Heteronormative Discourses Research Articles

“I Feel More Masculine Having Sex with a Woman Than Being Fucked by a Man”: Masculinity and Bisexual Men's Experiences of Sex with Women and Men

ABSTRACT Prior research with heterosexual and gay men suggests that heteronormative, hegemonic masculine norms influence sexual behaviors, including in relation to sexual health, and in sex between men, positioning in anal intercourse. This qualitative study offers an in-depth account of how bisexual men’s beliefs about masculinity and about the gendered nature of certain sexual behaviors may influence their experiences of sex with women and men, and the sexual practices they engage in. Twenty-two bisexual men participated in one-to-one, semi-structured interviews, where they were asked about their experiences of sex with women and men in relation to their beliefs about masculinity. A reflexive thematic analysis identified the influence of prevailing discourses of heteronormativity and hegemonic masculinity on sexual experiences and behaviors. Participants’ beliefs about masculinity and the gendered nature of certain aspects of sex influenced experiences relating to sexual performance, sexual assertiveness, positions adopted, practices engaged in, and how gender was enacted in sexual encounters. Sex with women was experienced as more masculine than sex with men: Participants described feeling more sexually assertive than their sexual partners, in control of the encounter, and responsible for facilitating their partners’ sexual pleasure. Sex with men was experienced as more egalitarian and provided favorable opportunities to relinquish sexual control and responsibilities around facilitating pleasure, and to feel less masculine, including by engaging in receptive anal intercourse. Findings therefore indicate that, for some bisexual men, masculinity is highly salient, influencing a range of sexual behaviors and experiences in sex with women and with men.

Identity, Creativity and Performance Spaces in Wales and Southwest England

Globally, performative spaces and venues of artistic creativity are governed by sets of conventions which impact the creative process. In this article, we discuss the experiences of four different creatives, operating in four different creative spaces. A poet and football player, a theatre producer and script writer, a gallery curator, and a ballet dancer have all shared their experiences of how traditionally white and heteronormative discourses regulate their respective creative spaces, the ways they conform to or transgress these norms, and the ways their interactions with their chosen creative spaces affect their creativity. These creatives have identities which are somehow ‘marked’, somehow ‘different’ from the ‘norms’ Wales and South-West England. Whether members of the LGBTQ+ community, migrants to Wales from European and Caribbean countries, or being a different race to many around them, the creatives all have complicated interactions with the norms of their creative spaces within Wales and South-West England. These creative’s identities often clash with an entrenched lack of diversity and the broader expectations of British society. Despite, or perhaps, because of, these conflicts and tensions, each of the creatives discussed here found immense joy in the relationship between their identity/ies and their creative spaces and discovered how their own identity/ies are a central driving force for their creativity. Regardless of the differences of their mediums, each creative interviewed sought to centre their identity, to help them create art which can challenge dominant white and heteronormative discourses in wider British society.

Examining gay male discursive practices in hook-up apps

Abstract Whilst there is a growing body of literature on the normalisation of abuse in youth digital sexual image exchange (Ringrose, Regehr & Whitehead 2021), mediated intimacies and sexual harms among men who have sex with men (MSM) in online contexts still remain largely neglected (Dietzel 2021). The present study builds on Russell’s (2021) study on male discursive practices and investigates sexual and gendered ideologies in 600 online dating profiles gathered from Grindr and Wapo. The discourse analysis of these profiles, on the one hand, sheds light on the existing violent nature of gay Alpha imaginaries in the short-term sexual encounters that these dating apps facilitate and, on the other hand, gives evidence of how discourses of hegemonic heteronormativity, and rape culture, seem to inform MSMs dating app profiles.

Gendered Subjectivities in English Classrooms: A Critically Queered Examination of Sex-Segregated Education

This study explores the link between gender and language in single-sex schools in Colombia. Using feminist theory, the study analyzes the gendered subjectivities of English-as-a-foreign-language learners in a private school in Bogotá. It examines how heterosexuality is forced upon learners and how their subjectivities are impacted by the heteronormative discourse surrounding sex-gender learning differences. The study utilizes conversation analysis and speech act theory to examine data. The findings reveal that gendered subjectivity is complex and constitutes an ongoing struggle. There is a need for further research on gender and English teaching in educational settings, emphasizing the importance of studying sociolinguistic power relationships.

