mixture modeling identified subgroups with distinct trajectories of involvement with sexual partners that were associated with family and child characteristics, parent and peer relationships, and behavior in early adolescence.     

“She foreswore her womanhood”: Psychoanalytic views of female homosexuality

Just as in early psychoanalytic views of female sexual development women's sexual anatomy, psychic development, and object relations were seen relative to male norms and found wanting, in much of psychoanalytic thinking the sexual and psychic development of women in lesbian relationships are seen relative to heterosexual women and found lacking. Various etiological explanations of female homosexuality attempt to isolate a particular developmental arrest or disorder characteristic of female homosexual relations. This paper reviews the major psychoanalytic formulations of female homosexuality and discusses them in terms of two phallocentric assumptions: 1.) A woman who loves a woman must be a man, or be like a man, or must want to be a man; and 2.) A relationship between two women must always remain incomplete compared to the complementarity assumed in a heterosexual relationship. Increased understanding of the sexual desires and experience of women in lesbian relationships would contribute to expanded perspectives about female sexuality and development. The paper offers two paradigms for thinking about homosexual object choice which are not based on analogies to pathological conditions.If you don't know the kind of person I am and I don't know the kind of person you are a pattern that others made may prevail in the world and following the wrong god home we may miss our star. from A Ritual to Read to Each Other, William Stafford     

Masculine Gender-Role Congruence among Sexual Minority Men

Sexual minority men’s sexual identity may be vulnerable to feelings of masculine gender-role incongruence within heteronormative dominant cultural contexts. This study explored associations between masculine gender-role congruence/incongruence and various aspects of sexual identity development in a sample of 106 nonheterosexual men between ages 18 and 74?years (M?=?34.86, SD?=?14.32). The majority of the sample identified as gay (79%), with the rest of the sample identifying as bisexual (10%), and nonexclusively same-sex-attracted sexual identity labels (e.g., pansexual, queer; 10%). Slightly more than half of the men reported congruence between their actual self-perception of masculinity and their ideal masculine presentation. However, men who experienced greater masculine gender-role incongruence, specifically presenting with lower masculine appearance and behavior than they desired, reported higher levels of identity distress and self-consciousness. Thus, though masculine gender roles are being challenged and gender nonconformity is becoming more widely accepted, masculine gender roles are still relevant to the lives of sexual minority men. Future research and clinical implications are discussed.     

Time-varying associations between parental closeness,self-esteem,and sexual behavior across adolescence and emerging adulthood

This study applied the time-varying effect model (TVEM) to data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to explore how self-esteem mediated age-varying associations of closeness to mother and father and their child's sexual behavior through adolescence and emerging adulthood. Paternal closeness is associated with lesser odds of sexual behaviors for both female and male adolescents until age 20, whereas maternal closeness only predicts for female adolescents between ages 13 and 15. Self-esteem mediated the association between mother closeness and multiple partners in male adolescents between ages 14.5 and 16.5. Fathers have an impact on adolescent sexual behavior across adolescence and emerging adulthood, while mothers' roles are more important for female adolescents in early adolescence.     

The role of sexual behavior in the identification process of gay and bisexual males

This study examined the role of same‐sex sexual behavior in the identification and coming‐out process among three cohorts of gay and bisexual males. The sequence through which the males identified their same‐sex attractions was coded as either sex‐centered (labeling of sexual identity after first same‐sex sexual encounter) or identity‐centered (labeling of sexual identity before engaging in sex with males). The project tested whether developmental sequence was a significant predictor of later adjustment to sexual identity and relationship involvement. Findings demonstrate that the proportion of sex‐centered males decreased as a function of age cohort. Moreover, sex‐centered males reported higher levels of homophobia toward other males, more lifetime sexual partners, and more heterosexual sexual and romantic relationships. Thus, the route males take to identify and label their sexual identity is a good predictor of future adjustment and relationship involvement.     

Developmental Transitions of Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual-Affirmative,Heterosexual Career Counselors

This article proposes parallels between gay, lesbian, and bisexual identity development and the professional development of gay/lesbian/bisexual-affirmative, heterosexual career counselors. This perspective gives a developmental framework for understanding the changing feelings, thoughts, behaviors, and actions that accompany the professional, personal, and political growth of heterosexual career counselors who are seeking to become affirmative to career and life planning issues associated with sexual orientation.     

Adolescent fatherhood: Developmental perils and potentials

Both adolescence and parenthood are developmental phases that induce regression and psychosocial vulnerability as part of the preparation for progressive identity consolidation. What happens when these phases converge in the lives of young men? In this article, the author employs a psychodynamic conceptual framework to explicate the unique developmental dilemmas of adolescent fatherhood. Resulting formulations are intended to assist clinicians in designing interventions that minimize the regressive perils and maximize the progressive potentials of this untimely convergence of life transitions.     

