Saturday, November 27, 2010

Locker Room Talk

We’ve all experienced it in one form or another. Whether personally, via rumors, or through your favorite prime time teenage drama, we all know what the boys’ locker room is famous for: sex talk. The space may not necessarily be a literal locker room, but just any teenage male dominated space, such as the weight lifting room C.J. Pascoe observes in her book Dude, You’re a Fag. The weight lifting room is a place where a male student can not only demonstrate their physical aptitude, but attempt to prove themselves the most sexually accomplished as well. The boys tell eccentric and increasingly violent tails of their exploits, they repeatedly account stories that did not accentuate any sort of pleasure, either given or received, but instead bragged about their ability to make their female partners bleed, or in some cases defecate. One student, Rich, proudly recalled a time he had caused an ex-girlfriend to cry and bleed. He bragged that he “popped her wall”, leading her to have “to have stitches.” Another boy told a story about a friend, who had anal sex with “a drunk chick”, who proceeded to “shit all over the place.” These anecdotes were met mostly with laugher, occasionally with moans, and often with a few mutterings of “gross.” These accounts are more than just harmless teenage boys bonding exuberantly over being sexually active teenage boys; they are meant to draw attention to a boy’s ability to have control over a woman’s body. They purposefully emphasize what they did to their partners, how they forced them to bleed, how they caused them to lose control of their bowels, of their bodies. They didn’t really discuss having sex with their girlfriends, or any pleasure. This violent emphasis is how the students demonstrate their sexual domination over women to their male peers.

Women in the United States have been fighting for equal rights for the past 162 years. To this day, not much improvements have been made. According to the U.S Census, women only make about 75.7 cents for every dollar a man earns and it may worsen since the U.S is in an economic recession with high unemployment rates. Not only do women face inequality in the labor force, but also in the social realm. Many stereotypes on women have not changed. Women are still viewed as weaker and less competent then men are. There are many reasons to why inequality between the gender still exist. The definition of masculinity may be the reason to explain the inequality between women and men.

“They were having sex and ‘she said it started to hurt. I said we can stop, and she said no. Then she said it again and she started crying, I told her to get off! Told her to get off! Finally I took her off,’ making a motion like he was lifting her off him. Then he said there was ‘blood all over me! Blood all over her! Popped her wall! She had to have stitches” (pg ).

This was taken out of context from a book called “Dude You’re a Fag,” where the author, C. J. Pascoe questioned the word “masculinity” in the realm of high school students. For a year and a half Pascoe followed and interviewed students who were attending River High School to find the meaning of masculinity from the male population in the school. To many high school boys, having dominance or having control of their lives is a sign of masculinity. In order to prove themselves as masculine, sex experience is often the topic shared among each other. Many of their sex experience portray the opposite sex, girls, as an object that is being controlled by them. The excerpt above provides an excellent sex experience boys share among each other.


Many subjects in Pascoe’s field study in River High School have had several sexual relationships and are considered by their friends as a “man.” But as Pascoe stated in her book, girls that have several sexual relationships is considered a “slut.” For males, having lots of sex with different females is accepted by the society. While females having sexual intercourse with more then one male is viewed negatively on. Why is that? Because the body of a female “still serve as proof of masculinity” (pg 92). As mentioned before, even to high school boys having the control over the action is very important to them and is defined as masculinity. The dominance of every action males involve themselves in is considered masculine.


Until the definition of masculinity in the society is changed, inequality between the two gender will still remain.


Compulsive Heterosexuality


Adolescent boys are always portrayed in popular as lusting over girls, and having (or yearning for) sex. Movies such as Superbad show “playful” male banter where boys discuss sleeping with girls. Popular culture simply depicts male traits without fully questioning why they do these things. Why do they feel the need to hook up with lots of girls and have lots of sex? What is the root of the sexual behaviors that are attributed to boys?

CJ Pasco observed a high school in California to see how gender and sexuality play out in a high school environment. She found that masculinity was something that had to be earned. A boy could not simply be masculine because of he was born with male genitalia. He had to constantly prove he was masculine by displaying typical masculine behaviors. If a boy did not act “masculine”, he’d be called fag. Pascoe used the term compulsive heterosexuality to describe the behaviors and interactions that the high schoolers displayed. This term was based upon Adrienne Rich’s work. Rich stated that heterosexuality does not simply describe whom a person loves, but is something that affects every day life. Heterosexuality is ingrained in every day practices. It is the way boys use their sexuality in order to show that they have power over women. Pasco observed this behavior in three main ways; discussing sex, exerting physical power over girls bodies, and “getting girls”.

For the high school boys, it was very important to let other knows that they had had sex. Having sex was an activity that was deemed “masculine” therefore, all boys needed to have done it. If they let others know they were sexually inexperienced, they were derided for not being manly enough. Having sex was the ultimate masculine activity because it showed that they were definitely attracted to girls. It also showed that they had power over girls. If a boy had not had sex, he had to lie about it.

“Getting girls” is the term Pascoe used to describe the various ways boys would try to get girls to “go out” with them, or hook up with them. For boys, “getting girls” was an important masculine behavior. It proved that they were attracted to females (like having sex) and showed that they had power and dominance over girls. Girls were seen as objects that could be dominated. Boys in the high school thought that they had a right to a girl. If they desired a girl, they believed that they deserved the girl. If a girl did not repudiate a guy’s advances, she was considered a whore by the rejected male. The rejected male had to show that there was something inherently wrong with the girl, so that he could not be blamed for having the girl reject him. Being rejected by a girl was something that could threaten a man’s masculine status, because it showed they could not dominate and exert power over a female. Girls were frequently subjected to sexual harassment, due to guys feeling the need to “get girls”. They were kissed against their will, and often had provocative comments said while they walked down the halls.
Furthermore, guys had to show display their masculinity in the ways they interacted with girls physically. They did this by interacting with girls physically in ways that showed they were dominant. For example, one boy wrestled a girl. Another shook a girl’s head multiple times. These physical interactions displayed male dominance. It made girls helpless.

All three of the behaviors outlined above showed male dominance and female helplessness and passivity. A boy proved he was masculine by exerting power. Women were objects that boys used to exert power. Compulsive heterosexuality was constantly displayed at the Rivers High School. It belittled the status of the girls, while reinforcing male dominance. It was such a part of the culture at Rivers that sexual harassment was the norm. Male dominance and female oppression were seen everywhere in the school.

Superbad-even nerds participate in compulsive heterosexuality.

Lets Take Another Look At High School

High school is often looked back upon as a nostalgic four years when so many of our important (albeit, awkward) transition into adulthood took place. It was a bittersweet four years that many of us dreaded, but few can remember exactly why. As such, we are inclined to look back at high school as a kind of necessary evil. We were teased, we were bullied, we probably got our hearts broken for the first time, and we tried desperately to fit in. But despite all of that, it was fun, and we were teenagers, we can’t help it, right? Well, maybe. In C.J. Pascoe’s book Dude, You’re a Fag teenage sexuality (perhaps the most awkward and painful part of high school) is examined through a new lens. It’s easy to think of the ways teenagers date and interact with one another as inevitable and blame it on the “raging hormones” we have all become so familiar with. In her book, Pascoe argues that teenage sexuality is not just something that happens, it’s reinforced through actions and events both initiated by the student body and the administration.

Take, for instance, the phenomena of boys trying to “get” girls. We’ve all seen this: when some teacher, coach or parent isn’t demanding the teenage boy’s attention where does it go? It goes to finding that girl to take to the dance, flirt with, or simply, to have sex with. We see this as just another example of boys being boys. But not Pascoe, she observed this “hunt” in action, and according to her research, claims that this competitive edge that has been placed on dating is actually apart of a bigger picture of boys working to prove their masculinity.

