Abstract Men in feminist spaces often find themselves the recipients of disproportionate gratitude and attention—along with other persistent effects of male privilege that I have elsewhere termed the Pedestal Effect —despite this running counter to both prevailing feminist ideologies and the desires of the men themselves. Sociologist Arlie Hochschild described a similar economy of gratitude wherein low expectations led to heightened valuation of married men's household contributions, smuggling inequities from the wider society into the marriage and inhibiting progressive change even if both parties desired a more egalitarian partnership. By applying Hochschild's framework to interview data from 52 men and 12 women active in the field, I show that the same process explains the troubling continuance of male privilege in feminist spaces: while interviewees of all genders problematize the imbalanced economy of gratitude and many have attempted specific counterstrategies, it nonetheless persists in importing inequalities, undermining men's accountability, and inhibiting desired progressive change. This suggests that the economy of gratitude may be a ubiquitous interactional process that reproduces inequalities across a wide range of social contexts. I emphasize that the economy of gratitude is in fact intersectional, not only gendered, and introduce the idea of a “low bar” to more fully account for the broad range of social influences on expectation‐setting.
{"title":"“A male feminist walks into a bar, because it was set so low: The pedestal effect and the economy of gratitude in feminist spaces”","authors":"Tal Peretz","doi":"10.1111/soc4.13151","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13151","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Men in feminist spaces often find themselves the recipients of disproportionate gratitude and attention—along with other persistent effects of male privilege that I have elsewhere termed the Pedestal Effect —despite this running counter to both prevailing feminist ideologies and the desires of the men themselves. Sociologist Arlie Hochschild described a similar economy of gratitude wherein low expectations led to heightened valuation of married men's household contributions, smuggling inequities from the wider society into the marriage and inhibiting progressive change even if both parties desired a more egalitarian partnership. By applying Hochschild's framework to interview data from 52 men and 12 women active in the field, I show that the same process explains the troubling continuance of male privilege in feminist spaces: while interviewees of all genders problematize the imbalanced economy of gratitude and many have attempted specific counterstrategies, it nonetheless persists in importing inequalities, undermining men's accountability, and inhibiting desired progressive change. This suggests that the economy of gratitude may be a ubiquitous interactional process that reproduces inequalities across a wide range of social contexts. I emphasize that the economy of gratitude is in fact intersectional, not only gendered, and introduce the idea of a “low bar” to more fully account for the broad range of social influences on expectation‐setting.","PeriodicalId":47997,"journal":{"name":"Sociology Compass","volume":"334 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136060437","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Why do people believe in conspiracy theories? This paper responds to this ever‐significant question by scrutinizing people's belief in conspiracy theories in Turkey. Building on Max Weber's theory of rationalization, it proposes that value‐laden and instrumentally rational predispositions, namely religiosity and partisanship, predict people's beliefs in conspiracy theories. This current study tests this hypothesis by analyzing two nationwide surveys conducted during a period of significant changes in modern Turkish politics: January and July 2013. The findings confirm the hypothesis that people interpret conspiracy theories in line with their instrumental, rational interests and values.
{"title":"The impact of partisanship and religiosity on conspiracy‐theory beliefs in Turkey","authors":"Türkay Salim Nefes, Ozan Aksoy","doi":"10.1111/soc4.13152","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13152","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Why do people believe in conspiracy theories? This paper responds to this ever‐significant question by scrutinizing people's belief in conspiracy theories in Turkey. Building on Max Weber's theory of rationalization, it proposes that value‐laden and instrumentally rational predispositions, namely religiosity and partisanship, predict people's beliefs in conspiracy theories. This current study tests this hypothesis by analyzing two nationwide surveys conducted during a period of significant changes in modern Turkish politics: January and July 2013. The findings confirm the hypothesis that people interpret conspiracy theories in line with their instrumental, rational interests and values.","PeriodicalId":47997,"journal":{"name":"Sociology Compass","volume":"27 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136308092","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This contribution highlights that conventional social mobility research in the sociological sciences is faced with a severe limitation, as it neglects the importance of intercohort changes in the social origin structure. This is illustrated by the example of OED triangle research, in which compositional changes are only partially recognized as important factors for social fluidity. The paper shows that the implications of an intercohort compositional change of social origin in the process of educational expansion and occupational change have often been overlooked in this literature. The paper makes theoretical and methodological suggestions for a better integration of the compositional change of social origin into future empirical analyses of the OED triangle.