“We Keep it Low Key”: LGBTQIA+ Rural Language Educators’ Experiences in the Southeastern United States

ABSTRACT In language education, limited attention to issues of gender and sexual diversity is often commonplace. In particular, rural contexts are often absent from such conversations even though place influences perceptions and practice. While rural language educators can serve as agents of change and can therefore experience increased emotional labor and burnout as well as marginalization, it is essential to understand the lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ language educators in such contexts. This mixed methods study, then, sought to understand the intersections between LGBTQIA+ language educators gender, sexual, and professional identities in the rural Southeastern United States. Findings draw attention to the negotiations between heteronormative discourses, their identities, and their practice. Implications for this study address the interconnectedness of place, gender, and sexual identities in confronting cisheteronormativity in contexts that are not always amenable to LGBTQIA+ identities.

Singing Blackness

In this article I propose the exploration of racial discourse in recent Black Caribbean rap and hip-hop productions. Rap and hip-hop are often used as a sociopolitical tool that—through writing and language—achieve to create activist movements. Specifically, I study the work of the Cuban hip-hop group Obsesión [Obsession] and of Cuban rapper Robe L Ninho and the work of Dominican rappers Circuito Negro and JNoa. I particularly focus on some of their songs that make of the genre an opportunity to approach the racial topic in their communities and a way to celebrate Blackness. This way, these hip-hop and rap songs break the most commercial, common, and expected pattern of lyrics that focus on topics that oversexualize the female (Black) body, that often objectify women, and that reproduce a patriarchal and heteronormative discourse. Instead, these songs, through the topics that they explore, aim to create community and craft a space for social activism. They do so, for example, by singing about hair (Obsesión and Robe L Ninho) and by singing about their Afro-Caribbean communities and their existence as Black people in their neighborhoods (Circuito Negro, JNoa). Among a variety of tracks, I mainly focus on songs that are connected in topic and that represent a continuumin the production of approximately the last decade. So, for example I analyze the songs “Los pelos [Hair]” by Obsesión (2014) and “N.E.G.R.O. [N.E.G.R.O.]” by Robe L Ninho (2022) that focus on Afro hair, celebrate the beauty of it, and denounce the prejudices against it almost a decade apart from each other. Then, I focus on the song “Revolufunk” by Circuito Negro (2011) and the song “Qué fue[What Happened?]” (2022) by JNoa. In this case also there is a generational gap between the artists that symbolize both the evolution of the genre and the consistency of the topics that they cover and that are connected to Blackness. In addition to the racial discourse and the connection of topics across the last decade, these songs also create an inter-Caribbean discourse that transcends the concept of nation and nationality and instead identifies with and shapes a message for Black Spanish-speaking Caribbean people. These songs reveal a poetic that adds urban sounds to a spoken word tradition and that mixes writing, oral tradition, and language in lieu to create a sociopolitical activist movement for Afro-Caribbean people. Also, by focusing on race in countries where the Black communities are often made invisible, they shed light on minorities that usually are relegated to the lowest layers of society. Thus, through their music, these artists raise awareness on their Blackness and on their communities, but they also create a transversal Afro-Caribbean narrative that connects and creates a sense of community among Blacks in the Caribbean in their native Spanish language. This study, so, represents an opportunity to shift a US-centered discourse on Blackness and race and opens new ways of living and understanding the African diaspora in other geographies.

Heteronormative discourse: Therapist social constructions of intimate partner violence in queer relationships

Researchers have suggested the victim/perpetrator paradigm for understanding intimate partner violence (IPV) is limited when considering queer relationships. Instead, some propose a poststructural feminist approach as better suited for understanding the complexities involved. However, in the UK, this approach is rarely adopted. We therefore put a poststructural feminist approach to research into practice. Despite IPV occurring in queer relationships at similar or higher levels compared to heterosexual relationships, queer individuals rarely use mainstream IPV services, owing to real and perceived barriers, and access local therapy services instead. However, outside of queer-specific services in city-centre areas, there is little knowledge of the approaches used or the outcomes achieved by these therapeutic services. Our research contributes to addressing this knowledge gap. We investigate how therapists make sense of IPV in queer relationships, conducting five semistructured interviews with therapists working in small-town/rural settings in Southwest England. Despite claims of inclusivity and liberal humanist values, our Foucauldian discourse analysis highlights the dominance of a heteronormative discourse in the therapists’ accounts, and shows how heterosexual privilege is embedded in a range of discourses deployed. In light of these findings, we explore implications for practice and areas for future research in this underresearched area.