Along with conforming to traditional images of masculinity like playing sports, acting tough, or being independent, getting girls is seen as the ultimate way to show how much of a man you really are. The more girls you can either have sex with or get to like you, the more of a man you are. Thus, boys who never have a girlfriend or other relationship with women (whether or not women are they want to) are the least masculine and therefore the least cool. Remember that popular guy in high school? Chances are, he and all the ladies lining up for a date. Or, at least made it seems that way.


Dude, Be A Man

In light of recent coverage of gay teen suicides, the (liberal) nation has been up in arms about anti-gay bullying. Homophobia is rampant in high schools. Walk down the halls of any public school – you will probably hear “fag!” or “that’s so gay,” five to ten times on your journey from the English hall to the Math wing.

But is it really homophobia that is to blame? Dude, You’re a Fag by C.J. Pascoe delves into uncovering the “fag discourse” taking place in River High, a public school in California. In the chapter for which the book was named, Pascoe opens with a scene from the school’s annual Creative and Performing Arts Happening. One of the students, Brian, tells a group of elementary students that, “There’s a faggot over there! Come look!” The group follows Brian to the end of the hall where his friend Dan is displaying exaggerated gestures of effeminate behavior. Brian yells, “Look at the faggot! Watch out! He’ll get you!” and the younger boys flee in terror.

This is example is significant to Pascoe’s case, showing how fag or faggot is used as a mechanism of discipline. The central idea of the “fag discourse” simply uses homophobia as a means to express what is undesirable – being unmasculine. Pascoe states: “Homophobia is too facile a term with which t describe the deployment of fag as an epithet… Invoking homophobia to describe the way boys aggressively tease each other overlooks the powerful relationship between masculinity and this sort of insult.”

She then further points out that fag is a term used almost exclusively for boys. The meanings are highly gendered. Though girls have been witnessed to use the term gay as a synonym for anything negative, fag implies incompetence or a lack of masculinity. By pointing out another boy’s status as fag would shore up one’s dominance and display of masculinity.

This is to say that homophobia does not exist: “Most guys explained their or others’ dislike of fags by claiming that homophobia was synonymous with being a guy. For instance, Keith, a white soccer-playing senior, explained, ‘I think guys are just homophobic.’” The preoccupation still exists, though, with masculinity.

The Heterosexual Matrix


“The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it
when you look out your window, or when you turn on your television. You can feel it
when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes.”
-Morpheus, The Matrix





The Heterosexual Matrix surrounds everyone, yet most of are not fully aware of itʼs effect on us. C.J. Pascoe defines it as being “the public ordering of masculinity and femininity through meanings and practices of sexuality.” From a young age these constructs in society teach people to link sex and gender together. Boys are equal to masculinity, and girls are equal to femininity.


C.J. Pascoe, a sociologist and author, studied schools and their role as a sexualized and gendered institution. The school creates an environment were sex and gender canʼt been seen as separate. River High, the particular school where Pascoe did her research, has many examples of formal and informal gendered meanings and practices. In one class discussion the concept of marriage is used because of itʼs “assumed universality.” In other words, marriage in our society is automatically seen as a union between a man and a woman of similar age. No one needs to explain it, everyone automatically understands it because the Heterosexual Matrix has taught them this. At River Highʼs graduation boys wear black robes, while girls wear yellow ones. Photos posted in one teachers room were all boy-girl pairs from proms and other formal events. These practices create “an environment in which gender-differentiated heterosexuality [is] celebrated and made a focal point.” Schools are just one example of institutions rich with pro-heterosexual meanings and practices.

However, sex and gender are not one and the same. Sexual identity is determined by an individualʼs physical genitalia, while gender is regardless of physical makeup and based on whether an individual is masculine or feminine. The Heterosexual Matrix does not project anything but heterosexuality. Students are not given the choice to decide whether they want to wear black or yellow robes to graduation based on what gender they see themselves as. There are no photos of non-heterosexual couples posted in the teacherʼs room to represent the many different types of sexuality. The Heterosexual Matrix that we live in teaches us these concepts of heterosexuality and then we reinforce them and pass them onto other people through our own words and actions.

“I’m No Fag”

Does calling someone a “fag” change the way you perceive masculinity? At least in the sphere of hetero teen males, according to C.J. Pascoe (Dude, You’re A Fag, 2007), the answer is yes.
Any boy can be accused of being a “fag” even temporarily, if he fails at tasks that indicate a lack of masculine prowess. As a result, the fear of being labeled as a “fag” is so great that boys conform to the standard notions of masculinity to avoid the “fag” association at all costs. To further one’s masculinity, boys harass each other “in a verbal game of hot potato, each careful to deflect the insult by hurling it at someone else” (Pascoe 60). Pascoe established this aspect of behavior as the “fag discourse”; a form of social control that exists only in the language of straight males. The “specter of the fag” reminds the boys of the fluidity of the “fag”, in that any of them could become fags if they aren’t traditionally masculine.

Though it seems as though you could get called a fag for “anything”, as one teen from Pascoe’s study claims, there are certain actions, behavior and physical positioning that place one in danger of being called a fag. For example, the concern with maintaining one’s physical appearance is something only fags would do. Straight teenage boys would purposely wear tattered, muddied “beaters” to prove that they are “real” guys who aren’t the least worried about their appearances. Similarly, they sported loose, baggier outfits to assert their “straightness” and masculinity. Since only fags groom themselves regularly, straight guys found ways to differentiate themselves from the fags and distance themselves from the “fag identity”. In the same framework, dancing is practice that places boys’ masculinity in jeopardy. Boys would never dance together without the intention of embarrassing each other. Dancing too close to the extent that contact is sufficiently made also makes boys more susceptible to the “fag discourse”.

While the “fag discourse” seems only to permeate the social sphere of straight males, the fag slur is only targeted at white males, because African-American males are so “hyper-sexualized” in society. Relatively speaking, white males are likely to be called fags than black men simply because of their heightened masculinity. In a sense, “white” itself now contains a notion of femininity; therefore, white males feel the constant need to compulsively hurl the term “fag” at one another and engage in “fag discourse” to assert their masculinity, whereas black males have ability to engage in rituals deemed “fag-like”, such as dancing and grooming, without being labeled a fag.

The notion that the specter of the fag does indeed, contain racial implications is understandably hard to swallow; yet the idea of the “fag” as such a pervasive influence on straight guys that it compels them to police their own actions in accordance with the notion of masculinity is all the more daunting to every heterosexual male who has had at least one encounter with the “fag”.

Bullying versus Discrimination

The “jocks” making fun of the “geeks” has been a long-standing part of attending school in the U.S. and is seen as just part of growing up. However, what is a more recent development is society’s homophobia transcending through the school doors. Within the past few months various accounts of what has been called bullying have been rampant in the news. From 14-year-old boys to college students, teens across the country are being tormented for identifying as gay or being accused of homosexual behaviors, and the result is suicide. In most schools there are not consequences for teasing, especially when it is only verbal abuse. Why as a society do we think that only sticks and stones can break our bones but words will never hurt us? Clearly through the current media attention, homophobic verbal teasing and taunting is breaking not only bones, but also the hearts of families and friends. Yet as these suicides become more popular in the news media, journalists have started to clump this phenomenon together with bullying in general. I suggest that through C. J Pascoe’s book, Dude You’re A Fag, we can look at how these recent homophobic suicides are not just part of bullying in general, but are part of the institutionalization of homophobic discrimination throughout society and specifically in the education system.



