Homosociality

Last updated

In sociology, homosociality means same-sex relationships that are not of a romantic or sexual nature, such as friendship, mentorship, or others. Researchers who use the concept mainly do so to explain how men uphold men's dominance in society. [1]

Contents

Homosocial was popularized by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick in her discussion of male homosocial desire. [2] Sedgwick used the term to distinguish from homosexual and to connote a form of male bonding often accompanied by fear or hatred of homosexuality. [3] Jean Lipman-Blumen had earlier (1976) defined homosociality as a preference for members of one's own sex – a social rather than a sexual preference. [4]

The opposite of homosocial is heterosocial, describing non-sexual relations with the opposite sex.

Empirical evidence

In a study presented by Rose, [5] males and females between the ages of 20 and 28 were examined on their evaluations of same- and cross-sex friendships. Results showed a preference for same-sex relationships in both men and women. Cross-sex relationships were evaluated by men and women to be less helpful, and less loyal than same-sex friendships, and friendship formation was found to be different between cross-sex and same-sex relationships as well.

Depending on the culture, and family, and social structures, same-sex preferences have been found to develop between 3 and 9 years old. (LaFreniere, Strayer,& Gauthier, 1984; Jacklin& Maccoby, 1978; Harkness & Super, 1985). [6] [7] [8] LaFreniere, Strayer, and Gauthier (1984) [9] conducted a three-year-long study observing fifteen peer groups between the ages of 1 and 6 years old, 98 boys and 93 girls. As they looked into sex segregation in childhood, the researchers found that segregation rose with age and that most Western children exhibit these preferences around 3–4 years old. However, in a study by Harkenss and Super, [10] Kenyan children were not found to have sex-preference in playmates until the ages of 6 to 9 years old. Researchers observed 152 Kenyan children in rural settings and found that this change didn't occur until parental expectations and customary duties increased. "Just when and how such gender segregation appears, is the joint product of the individual and the culturally constructed niche" (Harkness & Super, 1985). [11]

It appears that the social bias towards members of one's own sex can develop early in children. Specifically, studies have found that by the early age of 3 or 4, children prefer members of their own sex to members of the opposite sex (Bussey & Bandura, 1992). [12] That is, young girls favor other females (girls and women) over males (boys and men). The findings are identical for young boys. Moreover, a study done by Carol Martin (1989) [13] found that boys 4.5 years of age expressed significantly more dislike for a girl depicted as a "tomboy" than a boy depicted as a "sissy"; whereas boys 8.5 years of age express more dislike for a boy depicted as a "sissy". This age difference suggests that children as young as 4 prefer their own sex regardless of gender-incongruent behavior. Around the age of 8 however, boys begin to adhere to and appreciate the social expectations for males—devaluing feminine behavior. It has also been shown that children ages 10–12 prefer same-sex socializing. That is, girls favored girls who socialized with other girls and boys liked boys who socialized with other boys. [14]

Sexual orientation

Homosociality, by definition, implies neither heterosexuality nor homosexuality. For example, a heterosexual male who prefers to socialize with men may be considered a homosocial heterosexual. The term is often used by feminists to emphasize aspects of solidarity between males. Some feminists also identify a close link between female homosociality, feminism, and lesbian desire, with Audre Lorde stating "the true feminist deals out of a lesbian consciousness whether or not she ever sleeps with women." [15]

Historical uses

Homosociality is a term sometimes used in discussions of the all-male world of knightly life in medieval culture. It is also used for historically largely male occupations such as being a sailor (for example, historian Marcus Rediker uses the term to describe the pirate world). Homosocial relationships are not obliged to be sexual relationships; they are merely same-sex social interactions.

Predominantly homosocial arrangements include:

Generally, the more polarized the gender roles and restrictive the sexual code, the more homosociality one expects to find in a society. [16]

Study

Feminist theory

Feminist scholars such as Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Heidi Hartmann [17] and others [18] have emphasized the role of male homosociality in perpetuating perceived patterns of male dominance in the workplace. Kanter has explored "metaphorical 'homosocial reproduction' - how men attempt to reproduce their dominant power relations by only uniting with and sharing the same occupational space and privilege with those males" [19] who resemble them - although "subsequent research has suggested some revisions of Kanter's underlying argument...[re] 'homosocial reproduction'". [20] Timothy Laurie has criticized how "homosociality" is used in the sociology of masculinity, noting that "much extant research on [homosociality] retains the premise that men innately seek identification and communication with other men. The mysterious malepolitik is thus privileged over men's relationships to femininity, or women's relationships to masculinity". [21] In terms of specific studies, Karen Gabriel offers a useful mapping of the working of homosociality in the context of India. [22]