“Intersectional perspectives and youthful trauma”: (Re)considering Gauri in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland

ABSTRACT This article offers a new reading of Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel The Lowland (2013), focused on the protagonist Gauri, by challenging earlier critical accounts of her character. Using an intersectional analysis supported by insights from trauma studies, it scrutinizes the elements that shape Gauri as a woman, revolutionary, wife, mother, and migrant. It argues that her persona is best understood as a product of her multiple interactions with the world and their related discourses within The Lowland’s exploration of the impact of the Naxalite Movement (1967–72) on a conservative middle-class Bengali family and especially on Gauri’s development. Contending that existing readings of Lahiri’s narrative are constrained by gaps in intersectional understandings or misunderstandings of the impact of trauma caused by her engagement with the Movement, the article offers a reading of how Lahiri’s protagonist subverts heteronormative discourses in multiple contexts, voicing her trauma culturally through actions rather than words.

Navigating Parenthood: A Study of Family Formation and Parenting Experiences Among Same-sex Couples in the Philippines

This qualitative research study explored the family formation processes and parenting experiences of same-sex couples in the unique socio-cultural context of the Philippines. While same-sex relationships and LGBTQ + rights have gained increasing recognition globally, the Philippines remains a conservative society with deeply rooted traditional norms and religious influences. It delved into the complexities of family formation, including relationship initiation, and decision-making processes regarding parenting. Findings suggest that same-sex couples in the Philippines employ diverse strategies to create families, such as adoption, and raising children of a family relative. These strategies are often influenced by factors such as familial support, and socio-cultural norms. The parenting experiences of same-sex couples revealed both shared challenges, such as discrimination and exclusion, as well as unique opportunities for reshaping traditional gender roles within the household. By highlighting the lived experiences of these couples, this study advocates for a more inclusive understanding of family structures and challenges the prevailing heteronormative discourse. The findings underscored the need for policy initiatives that safeguard the rights of LGBTQ + individuals and families, while fostering social acceptance and understanding within the Philippines’ cultural framework.

Too Muslim to Be Homosexual or Too Homosexual to Be Muslim: Belonging Experiences of British Homosexual Muslims

Abstract This article shows that British homosexual Muslims face rejection and identity conflict between their homosexuality and their Muslimness. The opposition between Islam and homosexuality has created a feeling of exclusion, illustrating the assumed incompatibility between being Muslim and being homosexual. Homosexual Muslims face religiously motivated homophobia rooted in the heteronormative precepts of Islam. In parallel, they face Islamophobic attitudes in which Islam is now used as a form of civilisational opposition to the British values of tolerance and inclusion and the wider homosexual community see it as a threat to their very existence. Nevertheless, the results show that the hostility of Muslims toward homosexuality is evolving, and the heteronormative discourses are now coexisting with more neutral and even homo-friendly approaches. A new bicultural belonging among homosexual Muslims is being constructed to address individual strategies of managing both identities and is fostering new interpretations of acceptance of different sexualities within Islam.

From the Margins to the Mainstream: Explicating and Validating Queer Readings Among Sexual Minority Youth

ABSTRACT Scholars posit that media texts are polysemic (i.e., open to multiple interpretations) with popular media representing a social institution within Western cultures that spreads dominant societal values, norms, and expectations. Due to their marginalized position within society, sexual minority individuals (i.e., LGBQ+) are frequently underrepresented by mainstream media messages. One way in which marginalized individuals can challenge the dominant, heteronormative discourse is through subversive in which individuals interpret messages against heteronormative ideals (i.e., queer readings). Across two studies, a reliable and valid measure of the uses and gratifications of queer readings was explicated; revealing a four-factor, 20-item scale. Results contribute to the entertainment media and fan studies literatures by providing an understanding of the utility of queer readings in the experiences and development of sexual minority individuals, as well as presents numerous future avenues for inquiry.

In Pursuit of Queer Inquiry with Turkish EFL Preservice Teachers

AbstractBased on queer critical literacies framework, this study describes an intervention that aimed to help preservice teachers identify and deconstruct heteronormative discourse in Turkish social and educational contexts. Through a local documentary that narrates the experiences of a Turkish transgender individual, preservice teachers critique the normal/abnormal binary as conditioned by social practices, power relations, and religion in Turkey. The study further explores the attitudes of preservice teachers towards incorporation of sexuality issues in the English classroom and in English language teaching programs with data from in‐class discussions and individual interviews conducted at three Turkish state universities. Certain methodological challenges I encountered during data collection are also presented to hopefully give insights to future researchers interested in exploring sexual diversity issues in similar settings. As for the findings, the study revealed that participants’ lived experiences of queer conversations with teacher educators enabled them to successfully identify and deconstruct heteronormative discourses in their programs. Their experiences as trainee teachers additionally showed that queer discussions, considered a taboo in the Turkish society, are inevitable in the English classroom. However, preservice teachers revealed certain reservations about how or whether they would adopt a queer friendly discourse in their future classrooms considering the strict government policies and high levels of religiosity in society. It is thus critical that (preservice) teachers in conservative communities be pedagogically prepared for future encounters of queer discussions to offer a respectful classroom environment for all learners. Queer critical literacies might be a useful framework for teacher educators to increase awareness of teachers about how dominant discourses may reinforce heteronormativity and how teachers could be agents of change by identifying and deconstructing such discourses to create a safe classroom environment for learners of diverse sexual identities.