Pascoe discusses how the word fag is used among boys in place of dumb, stupid, annoying, or feminine. I suggest that the socialization of the term fag is where the problem lies. Sure kids are being teased, taunted, and tormented, which are all characteristics of bullying, but there is a major difference between being teased for you hairstyle and being teased for your sexual identity. Right now many people, especially celebrities, are trying to reach out and show support for those who have been affected by the recent suicides. For example Madonna, Kim Kardashian, and Obama, to name a few, have openly discussed their own experiences of being bullied in school. In spite of this, all of them relate their teasing to being a nerd, or not being in sports. But this type of bullying is way different than the homophobic ridicule gay teens and are facing today.
Our society needs to realize that mocking one’s identity is vastly different then teasing a teen’s academic or extra-curricular interests. Homophobic abuse goes far beyond the school doors and out to the real world where homophobic discrimination lurks at many corners. For example, employers can fire an employee for openly identifying as gay, most are excluded from military service, and in most states gays don’t have the right to get married. This is a serious problem, which I consider to be very different than being picked on about your weight or you athletic ability. I was personally bullied in junior high, and I will not un-validate that those were the worse 2 years of my life, but what I’m suggesting is that homophobic discrimination is its own separate battle society needs to fight different then bullying in general. Through Pascoe’s fag discourse she illustrates that these terms hold more than just simple discrimination, “To call someone gay or fag is like the lowest thing you can call someone. Because it’s like saying that you are nothing” (55). When will society stand up and fight against this injustice that is causing on average 500 gay teens a year to commit suicide?

Racializing The Fag

The word “fag” can mean many things depending on who is saying it and who it is directed at. In River High the term had a general definition of weakness and lack of masculinity. The term was racialized, meaning different races (mainly the white males and the African American males) used it in various ways (this also overlaps with cultures). The African American boys did not use it nearly as frequently as the white boys. In fact, they teased each other for being white more often then for being a fag. In America, African American males are hypersexualized, making white males more feminine in comparison. In some ways, the African American kids calling each other white was equivalent to the white kids calling each other fag.

The first main difference in meaning of the word fag was related to dancing. For the African American kids, dancing illustrated that the person was part of a cultural community -- the hip-hop community and identity. Really good dancers were also very popular. Dancing was a way of communicating. The boys would teach each other moves, show off a little, and also have fun dancing together. The white boys could only pay attention to the physical contact of males with other males, indicating a lack of masculinity.

The second difference was regarding the way males treated their appearance. By paying attention to clothing and carefully putting yourself together is a large part of relating to the hip-hop identity for African Americans. Pascoe notes it as the “cool pose” – appearance as being included in a cultural group, racial group, and also class status. The white boys (also more generally of a high economic status) are not supposed to care one bit how they look, otherwise they would fall into the fag position. Looking dirty was their choice, and coming from a lower class background is not something you would want to represent and be proud of.

The way the white boys and the African American boys interacted with one another and expressed themselves came from the things they learned growing up, which are largely based on their racial and cultural backgrounds, class status, and the environment they grew up in.

Bumping and Grinding

If you went to a public high school in the United States, you probably went to a school dance at some point in time. There is a lot of hype, perpetuated both by students and faculty at high schools, about dance parties, which C. J. Pascoe’s ethnographic research frames as “rituals” – essentially, events that people use to sanction shared beliefs and values. High school dance events, such as one dance at that Pascoe studied at River High School in California, reflects one major type of ritual.


At the dances themselves, a double standard exists between male and female outfits. High school girls tend to skimp on full skin coverage, where boys wear baggy pants and shirts that reveal much less skin than the girls’ clothing. The popular music played at school dances reinforces this standard: lyrics are about women’s bodies, and students often sing along, especially the girls, who yell out the chorus to Nelly's "Hot In Here": "I am gettin' so hot/I wanna take my clothes off." Supervising faculty members allow very sexual music to play at dances, but when students' actual dancing becomes too sexual, their activity is more heavily monitored. For example, adult supervisors remove chairs from the dance floor to discourage teens grinding or participating in "lap dancing"-type activity. School staff members even threaten to eject students from the event for their inappropriate dancing. Even though the sexual hostility in music is overlooked, actual sexual activity between teens is, presumably, unacceptable. As a result, faculty members are expected to intervene.


However, upon talking to faculty members, Pascoe has found that - at dances, at least - their bark is worse than their bite. According to the staff members who supervise the event, only one student has ever been escorted off the premises of River High for dancing too promiscuously. This student "pinned a boy against a wall, backed up into him, and bent all the way over, rubbing her behind into the boy's groin," and after being asked multiple times to stop, she was removed from the dance. The boy she was dancing with, however, was allowed to stay. Despite what adults at River High preach about teen sexuality, they will continually make seemingly benign jokes with kids about their sexual activity with each other. For example, two of the school's vice principals called out to one boy/girl couple, "You two goin' to a hotel or what?" The nature of these jokes may be light-hearted, but they only serve to perpetuate the double standard of perceived sexuality versus actual sexuality.


Ultimately, high school dance events not only reflect but also reinforce gender inequality among teenagers, as well as adult perceptions of teenage sexuality. Both students and faculty are responsible for carrying on these standards.

A How-To on Achieving Masculinity


This is something you cannot touch, but can see, can’t smell, but can sense. What is this mysterious thing?

It is masculinity. According to Dude You’re a Fag by C.J. Pascoe, masculinity is something an individual does through his or her actions and is not necessarily associated with only men. Instead, masculinity is a form of control and dominance revealed through actions in both men and women, girls and boys.

Pascoe argues that there are two central methods that help to achieve masculinity. One is through “fag discourse” and the other is through sharing wild stories of sex also known as sex talks. But first, what is a “fag?” According to Pascoe, a fag is someone who lacks masculinity and control, is weak and is usually related to boys. In some cases, fag is seen more as a violation to the stereotypical “macho-man” male rather than a homophobic-related term.

Fag discourse, as Pascoe calls it, is similar to playing hot potato, but with words. Essentially, it is verbal flinging of the derogatory term, “fag” at one another in order to dissociate that word from him or herself. The word “fag”, used as a derogatory term to lessen someone’s masculinity, is a fluid identity, and it does not have to be permanent. In most cases, as long as the individual can throw this insult back at another person, then that person is no longer associated with being a fag and is thus made more masculine or be able to retain that masculinity. For example, Pascoe notices this fag discourse occurs in a lot of high school concentrated boy social groups. In an example in her book, there is a group of boys in the auto shop class, a class primarily made up of boys, who regularly call each other fags when another “messes up.” Turning the wrench the wrong way can be labeled as “fag” behavior as one student explains in Pascoe’s book. This is because the boy shows incompetence or a lack of control with oneself, an act that lessens ones’ masculinity. In some instances, this fag name calling game is a way for boys to check themselves, or police other boys into not wanting to become associated with the undesirable label of “fag.” By calling out one as fag, this idea of being a fag is something to stay away from. Therefore individuals will tend to call out others who are producing that behavior in order for them to make sure they will not do it again.






Pascoe states that the second method to achieve masculinity is through heterosexist discourses. In short, these “sex talks” are discussion based on ways in which another person can dominate or control another sexually. In case of high school boys where it is most prominently exemplified in Pascoe’s work, boys would often share their sexual adventures. Regardless of whether they may or may not be true, these fantasies depict how the boys can control their own bodies, the girls’ bodies, and are able to make them do uncontrollable things. One boy exclaims how he was able to make a girl bleed a ridiculous amount during intercourse, and another describes the time his brother had intercourse with a drunken woman and she passed gas throughout the whole session. These stories help show themselves and other boys their ability to exercise control and dominance, a behavior very much related to masculinity.

Pascoe’s research on achieving masculinity through fag and heterosexist discourses in a high school environment is universal. Next time you are in a high school and see a group of boys, listen closely to their conversation and realize that what they are saying, are indeed used to boost their masculinity levels. You’ll be surprised how vulgar and transparent their behavior is.

Girls can be tomboys but boys can’t be sissies.

