Gender roles in non-heterosexual communities are a topic of much debate; some people believe traditional, heterosexual gender roles are often erroneously enforced on non-heterosexual relationships utilizing heteronormative culture and attitudes towards these non-confirmative relationships.
History
Gender roles in non-heterosexual communities have been the subject of debate in Western society. Peter M. Nardi of Pitzer College says: The connection between sexual orientation and gender roles has been confused by many people. Too often, assumptions about homosexuality or heterosexuality have led to assumptions about masculinity or femininity ... Understanding the differences between sexual identity and gender roles is enhanced when focusing on the issues of friendship and sex among gay men. For many people, being gay has been interpreted in terms of not being masculine or, more specifically, being seen as feminine.
According to human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell: Queers subvert the gender system. Gay men love males and are not adequately macho and aggressive. Lesbians love women and are insufficiently passive and dependent on men. That's why we're persecuted. Our nonconformity threatens the system which sustains the social hegemony of male heterosexuality and misogyny.
This has been described as "gender fuck politics".
Havelock Ellis and Sigmund Freud thought homosexuality resulted from reversed gender roles. Most modern scientists accept there is no strong evidence that a homosexual or bisexual orientation must be associated with atypical gender roles. Many factors have been linked to homosexuality, including genetic factors, anatomical factors, birth order, and hormones in the prenatal environment.King, B. (2009). Human Sexuality Today (Sixth ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc.
Terms such as butch, are used within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT), and cross-dressing subcultures to ascribe or acknowledge a masculine identity with its associated traits, behaviours, styles, and self-perception.
Gay and bisexual communities Although many bisexual and pansexual people may consider themselves "gender blind",Woolley, Susan W. ""The Silence Itself is Enough of a Statement": Unintended Consequences of Silence as an Awareness-Raising Strategy." Institute for the Study of Social Change (2010). writers on bisexual issues often disagree with the idea that bisexuals make a conscious decision to disregard socially-constructed gender roles.
Women
The application of the traditional "man" and traditional "woman" in lesbian relationships is common, as with gay male relationships. However, questions such as "Who's the man in the relationship?" are believed to stem from heteronormative and patriarchal setups of traditional heterosexual relationships.
Men Dr. Joseph Pleck says the hierarchy of masculinities among men exist largely in a dichotomy of homosexual and heterosexual males, and says, "our society uses the male heterosexual-homosexual dichotomy as a central symbol for all the rankings of masculinity, for the division on any grounds between males who are 'real men' and have power, and males who are not".
Gay men are considered by some to "deviate from the masculine norm", and are benevolently stereotyped as "gentle and refined" (even among other gay men), and pertain to a specific mode of masculinity for themselves, according to human rights activists such as Peter Tatchell, which each make their contributions to society.
In a documentary called The Butch Factor, several gay men—one of them transgender—were asked about their views on masculinity. The consensus was that showing masculine traits was an advantage, both in and out the closet. For the "butch" gay men, this allowed them to conceal their sexual orientation for longer when doing masculine activities such as playing sports, as effeminacy is often incorrectly associated with homosexuality so much so that they doubted their own sexual orientation; because they did not see themselves as effeminate, they did not feel they were gay. Because of this, they did not feel as much of a connection with gay culture. Men who had a more feminine appearance were the first to come out of the closet; they were the first to be labelled gay by their peers. They were more likely to face bullying and harassment throughout their lives; many gay men have been taunted using derogatory words that imply feminine qualities, for example, sissy. Effeminate or camp-acting gay men sometimes use what John R. Ballew describes as "camp humour", such as referring to one another using female pronouns as "a funny way of defusing hate directed toward [gay men]". Ballew has also said this "can cause [gay men] to become confused in relation to how we feel about being men".
Some feminine gay men in the documentary felt uncomfortable about their femininity, even if they were comfortable with their sexuality. Feminine gay men are often looked down upon by stereotypically masculine men in the gay community.
A study conducted by researchers from the Center for Theoretical Study at Charles University in Prague and The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic found there are significant differences in the shape of faces of heterosexual and gay men; gay men have masculine features, which they say "undermined stereotypical notions of gay men as more feminine looking".
Following a period of non-recognition from the media, gay men have been presented in the media in a stereotypical feminine way, which is open to ridicule (as well as lesbians and transvestites). Films such as Brokeback Mountain challenge this stereotype, though there is disagreement over the definition of the lead characters' sexuality. A newer portrayal of gay men in the LGBT community is as bears—a sub-culture of gay men who celebrate rugged masculinityGeorge Mazzei, (1979). "Who's Who in the Zoo?". The Advocate, pages 42–43. and "secondary sexual characteristics of the male: facial hair, body hair, proportional size, baldness". Smyth (2004) identified four classic stereotypes of gay men as effeminate, mentally ill, predatory or libido-driven maniacs; these stereotypes arrived in the popular discourse during different periods. This is significant, as if an individual does not interact with LGBT people regularly, they may rely on the mass media for information on LGBT people and LGBT issues and thus retain these stereotypes.