‘Strengthening [the] family’ through adult education in Turkey: a critical discourse analysis of a family education programme

This paper discusses the scope of governmental interventions in families through adult education in the context of Turkey’s family-focused debates. The central question is to understand how ‘family’ is constructed in the family life education programme of the Ministry of Family and Social Services. Seven handbooks were chosen from the family education and communication module of the programme. Based on a critical discourse analysis of materials, we examined what textual devices and discursive practices were used to construct ‘family’ and what gendered messages were presented in the texts and visuals of the materials. This study revealed that the selected materials utilised several instruments to normalise the family as a privileged institution in society. In the texts, a heteronormative discourse with an emphasis on reproductivity was reinforced and no attention has been paid to diverse gender identities and family forms. The study also revealed that women were assigned as the primary care providers in the family. In this regard, it is argued that the lack of progressive or critical approaches to the conceptualisation of family limits the understanding of needs and educational practices available for families.

Girls Claiming Discursive Space within the Dominant Discourse on Gender Performativity: A Case Study from a Compulsory School in Iceland

ABSTRACT This article investigates how four teenage girls claim discursive space in a compulsory school in Iceland where the dominant discourse sustains traditional gender performances and (cis)heteronormativity. It also examines how the dominant discourse positions the girls and how they resist such positioning and position themselves. The analysis draws on an ethnographic study conducted in a compulsory school, consisting of observations in various spaces therein and interviews with 13–16-year-old students. The findings suggest that Iceland’s reputation as a gender-equality utopia, with a progressive, cutting-edge curriculum, has not fundamentally changed students’ or teachers’ day-to-day realities or lived experiences. That discrepancy manifested in hegemonic ideas in the discourse on gender performativity, which is deeply rooted and reinforced through ((cis)hetero) normative gender performances. The few female students who tried to find cracks in the (cis)heteronormative discourse in order to claim discursive space for alternative gender performances were positioned as being difficult, wilful subjects—as feminist killjoys—for in addressing those cracks they dared to disturb the dominant discourse on legitimate femininity.

Prep-Tok: a queer critical discourse analysis of TikToks regarding HIV-related pre-exposure prophylaxis

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) continues to present a public health problem, and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) offers a promising preventative intervention; however, its uptake remains low, so investigating determinants of use is essential. This article applies queer critical discourse analysis to a corpus of 121 TikToks sampled via the TikTok algorithm, coded and refined into three overarching content categories: ‘what makes a PrEP user?’, ‘what is PrEP as a drug?’, and ‘sexual health and HIV’. Examples from within these categories reveal four underlying discursive themes: (1) stigmatisation of HIV as a ‘gay disease’ with a poor prognosis; (2) stigmatisation of gay men as unsafe, high-risk and untrustworthy; (3) stigmatisation of PrEP as increasing ‘unsafe’ sexual practices; (4) poor healthcare and education gay men and other beneficiaries of PrEP. These themes are influenced by a broad spectrum of homophobic and heteronormative discourses available with specific examples reflecting parts of this spectrum from predominantly perpetuating to occasionally challenging. The findings report complementary evidence obtained from other media platforms yet offer a unique take while suggesting useful avenues for future public health messaging relating to PrEP which may be used to inform the next steps against HIV.

Provocative euphemism in pornographic film titles

AbstractFollowing a critical discourse-analytic approach, this study explores the role of euphemistic language in a corpus of titles of pornographic films designed for heterosexual male consumption that were nominated and awarded in the different categories of the AVN (Adult Video News) Awards, also known as “Oscars of Porn”, from 2015 to 2020. The analysis demonstrates that provocative euphemism contributes to the discursive representation of gender and sexual stereotypes that fall under a dominant heteronormative discourse in which female characters are represented both as victims of male dominance and as perverted, sex-crazed animals. This study also reveals that in the context of male supremacy that straight pornography seems to exalt, the sexist and misogynistic connotations that euphemistic references carry are used with a strategic purpose intended to attract the interest of pornography consumers, stimulate their curiosity, and ultimately make them buy, rent or stream the film.