Many girls act like boys, it is something that is seen all over not just in one particular high school or in one country. When asked many females will acknowledge that they once were a tomboy. It seems as though it is more common than not for a female to go through this sort of phase. The thing that is thought to be uncommon though is if this lasts for longer than just a phase. “Who was a tomboy as a child? Michael Messner (2004b) noted that women raised their hands more often than men did when he asked, who was a sissy?” (Pascoe pg. 117) this brings up an interesting perspective on male masculinity verses female femininity. This shows that it is more widely accepted for a female to deviate from female tendencies than a man to show a lack of masculinity; it is normal for women and girls to try and be more like a man then for men to try and be more like a woman. This in turn promotes superiority in masculine qualities instead of promoting the true character and allowing those characteristics to be defined as feminine instead of masculine. “Instead of redefining girlhood as tough and powerful, these tomboy stories belittle normative femininity and celebrate masculinity.” (Pascoe) Why is it so frowned upon for boys to play dress up, or play with dolls? Does that infer femininity is inferior to masculinity?

This trend of a double standard can be seen throughout at River High School and all around the country. The idea that women have a different standard than men. At River High School, lesbians were regarded as acceptable. “Guys like it for girls. Guys will see two lesbians and they’ll be like Yeah! Then when guys see two guys they’re like –Uughh!” (Pascoe 119) Where have the lines been created, and who has been given the authority to create these stigmas and standards? These double standards are created and publicized as early as when people begin to figure out who they are. So what if girls want to play football? So what if boys want to play with dolls? So what if a man wants to date another man, or so what if a woman wants to date another woman? The point is the answer should be so what? But for many the answer is that’s wrong.

Gender Maneuvering: What it is and How it Works

In social institutions—especially high schools—gender roles, i.e. the distinctions between “acceptable” male and female behavior, are clear-cut and well defined. Dress codes, the rules of social events, sports, and other practices differentiate guys and girls. This creates certain student identities within the school, and seems to be the school’s way of telling the students, “Hey, you’re supposed to be heterosexual!”
C.J. Pascoe noted in her book, Dude, You’re a Fag, that the student body at River High (the California high school where she conducted her study) seemed almost obsessed with male masculinity—the idea that guys must be sports-y and tough at all times in order to be considered “truly male.” This meant dressing and behaving a certain way, and failure to do this would result in merciless taunting.
Though this show of masculinity was usually true only for the male population, there were some girls who were also able to portray themselves as masculine while still fitting into the school’s social climate. This was seen in two particular groups: the Basketball Girls, and the Gay/Straight Alliance (GSA) Girls. They managed to accomplish this by engaging in gender maneuvering, which is: “the way groups act to manipulate the relations between masculinity and femininity as others commonly understand them” (Pascoe, 116). In this way, the Basketball Girls and the GSA Girls were able to take the focus of masculinity off the male body and transpose it onto their own, through the way they dressed, acted, and behaved.
Classmates viewed the Basketball Girls as girls who acted like guys: the way they dressed (in a hip-hop style), their athleticism, and their raucous behavior all affirmed this. Most students thought they were fun to be around, if a little loud. The GSA Girls also saw themselves as masculine; though most dressed like “typical girls,” their behavior and the way they spoke about their masculinity set them outside the “norm.” Unlike the Basketball Girls, however, the GSA Girls did not receive the same amount of peer admiration.
Gender maneuvering sets up a paradox between guys and girls; women are allowed to be masculine, while boys who portray themselves as even slightly feminine are likely to be attacked and scorned. Even as children, “tomboy” girls are adorable, while boys who like wearing pink or dressing up as princesses are usually ridiculed. This is no different at River High. The Basketball Girls were loud, rambunctious teens who “acted like guys.” This display of masculinity allowed the girls to adopt a gender role that would have been otherwise inaccessible, and it was only by assuming a typical male outlook on masculinity that they were welcomed into “the brotherhood.” They successfully embodied the idea of gender maneuvering. The GSA Girls, though not traditionally feminine, did not adopt masculinity in the same way the Basketball Girls did; while their peers did not view them as masculine, they saw themselves this way. For boys, gender maneuvering is out of the question, as seen in Ricky’s case. Ricky, who was openly gay, wore long hair extensions, mascara, and sometimes a skirt. His choices resulted in endless taunting and harassment, and eventually he dropped out of school.
This inability for any male to feel comfortable expressing himself in a high school setting embodies the one-way flow of gender maneuvering. Girls can apparently be masculine, but guys cannot be feminine.

Who’s the Faggot?

Faggot. Who is it? You are, if you are a high school male. Stepping into the halls of any high school in America, you can hear this term flying around out of people’s mouths. In the lunch room, locker room, parking lot and yes, even in class rooms. C.J. Pascoe did just this study and found that the fag is everywhere.


What is a fag? Generally, people think of fag in relation to sexual preference, or in other words, gay. Sexual preference actually has nothing to do with the use of fag. Completely heterosexual boys are labeled with fag. Fag is not living up to the standard of masculinity. “Fag” is a weakness in masculinity. Teenage boys’ lives are filled with being masculine from ultra-masculine sports such as football to objectification of women’s bodies. At any time the word fag can descend upon them. This reminder to be masculine happens for many reasons.
Pascoe found that faggot covers a wide range of actions. For example, at lunch if the lunchmeat falls out of the sandwich, he’s a fag. Or if boys’ bodies get too close, they’re fags. Or if the boys care too much about how they look, fag. Clothing especially distinguishes a faggot. Boys will purposely look dirty as to be masculine. To purposely not look clean is to be masculine but to care if you look good is to be a fag. For example, in auto shop class (an area dominated by all men) the boys work with dirty and greasy materials. By the end of the class period, their white t-shirts and jeans are all dirty, covered in grease. An area is provided to change into clean clothes, but instead these boys decide to stay dirty to physically demonstrate they don’t care what they look like and therefore are not a faggot.
Faggots extend beyond physical appearance though. A huge area of the fag is performances. This is best seen in dancing. A boy who dances and does so well or in all serious is labeled a fag. Boys also cannot have too close physical contact or they are deemed weak.
All of these examples are of faggots in a high school. But only for a white boy. Fag is actually a racialized disciplinary mechanism. The ways in which a white boy can be a faggot is completely different from how an African American boy can act. Fag is consistently a white term. The way white boys’ used “fag”, blacks used “white”. For instance, the African Americans at the high school Pascoe studied where admired for their style. It was cool to look good. An especially strong symbol of masculinity is the white sneakers. Even the slightest scuff on the shoes would make the boy weak, not a fag. Similarly, black teen boys are admired for their dance skills while the white boy is a faggot.



So, the fag is only the white weak boys. Fag does not carry across the race line and does not carry the same disciplinary actions for different races. A boy must learn to become a man and this begins when they are young and is strongly disciplined in high school. The “man” must be strong and masculine, but that masculinity is different for different races. Faggot does not carry across race boundaries.



