Hegemonic Gender Norms Research Articles

Idol Speculation: Queer Identity and a Media-Imposed Lens of Detection

This article examines the media speculation and discussion surrounding the sexuality of 2009 American Idol contestant Adam Lambert. Introducing the concept of a “lens of detection,” it argues that the media coverage portrayed Lambert as a closeted gay man and encouraged viewers to watch his onscreen performances for clues that supposedly confirmed this identity. As Lambert remained queerly ambiguous in the series' broadcasts, the media's insistence on his gayness functioned to close off the disruption that he posed to the gay/straight binary as a gender-nonconforming performer who refused to disclose his sexuality. This media-imposed lens of detection has significant implications for how audiences may be positioned to understand queer representations in media texts: by pushing viewers to make sense of nonnormative performances of self through hegemonic gender norms, it limits the possibilities for representations to challenge—and discourages viewers from thinking outside of—dominant understandings of sexuality.

The Homosocial Construction of Alternative Masculinities: Men in Indie Rock Bands

This study explores the construction of masculinities and homosocial relationships within alternative subcultures. Through in-depth interviews, I researched men in “indie” rock bands that were redefining homosocial relationships in order to construct alternative masculinities within the indie rock subculture. The study's findings demonstrate that while the men upheld certain hegemonic gender norms inside and outside the scene, within the subculture they report constructing alternative masculinities through homosocial interactions and gender strategies involving their bodies and performances. This study provides an example of how gender is fluid within specific social locations and contexts. Furthermore, it emphasizes the idea that multiple masculinities are constructed within society and that homosocial relations can be places for challenging hegemonic masculinity rather than reinforcing them.

Influencia del contexto sociocultural en la percepción del riesgo y la negociación de protección en hombres homosexuales pobres de la costa peruana

This paper focuses on risk, conceived not as an individual action, but considering its social dimension, analyzing the various forms in the socio-cultural context related to internalized homophobia and hegemonic gender norms that allow barriers to be constructed in risk perception. Such barriers hinder negotiation and protection among homosexual men that have adopted a female gender identity, living in low-income barrios of Lima and Trujillo, Peru. Risk perception is analyzed on the socio-cultural plane, allowing one to explain the limited negotiating capacity of this population, even though they have extensive knowledge of HIV/AIDS and its consequences.

“Female Energy at the Rock”: A Feminist Exploration of Female Rock Climbers

Rock climbing has been traditionally defined as a “masculine” sport (Young, 1997). The experiences of women in this sport have rarely been studied. The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences of high-level female rock climbers. Qualitative analysis of interviews with eight high-level female climbers (ages 19 to 30 years) revealed three general themes: (a) compliance to hegemonic gender norms, (b) questioning hegemonic gender norms, and (c) resisting hegemonic gender norms. A discussion and analysis of these themes suggests that these female rock climbers engaged in a process of negotiated resistance as they attained a climbing identity, gained acceptance into the climbing subculture, and increased performance in the sport of rock climbing.

"We Don't Sleep around like White Girls Do": Family, Culture, and Gender in Filipina American Lives

Au Etats-Unis, les immigres Philippins resistent a differentes formes de discrimination a travers l'affirmation de certaines specificites culturelles. Par exemple, la chastete des femmes avant le mariage est presentee comme une resistance au modele de la societe dominante blanche americaine, mais ceci se fait au prix de l'autonomie des femmes et renforce le pouvoir patriarcal dans ces communautes