{"title":"Integrating intercohort changes in the composition of social origin into OED triangle research: A literature review and an outlook for future research","authors":"Pia Nicoletta Blossfeld","doi":"10.1111/soc4.13153","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13153","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This contribution highlights that conventional social mobility research in the sociological sciences is faced with a severe limitation, as it neglects the importance of intercohort changes in the social origin structure. This is illustrated by the example of OED triangle research, in which compositional changes are only partially recognized as important factors for social fluidity. The paper shows that the implications of an intercohort compositional change of social origin in the process of educational expansion and occupational change have often been overlooked in this literature. The paper makes theoretical and methodological suggestions for a better integration of the compositional change of social origin into future empirical analyses of the OED triangle.","PeriodicalId":47997,"journal":{"name":"Sociology Compass","volume":"158 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136308440","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract The paper investigates the ideological foundations of contemporary capitalism and its organizational models in Brazil. Our analysis considers three positions present in the literature: the thesis of the new spirit of capitalism; the literature about financialization and the shareholder value model; and the configuration of a managerial mode of domination. A content analysis was conducted to investigate normative business content from Brazilian “top voices” on the LinkedIn network. A total of 180 influential texts from 32 authors composed our corpus and were assessed based on an abductive approach that had as references the economies of worth model and a related framework for assessing the dynamic configuration of capitalism justifications. Results support the idea that contemporary capitalism is characterized in ideological terms by the fluidity of normative references restricting the market logic, configuring a complex or managerial mode of domination.
{"title":"Ideological foundations of capitalism and its organizational models: A study using popular management content on LinkedIn","authors":"Ricardo Mello Duarte, Silvio Eduardo Alvarez Candido","doi":"10.1111/soc4.13149","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13149","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The paper investigates the ideological foundations of contemporary capitalism and its organizational models in Brazil. Our analysis considers three positions present in the literature: the thesis of the new spirit of capitalism; the literature about financialization and the shareholder value model; and the configuration of a managerial mode of domination. A content analysis was conducted to investigate normative business content from Brazilian “top voices” on the LinkedIn network. A total of 180 influential texts from 32 authors composed our corpus and were assessed based on an abductive approach that had as references the economies of worth model and a related framework for assessing the dynamic configuration of capitalism justifications. Results support the idea that contemporary capitalism is characterized in ideological terms by the fluidity of normative references restricting the market logic, configuring a complex or managerial mode of domination.","PeriodicalId":47997,"journal":{"name":"Sociology Compass","volume":"27 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136309095","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Prescribed as a measure from international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and networks of creditors to manage debt, privatization of energy in Latin America has been a key policy from the Washington Consensus since the 1980s into the current period. The waves of privatization and neoliberal reforms that have swept Latin America during the 1980s and through the 1990s and 2000s have also brought with them massive resistance from constituencies such as labor unions, indigenous communities, students, and workers in the region. This review essay explores key debates on the politics of energy privatization in Latin America, with attention to three central questions: (1) How do foreign (exogenous) and national (endogenous) factors interact in the diffusion and implementation of energy privatization? (2) Under what conditions are protests against energy privatization effective in reversing these policies? And (3) What are the broader effects of energy privatization in the 21st century? I end this review essay with new directions for research that can help sociologists synthesize insights across political science and economics, and shed light to approaches that can be beneficial to sociologists conducting research on privatization and neoliberal reforms in Latin America in the 21st century.