It’s one lazy weekday afternoon and you’re stuck at home just lying around. Since you’re doing nothing you turn on the T.V. and flip through some channels. Re-runs, re-runs, re-runs, re-runs, oh wait could it be? Is that Ellen? Yes it is! It’s Ellen DeGeneres with her own talk show on national television. Everybody knows Ellen! She’s funny, witty, charming, and gay. Yes, Ellen is arguably the most powerful lesbian woman in America, possibly the world. And who could argue her popularity? Ellen is Ellen. But somewhere in the back of your mind you wonder where are the gay men? Where are the gay men with their own nationally celebrated television talk show?
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The fact of the matter is there are none. Let’s be honest here, the truth is there is a double standard in homosexuality that C.J. Pascoe addresses in her book Dude You’re a Fag. Spending eighteen months of fieldwork, Pascoe wrote Dude You’re a Fag as a case study about masculinity, gender, and sexuality in high school. One of the interesting topics she touches upon in her book is how it is more socially acceptable for females to be homosexual than males. A girl often looks back at her “tomboy” childhood with a certain fondness, while a boy may wish to hide the fact that he loved playing with dolls, and doing his hair. A girl may be viewed as powerful and attractive for her masculine qualities while a boy would be labeled a fag for displaying feminine characteristics. While not encouraged it is often more celebrated when a high school girl embodies masculine qualities, as if she is declaring a sort of liberation from social norms. But should an adolescent teen wish to abandon his masculinity, he would be ostracized and ridiculed. This is what Pascoe suggests is a subconscious glorification of masculinity. It’s as if being masculine is best so it’s understandable why girls would wish to follow suit.
Masculinity is no longer tied down by sex or gender, but is embodied in many different ways. Female masculinity might sound contradictory but it exists. In schools, the work place, on television, and just about everywhere else. “Girls who act like boys” are here to stay. Yet boys who act like girls are still marginalized and left to bite the dust. Why can’t boys act like girls and still be considered men? Doesn’t this in fact reveal how deep rooted feminine oppression is in the mind? To be masculine is good and to be feminine is bad. Let’s hope that one day these views will change. Yes, girls who act like boys are here to stay, and someday boys who act like girls will too.

Masculinity: it’s not just for boys


Teenage masculinity: The phrase conjures up images of adolescents who spend lots of time chasing after girls, playing sports, being loud and unruly, constant teasing, fighting, and other obnoxious behavior. While this may be an accurate description of adolescent masculinity, what’s missing from most mental pictures is the fact that some of these teens are girls.
In C.J. Pascoe’s study on adolescent masculinity and sexuality (Dude, You’re a Fag, 2007) she analyzes masculine behavior in teenage girls. Focusing on the female students that were described by themselves and others as “like boys”, Pascoe observed their behavior and finds that these girls have adopted dress, mannerisms, and other social behaviors that are traditionally seen as masculine. Within these girls the motivation for adopting masculinity seems to be differently motivated: one group seems to do it politically, the other socially.
The political minded group makes their masculine adoption choices aware that they are challenging ideals of how boys and girls are supposed to behave, as a way to examine the expectations of masculinity as a boy only choice. The other group instead adopts many markers of masculinity: dress, mannerisms, speech, activities. While this group is not consciously seeking to make a statement, their behavior does have a side effect: this group has considerable social power in the school.
Both groups served the same function in the end- they challenge the idea that masculinity is a boys only event.


In every and any given high school you will find boys being boys and girls being girls. The boys in their perhaps dirty looking clothes and girls wearing short skirts and low cut tops. There also being their gender by their iterations with each other, such as girls giggling at the boys flirtation remarks or the boys looking at a girl walking by. Looking into this typical high school you don’t think anything of this way of dressing or even the interaction between the sexes. In C. J. Pascoe’s book Dude you’re a Fag, she explores these roles the sexes take and how both male and female play along in a specific high school.
One of Pascoe’s favorite spot to observe the boys “talk” was the weight room. Here, the boys felt free to talk about women in this boy zone. In this room the boys talked about their sexual gains over girls. Each boy tries to impress the other by what they have done, in a sort of one upmanship game. The boys would also show off these exploits of girls by bringing in a trophy of the girls underwear. The boys in the weight room, as well as other male dominated areas have a need to display their dominance/control over girls’ bodies. They do this to show how masculine they are and to avoid being labeled a fag. Boys play in to this gender role of objectifying girls because it’s culturally expectable. One note Pascoe makes is that the boys are more likely to behave in this way when in groups of only males and that one on one with a girl they do not show the dominance/control they would talk about before.
Girls also play into this role of weak and sexual objects. By doing this they gain a kind of power and they gain attention from boys. Pascoe does not go into this as much as masculinity in both male and female. But this also plays a large part in high schools and the “real world”. Since gaining status in school is about attention from boys, girls use their sexuality as a form of social power. This means it is not only males objectifying females but that they were doing it to themselves. Unconsciously or not they feel the need to do this to be accepted. But what in American culture dictates that this is the way it has to be ? These teenagers are just following the rules when it comes to gender roles. Such as with the Mr. Cougar skits where the two nerds made hero save their weak helpless girlfriends by getting buff and defeating their rivals.
A high is the perfect place to study the interaction between males and females and how they play into gender roles. This environment reflects the American society, just on a smaller scale. Pascoe uses this environment to take a look at how masculinity and sexuality is played out among students. That most students go along with what it socially acceptable. The boy are dominant, while the girls are weak and our sexual exploits. While a few people may toy with these norms, generally they are not accepted and become the outcastes of the school.
Men do better on the math section of the SAT than women, many studies have reported. But maybe this isn’t because of differences in brain chemistry. Maybe what subject to excel in is taught in high school alongside quadratic equations and French.

Do schools teach kids how to “do gender”, that is, behave in certain ways depending on their biological sex? C.J Pascoe (Dude, You’re a Fag) writes that they do, by constantly reminding them what is gender-appropriate through everyday school rituals.

Take the dress code of River High, the high school Pascoe does research on, as an example of how schools emphasize gender differentiation. Although both boys and girls had to cover certain parts of their bodies, the parts in question were different. A girl had to cover everything until her bellybutton and a boy had to make sure his pants weren’t below his waistline. Another way of differentiating gender through dress is that boys and girls had different-colored graduation robes – girls wore yellow and boys wore black. These ways of differentiation are subtle – so subtle, in fact, that they become a part of everyday life and seem natural. Because they seem natural, they make gender differentiation because of social standards seem as undeniable as biological differences.



Similarly, heterosexuality or man-woman coupling is also made to seem natural and a model of how things normally are. One of the ways this was done at River High, Pascoe writes, was through the yearbook. The “superlatives” section of the yearbook always emphasized male-female pairings: the “best of” categories in each grade, such as “best-dressed” or “best-looking”, was not judged according to class or race but gender. Boys had their own winner of a superlative and girls their own, so that the boy with the best smile would not be selected from the entire student body but from all the boys in it. There was also a category for “best couple”. Coupling and gender therefore became a way of organizing students, just like class year.

In their interactions with students, teachers confirm these ideas. Pascoe writes about an elementary school teacher using the image of a heterosexual wedding to teach children grammar rules – the class puts on a mock wedding between the letter “Q”, which is designated as the groom, and the letter “U”, designated as the bride. A heterosexual wedding is unconsciously portrayed as universal and natural, right from elementary school.










In Pascoe’s book, this is called the “heterosexualizing process”. In this process children, starting from elementary school, can only be thought of as “normal” if they act according to the unofficial gender rules that they see around them – for example, girls play with kitchen sets and boys with trucks and if a boy plays with a Barbie he is not normal. Or girls do well in history and boys go on to become engineers. High school continues this process. Schools like River High, the high school cited in Pascoe’s book, not only emphasize gender differences through school rituals but also that heterosexuality, or man-woman coupling and all the institutions that follow, like marriage, is right and natural.

So the next time Sarah gets a lower grade than Tom in math, think about what they wore to prom.

The next time you’re stuck in line behind a group of teenage boys boastfully sharing about their sexual adventures you should know that it’s not just because teen males are full of hormones and think about sex all the time. You are actually witnessing those boys becoming and staying masculine. That might sound strange, however in her book about her study in a Californian high school C.J. Pascoe argues that masculinity is a process which involves somebody assuring others that they are masculine and denying and distancing themselves from feminine characteristics.

