| Abstract: | We present a qualitative analysis of students' written narratives of gender norm violation projects–for example, women smoking cigars, reparing cars, wearing moustaches; men doing housework, carrying purses, wearing nail polish, crying in public – i terms relevant to theoretical literature that problematizes heterosexuality. We show that routinely unquestioned heteronormative expectations and proscriptions that exist as background context in contemporary culture come to the for when traditional gender boundaries are crossed. Further, we show that heteronormativity itself is gendered via the homosexualization of disruptive men and heterosexualization of disruptive women. This article discusses and compares how compulsory heterosexuality operates differenstly for women and men. We describe and give examples of different ways in which students and others sexualize even unexplicitly sexual actions and appearances. These tactics of sexualization include homophobic disclaimers, homophobic labeling, and heterosexualization. The concept heterogender best captures these common ways of interpreting gender norm violations. We discuss findings in terms of the importance of empirical inquiry to a primarily theoretical literature, the fact that gender differences are actively maintained, and the distinction between institutioalized and experienced heterosexuality. Our findings generally support radical feminist, cultural feminist, and queer theories of gender inequality, all of which focus on enforced heterosexuality. |