{"title":"The politics of energy privatization in Latin America: Contours and directions","authors":"Mario Venegas","doi":"10.1111/soc4.13147","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13147","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Prescribed as a measure from international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and networks of creditors to manage debt, privatization of energy in Latin America has been a key policy from the Washington Consensus since the 1980s into the current period. The waves of privatization and neoliberal reforms that have swept Latin America during the 1980s and through the 1990s and 2000s have also brought with them massive resistance from constituencies such as labor unions, indigenous communities, students, and workers in the region. This review essay explores key debates on the politics of energy privatization in Latin America, with attention to three central questions: (1) How do foreign (exogenous) and national (endogenous) factors interact in the diffusion and implementation of energy privatization? (2) Under what conditions are protests against energy privatization effective in reversing these policies? And (3) What are the broader effects of energy privatization in the 21st century? I end this review essay with new directions for research that can help sociologists synthesize insights across political science and economics, and shed light to approaches that can be beneficial to sociologists conducting research on privatization and neoliberal reforms in Latin America in the 21st century.","PeriodicalId":47997,"journal":{"name":"Sociology Compass","volume":"205 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135396924","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This qualitative study was conducted in the context of ongoing debates on “marriage fraud” to explore the underlying social structural and individual reasons for entering mixed‐orientation marriages affecting men who have sex with men ( tongzhi in Chinese) and non‐complicit women ( tongqi ) who married tongzhi in China. Using a phenomenological approach, sixty‐eight (34 tongzhi and 34 tongqi, unpaired) semi‐structured interviews were conducted through in‐person interviews or WeChat audio interviews between 2018 and 2019 in China. Guided by thematic analysis, three themes explaining the shared pressure from the societal, family, and individual levels that drove individuals' decisions about whom they partnered with, and when and how they entered marriage among tongzhi and tongqi : marriage normativity, filial piety, and conformity with conventional marriage. The findings showed that marital decisions for tongzhi and tongqi were constrained by the similar social power of marriage normativity, filial piety, and heteronormativity in China. Some marriages fell within the scope of marriage fraud, but most of them fell within the scope of performing conventional marriages. This phenomenon was beyond simple explanations of marriage fraud. Future studies need to investigate multi‐level constraints concerning family relations for sexual minorities in China on a large scale.
{"title":"“Marriage fraud” or social constraint? Reasons for understanding <i>tongzhi</i> and <i>tongqi</i> in mixed‐orientation marriages in China","authors":"Changhui Song, Runze Ding, Hui Xie","doi":"10.1111/soc4.13143","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13143","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This qualitative study was conducted in the context of ongoing debates on “marriage fraud” to explore the underlying social structural and individual reasons for entering mixed‐orientation marriages affecting men who have sex with men ( tongzhi in Chinese) and non‐complicit women ( tongqi ) who married tongzhi in China. Using a phenomenological approach, sixty‐eight (34 tongzhi and 34 tongqi, unpaired) semi‐structured interviews were conducted through in‐person interviews or WeChat audio interviews between 2018 and 2019 in China. Guided by thematic analysis, three themes explaining the shared pressure from the societal, family, and individual levels that drove individuals' decisions about whom they partnered with, and when and how they entered marriage among tongzhi and tongqi : marriage normativity, filial piety, and conformity with conventional marriage. The findings showed that marital decisions for tongzhi and tongqi were constrained by the similar social power of marriage normativity, filial piety, and heteronormativity in China. Some marriages fell within the scope of marriage fraud, but most of them fell within the scope of performing conventional marriages. This phenomenon was beyond simple explanations of marriage fraud. Future studies need to investigate multi‐level constraints concerning family relations for sexual minorities in China on a large scale.","PeriodicalId":47997,"journal":{"name":"Sociology Compass","volume":"46 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135734235","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This paper explores the motivations of those who train to fight at a Muay Thai and Kickboxing gym in East London, who view fighting (and training in the gym) as a means of coping with the harshness of work, as a financial supplement to work, and as an alternative form of work. It explores how the repetitive regimes of the body employed by fighters, such as dieting, twice‐daily training sessions and sparring, as both individual and collective bodily work, contrasts with their experiences of social life under capitalism, which is seen as unfair and unmeritocratic. This, it argues, leads people to seek refuge within the meritocratic sphere of the gym, which offers new opportunities, possibilities and a unique ability to master the self. It subsequently argues that we can understand training to fight as a response to class exclusion, stigmatisation, and helplessness under neoliberalism.