The bragging about sexual experiences mentioned before is an example of boys assuring or proving to each other that they are masculine. In addition to talking about sex in public, boys prove masculinity by having girlfriends or picking up girls. While boys publicly flaunt the fact that they are thinking about sex, their thoughts about and expression of sexuality is sometimes quite different in private. Through a combination of interviews and observations Pascoe found that the same boys who were trying to one-up each other with descriptions of either their sex life or their graphic fantasies talked much more sensitively, tenderly and even romantically about past or current girlfriends. This shows how the acts that make someone masculine happen in public. “Boys will boys” might have a grain of truth in it but only when the boys are in groups. Masculinity is less about what a person is and more how they act in public, masculinity happens in groups.
Similarly, flirting with girls by touching them is another way to create masculinity. Although this touching is often in the form of playful shoving and poking they all usually involve guys getting into girls personal spaces and usually end with the girl squealing and giving up. This emphasizes men having power over women. This power is one way that masculinity is something that is more similar to a process than merely an adjective for men. Girls who wield this power over other girls are also viewed as masculine. Most people think “men” when they hear masculinity but it’s probably more accurate to think “power” or “dominance” instead.
The other important step in being masculine is to separate yourself from things that aren’t masculine. This includes homosexuality, incompetence, being vain about your clothes, showing emotion and especially weakness. There is this subconscious terror among guys that they will become unmanly and this fear creates a ghost effect. The ghost is a fag and in order to protect themselves by being touched by this ghost they call other guys fag. Once they have been called a fag a guy will try to fling the contaminating word as quick as they can at someone else before it sticks to them. Besides hurling the word fag at each other guys will also mock things that are unmanly by imitating them. You know when you’re uncomfortable and you have to let out a nervous laugh? Well dressing in drag in a joking way and pretending to have high squeaky voices in order to make people laugh serves the same purpose for teenage guys. It’s through this combination of bragging, talking, flirting, or pretending to be women in order to get a laugh that high school boys achieve that wished-for status of masculine.

“Compulsive Heterosexuality”

Exhibiting masculinity may seem like a generally simple concept, but it applies to many aspects of our everyday lives. Pascoe, in her book Dude, You’re a Fag, calls this concept of “constellations of sexualized practices, discourses, and interactions” “compulsive heterosexuality.” This term does not refer to a sexual orientation. Rather, it refers to a variety of behaviors, social interactions, and institutional structures. This is a good umbrella term for a lot of different physical, verbal, and emotional actions. Pascoe describes how male students exhibit compulsive heterosexuality verbally when referring to their sexual interests. It is all about “the ability to exercise mastery and dominance literally and figuratively over girls’ bodies.” Whether a boy is objectifying, privately or publicly, a woman’s body directly at her or in the company of other men/boys, these are forms of compulsive heterosexuality. Pascoe examines how masculinity is present in not only in media, sexual practices, and desire but also in politics. This leads to how it also affects economics and gender inequality in both physical and emotion ways. It can be seen in television shows, clothing ads, or unequal pay wages between men and women. Compulsive heterosexuality is not reserved for the bedroom. In fact, in most cases, it is a public, yet subtle, display of male dominance. It is a way that “’eroticizes male dominance and female submission.’” It is the combination of “ritualized interactions” that create compulsive heterosexuality. I would even argue that compulsive heterosexuality could also apply to women to a certain extent. Women sometimes emasculate men by talking about them in a diminutive and/or domineering way. Although women do not have equal political rights or fair representation in the media, woman can use social interactions in a compulsive heterosexual way. This behavior is an interesting and prominent issue in modern society.
Sitting in a teenage boy’s locker room, it is not uncommon to hear tales of late night hookups and other “sex-capades.” Indeed this is what boys seem to talk about most often – their sex lives, who they have sex with, and who the next hottest girl is. These talks usually take place in very “manly” places like the locker room, the gym, shop class, or while playing sports. This kind of talk is what C.J. Pascoe calls “compulsive heterosexuality.”
When C.J. Pascoe was researching at a high school, she did a study about compulsive heterosexuality to see it actually existed. She met many boys who said that the way you become “the man” on campus is by having sex with many girls. You’re “the man” if you can talk about sex knowledgeably and are seen with the hottest girls. Having a girlfriend seemed to be some sort of rite of passage. And should you happen to be bad at “getting girls,” in order to still be seen as cool, you had to at least act as if you were into girls.
When Pascoe did her study, she gave an interesting example of a popular boy who, for Halloween dressed in a homosexual way, but still achieved masculinity by forcing some girls to kiss him on the cheek. This boy, dressed as an elf, ran around with mistletoe over his head yelling at girls to kiss him until they did. His friends then congratulated him on “getting them to kiss him.” Later, she watched as a boy annoyed a girl with sexual innuendos about how when they went to college the next year they would room together. As he joked about this, he thrusted his hips into her butt and continued to do that even when she told him to stop.
These displays, Pascoe said, shows that compulsive heterosexuality as a ritual not only includes needing to prove your masculinity but also a semi-predatory aspect. It is as if, in order to be considered heterosexual, you must never be turned down by a girl. If a girl does turn you down, she automatically is called a “whore” or a “slut.”
Who cares if you are seen as manly or not? Apparently most men in high school do. This sense of having to be seen as someone who is manly or masculine is part of this compulsive heterosexuality phenomenon. Guys are terrified of being seen as a “fag.” I say, who cares? But to them it is so important to be seen as heterosexual and as a result, they end up forcing themselves on girls and making idiots of themselves. Most girls don’t care, but to these guys, how you are seen and what girls your having sex with is really all that matters. It’s part of their need to be heterosexual at all times.
This need probably comes from another thing that Pascoe studied which was how most boys in high school are homophobic. Boys see how other boys who are not seemingly masculine and heterosexual are treated (they are called fag, beat up, and made fun of) and realize that in order to avoid that type of bullying they have to “get with girls” and prove that they are not even close to being a “fag.” Pascoe studies the word “fag” and how heterosexual boys use it to peer pressure other boys into doing heterosexual things. If a guy is not getting with girls, or isn’t into girls, he is a “fag.” This forces the other boys who are getting called a “fag” to over-assert their masculinity.
It’s interesting that so many guys feel like they have to be heterosexual to be accepted. It doesn’t seem like girls feel the pressure to as heterosexual. The word fag and the fear of being seen as anything other than heterosexual pushes these boys to do things and even sometimes lie about things, that maybe they just didn’t want to do. That seems crazy to me. Who cares what you’re seen “as?” Compulsive heterosexuality is the name sociologists use to say that boys feel as if they have to be straight in order to fit in. In my opinion, that sucks.

Shop Talk


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Locker Room Talk



Social life at an average high school is centered on adolescent male homophobia. Constant social control is implemented when teenage boys are trained to constantly make jokes about “fags,” talk and imitate a fag as they think one would act, “To call someone gay or fag is like the lowest thing you can call someone. Because that’s like saying that you’re nothing” (Pascoe Dud, You’re A Fag 55). These teens use the word fag as an ultimate insult that could be used for anything. When called a fag, it is because there is a lack of masculinity. As if, this person is weak or feminine.

In most cases, this homophobia is also gendered homophobia. Lesbians are looked at as “good.” Guys considered lesbians “cool,” mainly because they role they play in heterosexual male fantasies. When two women kiss, it is more accepted in social life rather than if two men were to kiss. This is because the sexual act of two women kissing are most of the time connected with the desire to attract males through there hetero fantasies. As long, as a heterosexual purpose is attached with the homosexual act it is acceptable.

Boys are constantly trying to force others into the “fag position,” as if it were a game. No one actually thinks that these people are really homosexual, but yet no boy wanted to be left with that epithet. The best way to get rid of it was to turn another boy into a fag. Although, when a boy wanted to be humorous they would pretend to be feminine to imitate a “fag” and then quickly express his masculinity again. This would show his “audience” that he actually very masculine and would never do what a fag would do.

