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Masculinity and Sexual Positioning in Men Who Have Sex With Men
Wright, Eddie Jenia
Wright, Eddie Jenia
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Abstract
For many men, it is important to appear masculine. This can be complicated, however, because people conceptualize masculinity in multiple—sometimes contradictory—ways. This can be especially complicated for men who have sex with men (MSM), given that having sex with men violates some gender norms.This study was an investigation of how MSM conceptualize masculinity, exploring the following research questions (RQs):RQ1: How did participants conceptualize the relationship between masculinity and femininity—as opposite ends of a bipolar scale (consistent with traditional M–F models), as independent dimensions (consistent with Bem’s model), or in another way, such as rejecting these concepts? RQ2: Are participants’ feelings of masculinity influenced by engaging in insertive (topping) or receptive (bottoming) penile–anal intercourse? RQ3: How do participants explain their feeling of masculinity when they top or bottom?Participants were recruited via sexuality-related websites and online communities. The final sample of 256 MSM, ages 18–80, completed an online survey. Participants rated their own masculinity and femininity; rated how masculine they feel when topping and bottoming, compared to how they usually feel; and explained their ratings, using an open-ended format.RQ1: Quantitative ratings and qualitative responses indicated that most participants conceptualized masculinity and femininity as opposite ends of a bipolar continuum, but some conceptualized masculinity and femininity as independent constructs, and others rejected the usefulness of these constructs.RQ2: The mean ratings for the sample indicated that, consistent with the stereotype, participants reported feeling somewhat more masculine than usual when topping and slightly less masculine than usual when bottoming. However, only 32.0% of participants reported this stereotypic pattern. Others reported varied patterns (e.g., no effect for topping or bottoming, 28.1%; more masculine for both topping and bottoming, 10.2%; less masculine for both topping and bottoming, 2.3%; etc.).RQ3: Some explanations reflected stereotypical themes (e.g., dominance and submission; active versus passive roles; responsibility versus vulnerability; parallels with heterosexual intercourse). Other explanations were counter to stereotypes (e.g., insecurities about their ability to top; the sensitivity required to be a good top; the strength required to bottom). Some explained that their masculinity was unrelated to sexual positions; others rejected the concept of masculinity.This study demonstrated the utility of going beyond group means and investigating patterns of results and qualitative explanations of quantitative ratings. Even when group means reflected stereotypes, a more in-depth exploration challenged these stereotypes and demonstrated the importance of examining contextual components of men’s experiences of masculinity.
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Date
2023-01-01
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University of Kansas
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This item contains archived web content.
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1011072_1.pdf
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- Embargoed until 2173-05-31
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Keywords
Clinical psychology, Gender role attitudes, Masculinity, Men who have sex with men, Same sex intercourse, Sexual positioning, Sexuality