‘I loved him. It was quite abusive, like young abuse’: troubling girls’ experiences of domestic violence and abuse while at school

Although largely defined and located as an adult issue, there is increased responsiveness to the fact that girls as young as 13 (Barter et al, 2009) are subjected to similar levels of violence and abuse in relationships to adult women, with comparable, if not greater deleterious effects. However, little is known about how young people understand and make sense of these experiences. This article presents findings from a study exploring girls’ understandings and experiences of violence and abuse in their teen relationships, while at school, through in-depth narrative interviews. The accounts demonstrate how the girls are confined and outmanoeuvred by culturally dominant heteronormative discourses of ‘relationships’ and ‘love’, thereby hindering their attempts to understand, make sense of, and identify their experiences as violent and abusive. The findings provide a nuanced understanding of the complexity, contradictions and acceptance of violence and abuse in young relationships: establishing the urgent need to reimagine heteronormative frameworks that hijack and normalise gendered discourses and render love, violence and abuse as concomitant. Young people need ways to critically explore dominant discourse in school contexts beyond the relationships and sex education curriculum and for relational violence to be reimagined within collaborative educational spaces.

A Critical Analysis of Heteronormative Discourses on Gender and Sexuality in the Jamaican Rock Music Scene

Historically, Jamaican culture has been positioned at odds with the development of LGBTQ rights. Though the locale has been making steps towards accepting different groups, its stalwart history of heterotypical male and female roles is still ingrained in the AfroCaribbean psyche. This paper provides a critical analysis of the construction of the homophobic and misogynistic discourses within the Jamaican rock music scene. Despite attempts to embrace cultural differences, members consistently adopted heterophobias towards gay men and women. Within the scene’s everyday discourse, women’s bodies were constantly objectified. Additionally, gay men remained simultaneously invisible and subjugated by hypermasculine anxieties. The collective philosophy of the scene suggested that the community was a safe haven from mainstream prejudices. However, this philosophy was an act of dark play which hid the group’s biases.

Diasporic Home: Existence of Widows in Bapsi Sidhwa’s Water

Water, published in 2006, brings to light the contentious issues with patriarchy, widowhood, and child prostitution in India prior to the partition. This essay focuses on how widows adjust to life in Ashram, a frequently visited destination on their migratory routes. The main protagonist in the novel Water, Chuyia, is an example of an immigrant who is compelled to abandon everything connected to their own culture and adopt the new standard of living in the host community. The author provides voice to oppressed women, especially widows, and demonstrates how “husbandless” women are stigmatized and suffer heinous abuse, which causes them to feel alienated. A close illustration of the caste systems in the political and historical frameworks of the novel will be done in order to discuss the identity crisis of the diasporic character in Water. This will reveal the fundamental power relations among male-dominated heteronormative discourses that produce male dominance and make women’s dominance a suitable cultural norm. I contend that widows’ homemaking is a dynamic process that entails continual concern in connection to identity performance and adjustments in this research, rather than being a static replica of their prior houses. I use the concepts of cultural authenticity and identity development to support modern notions of the diasporic home. My study proposes a fundamental tool for analyzing widows, which is an immigrant tale, and gives a novel perspective that undermines facile associations between homemaking and established identities.

Reflecting on Sexuality Education in Teacher Education: Using a Life History Methodology of a Same-Sex Desiring Male Foundation Phase Teacher

Foundation Phase (FP) classrooms are not immune to incidents directly related to sexuality. Sexuality education, which is part of the FP life skills curriculum, is an essential part of the holistic development of FP learners. Studies about FP sexuality education report that FP teachers' formal approach to sexuality education is often restrictive. In this article, we use life history methodology to explore a single case study of a same-sex desiring male FP teacher in the Eastern Cape, South Africa to make meaning of how incidental moments that relate to sexuality education are addressed. Applying a feminist post-structural lens, we discuss how the participant and the participant's colleagues implicitly perpetuate heteronormative discourses in their pedagogical approaches to the teaching of sexuality education. The topic of sexuality features in one South African university's FP teacher education curriculum with the intention of raising pre-service teacher awareness about FP sexuality education. This research allowed us to reflect on the redesign of this fourth-year FP life skills module and to reimage the learning experiences offered to FP pre-service teachers.