Fag extends far past a sexual identity attached to a gay boy, but is used to assert one’s own masculinity by either throwing someone else into the fag identity or simply crafting a situation where you could imitate a fag to express your strength. This creates an epithet that is no longer means to be homosexual, but plainly not manly. Whether it is true or not, it has been used as a tool of social control to fear the fags and pressure these young boys that being a fag or feminine is synonymous to being wrong or a bad thing. Although, the word fag is being thrown around for a variety of different meanings, it is rarely used directly to an actual homosexual. This depicts a hint of success of the gay rights movement and if we continue to open our minds and the minds of future generation, then maybe one day the word fag will not even be used as an insult toward the heterosexual male adolescent community.

Are you man enough?



High school is a rough time for some teenagers. This is when they are establishing their identities, including sexual. As stated by Pascoe, masculinity is an array of gender practices carried out by men whose bodies are assumed to be biologically male. To some high school students, masculinity achieves a level of respect from others. This behavior, and the idea that masculinity is displayed through actions, is often seen in popular media. The show Glee portrays the adversity among teens in high school when it comes to what extracurricular activity in school is masculine such as football and what deserves a slushie in the face such as Glee Club. According to Pascoe, not only do boys exercise and dress a certain way in order to preserve their image, but they shoot homophobic comments at each other and openly discuss their heterosexual experiences, which is empowering among the high school students trying to assert masculinity.
Over time, the definition of masculinity has some variations but the common denominators remain. To some high school students, being male biologically is not the end of the story. That is where they and sociologists agree but shortly thereafter, their views diverge hastily. In her study, Pascoe notices that the presentation of manliness involves “…homophobic taunts and assertion of heterosexuality.” She talks about Connell’s idea of multiple masculinities in a high school setting. Not only are there different types of masculinities in this sociological observation, but they are placed in a hierarchal order judged by high school students. Hemogemic is at the pinnacle supports gender inequality. Complicit is a more passive form of hemogemic. Subordinate describes those oppressed by hemogemic, and marginalized refers to gender rather than class or race.
Masculinity is an application of peer pressure. The level of “man” a young male seems to be is simply a label brought about by collective deduction by peers that can have the ability to affect one’s character and subsequently, one’s choices in life. High school boys find a parallel between level of masculinity and dominance, and dominance is key to survival. In some societies, definitions of masculinity are enforced heavily. They are based on arbitrary things such as the way one talks, walks, dresses, and interacts with others rather than based on how one feels about himself.

Politics of Dancing


When I was in my last year of high school the senior class was given a list of what we could and could not wear to our prom. On this list, it plainly said that the girls must wear dresses of full or tea length and the boys must wear black tie or formal military uniform. It forbade what the administration considered “funny business” which meant a girl was not allowed to wear pants of any kind and a boy could not wear a dress and still expect to be admitted to the senior prom. The administration of the school expected us to place ourselves into the framework of the gender binary and enforced a rigid interpretation of it that did not tolerate different interpretations.
In the chapter titled “Look At My Masculinity”, Pascoe shows how the school she studied did the same thing to their students through her story about Jessica Chau. The school and her social environment pressured her into wearing a dress using the excuse of tradition. She was not the kind of girl who would wear a dress and heels. She is what Pascoe might refer to as a “Dude”. Jessica wore comfortable clothing and had masculine gestures but she allowed herself to be pigeonholed into the stereotypical image of the Home Coming Queen thus fitting in with social norm.
At my own high school Shane MacDermott was not allowed to enter prom because he wore formal Scottish attire, which included a kilt. . This kilt had been in his family for generations and was the one his father wore to his wedding. It was the pride and joy of his family. The members of the administration tried to send him away because he violated the dress code by wearing a skirt. In the end the owners of the property had to step in and over rule this judgment for fear of an ethnic prejudice lawsuit.
The administration reacted according to their strict standards without considering the rest of the situation much like the Rivers High School did with Jessica. If they had removed themselves and looked objectively at the situation, then they would have seen that these interpretations are just as valid as the social standard.

“Tomboys” vs. “Sissys”



How do the “tomboy” identity and the “sissy” identity translate into a sexual identity? According to Pascoe’s Dude, You’re a Fag, when a little girl dresses and acts in a more typically masculine way, she is simply considered a tomboy and there is not much else to it except the expectation that she will eventually grow out of it. When a little boy dresses or acts in a more typically feminine way (wearing high heels, for example), there is a very different reaction. When these little children grow up, a young woman will much more readily speak about her childhood as a tomboy than a young man will speak about his more “girly” childhood. This is because the “tomboy” identity is considered to be tough and powerful, whereas boys are embarrassed to be called a girl. What was considered “cute” in childhood, however, can be more problematic in adulthood.
Pascoe notices that, as girls become women, if they keep acting in a tomboyish manner, they will be labeled a lesbian. Women with more masculine qualities are lesbians, whereas girls with masculine qualities are tomboys. Interestingly enough, women are often proud to speak of their tomboy-pasts, whereas men are deeply ashamed of having worn heels or a dress and played with Barbies as a youngster and are more likely to ignore those experiences altogether. In general, girls who act outside of their gender-norms as children are more accepted than boys who act outside of their gender-norms as children. A boy can “act gay” at any age whereas a girl only becomes a lesbian if she keeps the same behavior throughout adulthood.
Overall, Pascoe claims that a girl can be proud to be a tomboy because the masculine qualities associated with the act of being a tomboy are something that girls, even young women, aspire to obtain. These qualities include braveness and athleticism – things that most people want to have. Boys, however, cannot be “sissys” because, even though they are at such a young age, it is still seen as embarrassing.

Masculinity (and Race) in Dance

Picture a dancer. Most people will imagine a number of stereotypical things: a ballerina in a tutu pirouetting on point shoes, a hip hop dancer grinding on a dance floor, or maybe a ballroom dancer in a pretty dress and high heel shoes. Dancing is a feminine activity; traits used to describe dance (i.e. delicate, graceful, fluid, and soft) are pretty much always feminine. What happens when a male attempts to take on the feminine art of dance? He’s labeled a fag unless he is lucky enough to be an exception to the rule.


CAN MALE DANCERS BE MASCULINE?








Picture a dancer. Most people will imagine a number of stereotypical things: a ballerina in a tutu pirouetting on point shoes, a hip hop dancer grinding on a dance floor, or maybe a ballroom dancer in a pretty dress and high heel shoes. Dancing is a feminine activity; traits used to describe dance (i.e. delicate, graceful, fluid, and soft) are pretty much always feminine. What happens when a male attempts to take on the feminine art of dance? He’s labeled a fag unless he is lucky enough to be an exception to the rule.

CAN MALE DANCERS BE MASCULINE?




CJ Pascoe’s book “Dude, You’re a Fag” is based on the interviews she had with students at River High in California, a school that could be labeled a stereotypical high school. River has its jocks, cheerleaders, badasses, nerds, and rejects; each group handles the subject of masculinity differently. One of Pascoe’s students was Ricky, an openly gay white boy. Ricky is known around school for many things: his unconventional clothing, the fact that he occasionally wears mascara and hair extensions, membership in the Gay Straight Alliance and his talent for dancing. In the school dance shows, he was often the star and danced the lead in many numbers. Instead of being appreciated and admired for his skills, most of his classmates reacted Ricky’s dancing with homophobia. For example, one of the audience members compared Ricky to a car wreck because “you just can’t look away”. Pascoe states that Ricky “embodied the fag because of his homosexuality and his less normative gender identification and self-presentation.” (p. 65); Ricky was called a fag in high school because he acted like one.
Like almost anything else today, masculinity can be racialized. Ricky was a white boy doing feminine things. K.J., a mixed race student, was also a talented dancer. K.J. participated in what Richard Majors calls “cool pose” or what is today known as “hip hop culture”. The African American boys of River High were a part of “cool pose” because they cared about their clothes, the shine of their shoes, and style but in a way that would show off and emphasize their masculinity. When Ricky danced the lead in a number, he performed “all the sexually suggestive hip swivels, leg lifts, arm flares, and spins that the girls did” (69), unlike K.J. who would do more physical and masculine moves like flips and lifts. The crowd would celebrate K.J.’s dancing; Pascoe described the auditorium as “reverberated with the screamed chants of ‘Go K.J.! Go K.J.! Go K.J. Go K.J.!” (74) whenever he went on stage; no one ever called K.J. a fag for being a dancer.