Feminine gender roles Multiple studies have correlated childhood gender nonconformity with eventual homosexual or bisexual outcomes in males, and gay and bisexual boys who adopted more feminine gender roles at a younger age are at higher risk of reporting suicide.Remafedi, Gary, James A. Farrow, and Robert W. Deisher. "Risk factors for attempted suicide in gay and bisexual youth." Pediatrics 87.6 (1991)
In the United States, boys are often homosocial, and gender role performance determines social rank.David and Brannon, 1976 While homosexual boys receive the same enculturation, they are far less compliant. Martin Levine says: Harry (1982, 51–52), for example, found that 42 percent of his gay respondents were 'sissies' during childhood. Only 11 percent of his heterosexual samples were gender role nonconformists. Bell, Weinberg, and Hammersmith (1981, 188) reported that half of their man homosexual subjects practiced gender-inappropriate behaviour in childhood. Among their heterosexual men, the rate of noncompliance was 25 percent. Saghir and Robins (1973, 18) found that one-third of their gay man respondents conformed to gender role dictates. Only 3 percent of their heterosexual men deviated from the norm. Thus, effeminate boys, or sissies, are physically and verbally harassed, causing them to feel worthless and to "de-feminise" themselves.Saghir and Robins 1973, 18–19Levine, 1998, pp. 5–16
Prior to the Stonewall riots, changes in stereotypical gender role performance were observed among certain segments of the gay male population:Karlen, 1978Cory and LeRoy, 1963Newton, 1972 According to Stearn: They have a different face for different occasions. In conversations with each other, they often undergo a subtle change. I have seen men who appeared to be normal suddenly smile roguishly, soften their voices, and simper as they greeted homosexual friends ... Many times I saw these changes occur after I had gained a homosexual's confidence and he could safely risk my disapproval. Once as I watched a luncheon companion become an effeminate caricature of himself, he apologised, [saying] "It is hard to always remember that one is a man."Stearn 1962, 29Levine, 1998, pp. 21–23
Pre-Stonewall "closet" culture accepted homosexuality as effeminate behavior, and thus emphasized camp, drag, and swish behavior, including an interest in fashion and decorating. Masculine gay men were marginalized and formed their own communities, such as the leather subculture and bear subculture, and wore clothes such as sailor uniforms that were commonly associated with working-class people.Levine, 1998, pp. 21–23, 56 Post-Stonewall, "clone culture" became dominant and effeminacy is now marginalized. This is evident in a definite preference shown in personal ads for masculine-behaving men.Bailey et al. 1997. Sheila Jeffreys termed this the butch shift of the 1970s, described it as having been inspired by the success of the gay liberation movement, and saw it as being exemplified in the Village People dance music group.
The avoidance of effeminacy by men, including gay ones, has been linked to possible impedance of personal and public health. Regarding HIV/AIDS, masculine behavior was stereotyped as being unconcerned about safe sex practices while engaging in promiscuous sexual behavior. Early reports from New York City indicated more women had been tested for HIV/AIDS at their own behest than men.Levine, 1998, p. 148
David Halperin compares "universalising" and "minoritising" notions of gender deviance. He says, "'Softness' either may represent the specter of potential gender failure that haunts all normative masculinity, an ever-present threat to the masculinity of every man, or it may represent the disfiguring peculiarity of a small class of deviant individuals."David Halperin, 2002 The term "effeminaphobia" was coined to describe strong anti-effeminacy. In 1995, J. Michael Bailey coined the similar term, "femiphobia", to describe the ambivalence gay men and culture have about effeminate behavior.Michael Bailey, 1995 Gay author Tim Bergling also coined the term "sissyphobia" in his work Sissyphobia: Gay Men and Effeminate Behavior.Dylan Vox, "Would Life Be Better if You Were Straight?", Gaywired.com, 20 December 2007, also appeared in Edge, BostonBergling, Tim. Sissyphobia: Gay Men and Effeminate Behavior.
Top, bottom and versatile
In gay slang, to top means to have anal sex in an insertive capacity (penetrating with one's penis); to bottom means to have anal sex in a receptive capacity (being penetrated). When the terms are used as designations of self-identity, a top may be a man who has a clear preference for topping, and a bottom may be a man who has a clear preference for bottoming; versatile refers to a man who enjoys both and has no clear preference. Studies suggest that most gay men are in this sense versatiles.Saghir, M. T.; Robins, E. (1973). Male and female homosexuality: A comprehensive investigation. Oxford, England: Williams & Wilkins.Harry, J.; DeVall, W.B. (1978). The social organization of gay males. New York: Praeger. One study has found that a top is also more likely to act as an insertive partner in other forms of penetrative sex, such as penetrative fellatio and sex toy play.