Homosocial/sexual

There is further controversy regarding the relationship between homosociality and homosexuality: "how, if at all, male homosociality is connected to male homosexuality is one of the key questions posed by scholars in the field". [23] Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick identifies a continuum between homosociality and homosexuality, going as far as correlating feminism and lesbian desire. This approach has been compared to Adrienne Rich's concept of the "lesbian continuum." [24]

At the same time, Sedgwick "defines male homosociality as a form of male bonding with a characteristic triangular structure. In this triangle, men have intense but nonsexual bonds with other men, and women serve as the conduits through which those bonds are expressed". [25] Sedgwick's analysis of "the love triangle in which two men appear to be competing for a woman's love...develops René Girard's claim that such a triangle may disguise as rivalry what is actually an attraction between men". [26] Girard argued that "the homosexual drift stems logically from the fact that the model/rival is a man", producing at times a "noticeably increased preponderance of the mediator and a gradual obliteration of the [female] object". [27]

Research at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS), La Trobe University, has found that mutual identification over heterosexual activity is often the medium through which male homosocial bonding is enacted. [28]

Bromance

In popular culture, the word bromance has recently been used to refer to an especially close homosocial yet non-sexual relationship between two men. Bromance is most often used in the case of two heterosexual partners, although there have been prominent celebrity gay-straight bromances (also known as homomances or hobromances). The female equivalent is a womance.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual orientation</span> Pattern of romantic or sexual attraction

Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns are generally categorized under heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality, while asexuality is sometimes identified as the fourth category.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biology and sexual orientation</span> Field of sexual orientation research

The relationship between biology and sexual orientation is a subject of on-going research. While scientists do not know the exact cause of sexual orientation, they theorize that it is caused by a complex interplay of genetic, hormonal, and environmental influences. However, evidence is weak for hypotheses that the post-natal social environment impacts sexual orientation, especially for males.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Societal attitudes toward homosexuality</span> How societies view, stigmatize or value homosexuality

Societal attitudes toward homosexuality vary greatly across different cultures and historical periods, as do attitudes toward sexual desire, activity and relationships in general. All cultures have their own values regarding appropriate and inappropriate sexuality; some sanction same-sex love and sexuality, while others may disapprove of such activities in part. As with heterosexual behaviour, different sets of prescriptions and proscriptions may be given to individuals according to their gender, age, social status or social class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick</span> American scholar of queer theory (1950–2009)

Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick was an American academic scholar in the fields of gender studies, queer theory, and critical theory. Sedgwick published several books considered groundbreaking in the field of queer theory, and her critical writings helped create the field of queer studies, in which she was one of the most influential figures. Sedgwick's essays became the framework for critics of poststructuralism, multiculturalism, and gay studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fraternal birth order and male sexual orientation</span> Theory of sexual orientation

Fraternal birth order has been correlated with male sexual orientation, with a significant volume of research finding that the more older brothers a male has from the same mother, the greater the probability he will have a homosexual orientation. Ray Blanchard and Anthony Bogaert first identified the association in the 1990s and named it the fraternal birth order effect. Scientists have attributed the effect to a prenatal biological mechanism, since the association is only present in men with older biological brothers, and not present among men with older step-brothers and adoptive brothers. The mechanism is thought to be a maternal immune response to male fetuses, whereby antibodies neutralize male Y-proteins thought to play a role in sexual differentiation during development. This would leave some regions of the brain associated with sexual orientation in the 'female typical' arrangement – or attracted to men. Biochemical evidence for this hypothesis was identified in 2017, finding mothers with a gay son, particularly those with older brothers, had heightened levels of antibodies to the NLGN4Y Y-protein than mothers with heterosexual sons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT stereotypes</span> Stereotypes around LGBTQ people and communities

LGBT stereotypes are stereotypes about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are based on their sexual orientations, gender identities, or gender expressions. Stereotypical perceptions may be acquired through interactions with parents, teachers, peers and mass media, or, more generally, through a lack of firsthand familiarity, resulting in an increased reliance on generalizations.

Human male sexuality encompasses a wide variety of feelings and behaviors. Men's feelings of attraction may be caused by various physical and social traits of their potential partner. Men's sexual behavior can be affected by many factors, including evolved predispositions, individual personality, upbringing, and culture. While most men are heterosexual, there are minorities of homosexual or varying degrees of bisexual men.

A cross-sex friendship is a platonic relationship between two unrelated people of differing sexes or gender. There are multiple types of cross-sex friendships, all defined by whether or not each party has a romantic attraction to each other, or perceives that the other is interested. A few theories have been developed to explain the existence of such friendships. Research has been done on why men and women initiate these relationships, how they are perceived by others, implications for children with cross-sex friendships, among others. Cross-sex friendships can also create problems for those involved if either or both have or ever had any romantic feelings for the other.