Adolescent males' willingness to report masturbation

This paper compares contemporaneous and retrospective reports of adolescent masturbation experience, partnered sexual behavior, and nonsexual problem behavior. Analyses are based on data from 59 White males who were followed for 3 years in early adolescence and later reinterviewed as young adults. Comparisons of adolescent and adult reports about adolescent behavior indicated that adolescent masturbation, but not coitus and wet dreams, was more likely to be reported in young adulthood than in adolescence, even when confidential reporting techniques were used. In contrast, nonsexual problem behavior occurring during adolescence was more likely to be reported in adolescence than in early adulthood. These findings are consistent with other literature indicating that masturbation is a distinctly sensitive behavior that adolescent respondents may be particularly reluctant to report. These results suggest that adult retrospective reports may more accurately represent adolescent masturbation activity, but may underrepresent adolescent nonsexual problem behavior.     

Processes of Sexual Orientation Questioning among Heterosexual Women

Because very little is known about heterosexual identity development, this study assesses and describes sexual orientation questioning processes of heterosexual-identified women and offers a comparison of these processes with those employed by their sexual-minority counterparts. Participants included 333 female college students (ages 18–23; M = 19.2): 228 participants primarily identified as “exclusively straight/heterosexual,” and 105 participants indicated a sexual-minority identity. Sixty-seven percent of exclusively heterosexual respondents (n = 154) indicated having thought about or questioned their sexual orientation. The processes by which heterosexual participants described questioning their sexual orientation were coded for the presence of five emergent categories using an inductive thematic coding methodology. These five categories included unelaborated questioning (19%), other-sex experiences (16%), exposure to sexual minorities (26%), assessment of same-sex attraction (48%), and evaluations of same-sex behavior (26%). Several unifying and differentiating themes emerged between sexual orientation groups. Results from this study suggest that contemporary young women's heterosexuality is not necessarily an unexamined identity; indeed, the large majority of young women in this sample were deliberately identifying as heterosexual after contemplating alternative possibilities.     

Part II: differences between sexually victimized and nonsexually victimized male adolescent sexual abusers and delinquent youth: further group comparisons of developmental antecedents and behavioral challenges

In a recent paper published in the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, we assessed the differences between sexually victimized and nonsexually victimized male adolescent sexual abusers ( Burton, Duty, & Leibowitz, 2011 ). We found that the sexually victimized group had more severe developmental antecedents (e.g., trauma and early exposure to pornography) and behavioral difficulties (sexual aggression, arousal, pornography use, and nonsexual offenses). The present study compares sexually victimized and nonsexually victimized adolescent sexual abusers with a group of nonsexually victimized delinquent youth. Findings included that delinquent youth had fewer behavioral and developmental problems than the comparison groups. In addition, sexually victimized sexual abusers had the highest mean scores on trauma and personality measures. Implications for research and treatment are offered.     

Family Relationships and Religious Identities of GLBQ Christians

ABSTRACT

Nonheterosexual individuals are half as likely as their heterosexual counterparts to report a religious identity. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and queer (GLBQ) emerging adults who maintain a religious identity and affiliation throughout their adolescent and young adult years challenge dominant narratives of sexuality and religion (Pew, 2012, 2013). This study contextualizes these demographic findings and considers their impact on family life and sexual identity. The authors present data from 11 qualitative interviews with GLBQ individuals between the ages of 20 and 25. Results are presented in a model describing how participants constructed a GLBQ Christian identity, and how they perceive the acceptance of their identities in both their families and church communities.     

Network position and sexual dysfunction: implications of partner betweenness for men

This article combines relational perspectives on gender identity with social network structural perspectives on health to understand men's sexual functioning. The authors argue that network positions that afford independence and control over social resources are consistent with traditional masculine roles and may therefore affect men's sexual performance. For example, when a heterosexual man's female partner has more frequent contact with his confidants than he does--which the authors refer to as partner betweenness--his relational autonomy, privacy, and control are constrained. Analyses of data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) show that about a quarter of men experience partner betweennessa and that these men are 92% more likely to report erectile dysfunction. Partner betweenness is strongest among the youngest men in the sample, which may reflect changing conceptions of masculinity in later life. The authors consider several explanations for these findings and urge additional research on the links between health, gender, and network structure.     

Adolescent sexuality

The reader is offered a contemporary view of adolescent sexuality, which has evolved into new forms of sexual behavior, in response to current shifts of values and societal realities. The current phenomena of excalating sexually transmitted diseases and teen-age pregnancy and parenthood are examined. The recent developments in clinicians views about homosexuality and heterosexuality are also offered. A case of more optimal adolescent heterosexual activity is presented, depicting the accompanying self questioning, uncertainties, passions and inner musings, regarding a male adolescent's sense of self and self object choices.in private practice