{"title":"Learning to labour in the gym: Training to fight to reimagine the self and work under neoliberalism","authors":"Amit Singh","doi":"10.1111/soc4.13150","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13150","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This paper explores the motivations of those who train to fight at a Muay Thai and Kickboxing gym in East London, who view fighting (and training in the gym) as a means of coping with the harshness of work, as a financial supplement to work, and as an alternative form of work. It explores how the repetitive regimes of the body employed by fighters, such as dieting, twice‐daily training sessions and sparring, as both individual and collective bodily work, contrasts with their experiences of social life under capitalism, which is seen as unfair and unmeritocratic. This, it argues, leads people to seek refuge within the meritocratic sphere of the gym, which offers new opportunities, possibilities and a unique ability to master the self. It subsequently argues that we can understand training to fight as a response to class exclusion, stigmatisation, and helplessness under neoliberalism.","PeriodicalId":47997,"journal":{"name":"Sociology Compass","volume":"8 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135785277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Peter Gardner, Susannah Williams, Andrew Macdonald
Abstract This paper explores the gendered politics of care in global environmental activism. Drawing on interviews with 96 Extinction Rebellion activists worldwide and a close analysis of 10 older women within this dataset, we contend that ‘care’ both replicated and contradicted the patriarchal order. Older women in Extinction Rebellion have often been relied upon to take on much of the caring labour involved in the maintenance of the movement at local and national levels. However, care also involved these women undertaking powerful—and empowering—forms of political action, often grounded in their knowledge and experience of organising social justice movements over decades. In contrast to prior research in the area, we found that women's participation in leadership roles within the movement against climate change appears to have increased over time. Using Sara Ahmed's (2004) concept of affective economies, we argue that the emotion of care came to be accumulated and attached to older women within Extinction Rebellion, producing inequalities in expectations for who would ‘care for the movement’ while also opening up opportunities for empowerment.
{"title":"Glued on for the grandkids: The gendered politics of care in the global environmental movement","authors":"Peter Gardner, Susannah Williams, Andrew Macdonald","doi":"10.1111/soc4.13148","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13148","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This paper explores the gendered politics of care in global environmental activism. Drawing on interviews with 96 Extinction Rebellion activists worldwide and a close analysis of 10 older women within this dataset, we contend that ‘care’ both replicated and contradicted the patriarchal order. Older women in Extinction Rebellion have often been relied upon to take on much of the caring labour involved in the maintenance of the movement at local and national levels. However, care also involved these women undertaking powerful—and empowering—forms of political action, often grounded in their knowledge and experience of organising social justice movements over decades. In contrast to prior research in the area, we found that women's participation in leadership roles within the movement against climate change appears to have increased over time. Using Sara Ahmed's (2004) concept of affective economies, we argue that the emotion of care came to be accumulated and attached to older women within Extinction Rebellion, producing inequalities in expectations for who would ‘care for the movement’ while also opening up opportunities for empowerment.","PeriodicalId":47997,"journal":{"name":"Sociology Compass","volume":"98 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135733637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract The underrepresentation of men in non‐traditional fields of work is often attributed to essentialist gendered beliefs that associate such roles exclusively with women. This phenomenon is not limited to any specific country but is observed worldwide. Moreover, male teacher drop‐out rates remain a consistent issue. This article examines the detrimental impact of gendered expectations of masculinity on male primary teachers through interviews conducted with both male and female teachers in the UK. It argues that men in this occupation face a ‘double bind,’ being judged for conforming to hegemonic masculine norms while also facing judgement for deviating from them. All male teachers interviewed expressed feeling the pressure of gendered expectations, which primarily stem from one central misconception fuelled by traditional conceptions of gender; that the occupation is unsuitable for men. As a result, men who enter the profession encounter challenges not only related to their gender but also their sexuality and their sense of professional identity as teachers. Addressing the damaging role of gender beliefs is crucial in promoting the numerical representation of men in the teaching profession.