THE SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE MALE DANCER: “‘physical moves’ such as flips, holding up the girls, and spinning them around” (Pascoe, pg. 69)


Ricky and K.J. were very similar; whether it was through their long hair, concern for fashion, their bodies, or talent for dance, Ricky and K.J. seemed to “mirror one another”. But the social implications that went hand and hand with their race and sexual orientations caused the two characters to be, in K.J.’s case, extremely popular and respected or, in Ricky’s, teased and tormented until he dropped out and left River. Pascoe credits Ricky’s treatment to culture and society and how it “views race and sexuality”. In today’s culture, it is not okay for a white gay boy to dance but it is okay for an African American to dance, as long as he does it in a masculine way.

The Power of Hormones

Teenage boys are generally thought to be largely made up of raging hormones. It would come as no surprise to anyone then that sex and girls are favorite topics among groups of high school-aged males. What may not be obvious, however, is that through this type of “shop talk”, boys are constantly reminding themselves and their friends how they “should” act: masculine and straight.
In “Dude You’re A Fag”, C.J. Pascoe spends time observing and interviewing students at one high school. While the conversations that take place among groups of boys in locker rooms and shop classes don’t seem out of the ordinary, Pascoe shows how these constant discussions of wild sexual adventures and “getting girls” are the tools teenage boys use to demonstrate power to each other. By painting themselves as sexually experienced and in-control, boys prove to each other that they are dominant over females, which leads to being thought of as masculine.
It seems to be irrelevant whether the stories told by these boys are true or not; the important part is that in publicly discussing sex and girls, boys maintain an image of being able to control a female’s body, as well as show off their fascination with two subjects that are “supposed” to interest them. If they were to be perceived as being disinterested or unknowledgeable about sex and girls, they would receive the label of “fag”. By making sure that this interest is on display for everyone to see, boys prove that they are masculine, straight, and therefore not fags.
Pascoe’s private interviews showed, however, that this masculine image was often only necessary in public. When alone, many boys showed emotions and romantic feelings towards girls, rather than focusing on them as purely sexual objects. Many also tried, in private, to distinguish themselves from “other guys” who viewed females this way, regardless of whether or not they too made girls into sexual objects when in the company of other boys.
Though these sorts of conversations among teenage boys are typical, Pascoe highlights how underlying them is the idea that males are dominant over females. In showing how boys feel they have to constantly push this message or face social rejection, Pascoe also shows how ingrained these ideas are in our culture.

Do school authorities view the masculinity and sexuality of minority students differently than white students? According to C.J. Pascoe, teachers and other administrators treat black heterosexuality as threatening, while encouraging and promoting heterosexual expression among white students.
Pascoe spent a year and a half studying a working-class high school in California, where the student body was 49% white, 28% Latino, 10% African American, and 6% Asian. She interviewed students, sat in on classes, attended club meetings, and spent time with students informally between classes, at lunch, and at events.
Despite the fact that school administrations went to great lengths to discourage actual sexual activity, school events and rituals promoted male dominance, heterosexual coupling, and gender conformity. From pep rallies, where student-performed skits centered around heterosexual dating, to yearbook superlatives, which listed a male-female “couple” for each award, heterosexual pairings were emphasized in all aspects of school culture. Individual teachers also participated in the promotion of heterosexual expression, teasing students about which members of the opposite sex they might be dating and tolerating, or even participating in, sexist discussions by male students. It was clear that the administration of this high school approved of heterosexual interaction for the student body in general.
African-American students faced a much more hostile attitude when it came to heterosexuality. At the school Pascoe studied, like in many high schools, black male students were especially popular and well-liked by other students. Still, they faced much more opposition, fear, and suspicion from the administration when they tried to make themselves visible. When a group of primarily black students tried to form a dance group to counteract the whiteness of performance groups at their school, the administration required them to change their name from the Bomb Squad to the much “friendlier”-sounding Pep Club. At a school dance performance, numerous groups performed, and many of the dances were highly sexualized, involving male and female students doing sexy dance moves together. The male members of the Bomb Squad were specifically instructed, with the threat of suspension, to not touch the female dancers in their performance. None of the other, predominantly white, groups were warned of this. This shows how racist the administrators' views of sexuality were: they assumed that the black guys would need to be given specific instructions to prevent them from violating their dance partners. Despite the fact that the black male students were popular, they still faced disproportionate policing by authority figures in their high school. Administrators viewed black male heterosexuality as aggressive and threatening, while accepting and even celebrating the heterosexuality of white male students. Sexist comments and behaviors by white students were overlooked or encouraged, while sexism on the part of black students was far more likely to result in punishment. Pascoe's analysis shows that even when black students appear to be socially privileged (by popularity), they still face discrimination from authorities and institutions.

Friday, November 26, 2010


What is the first thing that pops into your head when you think of the term “fag?” Is it a white, preppy, well groomed, pretty male? If so, you are not alone. That seems to be what most people think of when they think of the term “fag.” All of these things are associated with this word and therefore when a male encompasses one or more of these features he is labeled as a fag.
Fag is no longer a derogatory term to describe a homosexual male, but a way to define a lack of, or failed, masculinity. There are unspoken rules and laws in a typical American high school that restrain the actions of teen males. You would think that these rules only encompass behavior and appearance but subconsciously race falls into the definition of fag. These rules vary based on race. Certain races and cultural circles are able to act in various ways that would have the stereotypical white, high school, football player from the suburbs labeled as a fag.
C. J. Pascoe explores this subject in her book, Dude You’re a Fag. Drawing upon her experiences as a observer at a “typical American high school” Pascoe writes a detailed account of masculinity and social control within the education system. Let’s use her example and take a black male high school student who is part of the “hip-hop culture” and compare him to a white, preppy, male, same age, class, and background and see just how differently these two are labeled just based on their skin color, culture, and style.
If the white male was seen dancing with another male: “FAG!” If the he was seen hugging another man: “FAG!” If he looked nice or cared too much about his clothing or daily showers: “FAG!”
Now lets look at our African American student in the same situations. When he dances with another male: “Damn! I wish I could dance like those guys! That is so gangsta!” If he is seen hugging another man: “oh, they tight homies.” If he looks nice and carefully picks out his outfits daily so they match perfectly: “Now that dude is the definition of fly.”
It is not necessarily only the color of their skin that determines whether or not one is labeled as a fag, although it does have an affect It is also the culture that males take part in that determines how they will be labeled. If a white male walked through the halls of a high school in America wearing baggy shorts hanging off of his rear end, boxers showing, hat turned to the side, and sporting fresh, clean, white sneakers it is automatically assumed that he is a member of the hip-hop culture and therefore hypermasculine. Hypermasculinity is associated with the hip-hop culture and teenage boys want to relate to that culture because it embodies the image that all men want to achieve, which is “the man on top.” Taking part in the hip-hop culture automatically makes teenage boys “cool” and respected, something that most high school students try to achieve for four years.
So, by labeling someone as a fag, it is not necessarily calling them a homosexual, but drawing out all of the negative connotations associated with homosexuality. Fag has become racialized, culturalized, and taken from its original meaning to be used as an agent of social control; that is to say, peers controlling other peers around them. By fear of being a social outcast, people follow their peers’ lead. Fag no longer means homosexual but embodies everything that is not considered not normal or perfect within society. Anything that is simply out of the ordinary can be labeled fag. White guy wearing a colorful outfit: “Dude, you’re such a fag.” Black guy who participates in the hip-hop culture: “Dude, you’re so cool.”