{"title":"<i>‘If you're a male primary teacher, there's a big “why are you doing that? What is wrong with you?”’</i> Gendered expectations of male primary teachers: The ‘double bind’","authors":"Joanne McDowell","doi":"10.1111/soc4.13145","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13145","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The underrepresentation of men in non‐traditional fields of work is often attributed to essentialist gendered beliefs that associate such roles exclusively with women. This phenomenon is not limited to any specific country but is observed worldwide. Moreover, male teacher drop‐out rates remain a consistent issue. This article examines the detrimental impact of gendered expectations of masculinity on male primary teachers through interviews conducted with both male and female teachers in the UK. It argues that men in this occupation face a ‘double bind,’ being judged for conforming to hegemonic masculine norms while also facing judgement for deviating from them. All male teachers interviewed expressed feeling the pressure of gendered expectations, which primarily stem from one central misconception fuelled by traditional conceptions of gender; that the occupation is unsuitable for men. As a result, men who enter the profession encounter challenges not only related to their gender but also their sexuality and their sense of professional identity as teachers. Addressing the damaging role of gender beliefs is crucial in promoting the numerical representation of men in the teaching profession.","PeriodicalId":47997,"journal":{"name":"Sociology Compass","volume":"28 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135825753","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This study examines men as a minority in asexual (experiencing low/no sexual attraction) and aromantic (experiencing low/no romantic attraction) communities. First, we situate our research in existing literature on asexuality, compulsory sexuality/compulsory romance, and hegemonic masculinities. In our analysis, we use survey data from the 2020 Asexual Community Survey ( n = 4974) and 2020 Aromantic Census ( n = 3018) to provide evidence that asexual and aromantic men are demographic minorities within asexual and aromantic communities. Next, we turn to two interview samples with 39 individuals who identify as aromantic and 77 individuals who identify as asexual. We analyzed these interviews to explore how sexuality and romance contribute to the construction of hegemonic masculinities. Our interviews reveal several important themes that highlight how asexual and aromantic men navigate their masculinity and identity amid asexual and aromantic communities as majority‐woman spaces. We focus on three main themes: (1) masculinity as inherently sexual; (2) masculinity, heteronormativity, and the gendered construction of romance; and (3) asexual/aromantic identity, masculinity, and the split attraction model. Taken together, our results show how (hetero)sexuality and romantic relationship formation are fundamental to hegemonic masculinity. We find that asexual and aromantic men face cultural pressures and social stigma around initiating sex and performing romance. Asexual men must contend with managing a sexual identity that runs counter to men's supposedly innate sexual desire, thus situating them as inadequately masculine. Aromantic men, meanwhile, must manage inhabiting an identity that is conflated with the fuckboy/player trope, situating them as excessively masculine. This study demonstrates how centering asexual and aromantic perspectives reveals complexities in the ways hegemonic masculinity relies on participation in both sex and romance. We conclude by relating our findings to larger conversations on gender and sexualities as well as implications for future research on marginalized sexual identities.
{"title":"Sexuality, romantic orientation, and masculinity: Men as underrepresented in asexual and aromantic communities","authors":"Hannah Tessler, Canton Winer","doi":"10.1111/soc4.13141","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13141","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This study examines men as a minority in asexual (experiencing low/no sexual attraction) and aromantic (experiencing low/no romantic attraction) communities. First, we situate our research in existing literature on asexuality, compulsory sexuality/compulsory romance, and hegemonic masculinities. In our analysis, we use survey data from the 2020 Asexual Community Survey ( n = 4974) and 2020 Aromantic Census ( n = 3018) to provide evidence that asexual and aromantic men are demographic minorities within asexual and aromantic communities. Next, we turn to two interview samples with 39 individuals who identify as aromantic and 77 individuals who identify as asexual. We analyzed these interviews to explore how sexuality and romance contribute to the construction of hegemonic masculinities. Our interviews reveal several important themes that highlight how asexual and aromantic men navigate their masculinity and identity amid asexual and aromantic communities as majority‐woman spaces. We focus on three main themes: (1) masculinity as inherently sexual; (2) masculinity, heteronormativity, and the gendered construction of romance; and (3) asexual/aromantic identity, masculinity, and the split attraction model. Taken together, our results show how (hetero)sexuality and romantic relationship formation are fundamental to hegemonic masculinity. We find that asexual and aromantic men face cultural pressures and social stigma around initiating sex and performing romance. Asexual men must contend with managing a sexual identity that runs counter to men's supposedly innate sexual desire, thus situating them as inadequately masculine. Aromantic men, meanwhile, must manage inhabiting an identity that is conflated with the fuckboy/player trope, situating them as excessively masculine. This study demonstrates how centering asexual and aromantic perspectives reveals complexities in the ways hegemonic masculinity relies on participation in both sex and romance. We conclude by relating our findings to larger conversations on gender and sexualities as well as implications for future research on marginalized sexual identities.","PeriodicalId":47997,"journal":{"name":"Sociology Compass","volume":"51 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135980171","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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