A relationship between handedness and sexual orientation has been suggested by a number of researchers, who report that heterosexual individuals are somewhat more likely to be right-handed than are homosexual individuals.

Childhood gender nonconformity (CGN) is a phenomenon in which prepubescent children do not conform to expected gender-related sociological or psychological patterns, or identify with the opposite sex/gender. Typical behavior among those who exhibit the phenomenon includes but is not limited to a propensity to cross-dress, refusal to take part in activities conventionally thought suitable for the gender and the exclusive choice of play-mates of the opposite sex.

In sociology, heterosociality describes social relations with persons of the opposite sex or a preference for such relations, often excluding relationships of a romantic and sexual nature. The opposite of heterosociality is homosociality.

This article focuses on Japanese definitions of gender and sexuality, Japanese reactions to queer life, the clash between traditional and contemporary ideas, and the cultural restraints of being queer in Japan. The Western term “queer,” an umbrella term for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender represents a change in thought pertaining to gender and sexuality in contemporary Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environment and sexual orientation</span> Field of sexual orientation research

The relationship between the environment and sexual orientation is a subject of research. In the study of sexual orientation, some researchers distinguish environmental influences from hormonal influences, while other researchers include biological influences such as prenatal hormones as part of environmental influences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pederasty</span> Male adult–adolescent sexual behavior

Pederasty or paederasty is a sexual relationship between an adult man and a boy. It was a socially acknowledged practice in Ancient Greece and Rome and elsewhere in the world, such as Pre-Meiji Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bisexuality</span> Sexual attraction to people of any gender

Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, to more than one gender, or to both people of the same gender and different genders. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, which is also known as pansexuality.

<i>Sexual Preference</i> (book) 1981 book

Sexual Preference: Its Development in Men and Women (1981) is a book about the development of sexual orientation by the psychologist Alan P. Bell and the sociologists Martin S. Weinberg and Sue Kiefer Hammersmith, in which the authors reevaluate what were at the time of its publication widely held ideas about the origins of heterosexuality and homosexuality, sometimes rejecting entirely the factors proposed as causes, and in other cases concluding that their importance had been exaggerated. Produced with the help of the American National Institute of Mental Health, the study was a publication of the Institute for Sex Research. Together with its Statistical Appendix, Sexual Preference was the conclusion of a series of books including Homosexuality: An Annotated Bibliography (1972) and Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity Among Men and Women (1978), both co-authored by Bell and Weinberg.

Epistemology of the Closet is a book published in 1990 by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, who is considered one of the founders of queer studies. The book tackles the question of what makes up human sexuality.

Gender roles are culturally influenced stereotypes which create expectations for appropriate behavior for males and females. An understanding of these roles is evident in children as young as age four. Children between 3 and 6 months can form distinctions between male and female faces. By ten months, infants can associate certain objects with females and males, like a hammer with males or scarf with females. Gender roles are influenced by the media, family, the environment, and society. In addition to biological maturation, children develop within a set of gender-specific social and behavioral norms embedded in family structure, natural play patterns, close friendships, and the teeming social jungle of school life. The gender roles encountered in childhood play a large part in shaping an individual's self-concept and influence the way an individual forms relationships later on in life.

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 by means of heteronormative culture and attitudes towards these non-conformative relationships.

Acquired homosexuality is the discredited idea that homosexuality can be spread, either through sexual seduction or recruitment by homosexuals, or through exposure to media depicting homosexuality. According to this belief, any child or young person could become homosexual if exposed to it; conversely, through conversion therapy, a homosexual person could be made straight.

References

  1. ↑ Hammarén, Nils; Johansson, Thomas (1 January 2014). "Homosociality: In Between Power and Intimacy". SAGE Open . 4 (1): 2158244013518057. doi: 10.1177/2158244013518057 . ISSN   2158-2440. In the literature, this concept is mainly used as a tool to understand and dissect male friendships and men's collective attempts to uphold and maintain power and hegemony....The overall picture from the research, however, promotes the notion that homosociality clearly is a part and extension of hegemony, thus serving to always reconstruct and safeguard male interests and power.
  2. ↑ J. Childers/G. Hentzi eds., The Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism (New York 1995) p. 138
  3. ↑ Yaeger, Patricia S. (December 1985). "Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Between Men: English Literature and Male Homosocial Desire" (PDF). MLN . 100 (5): 1139–1144. doi:10.2307/2905456. JSTOR   2905456.
  4. ↑ Merl Storr, Latex and Lingerie (2003) p. 39-40
  5. ↑ Rose, S.M. (1985). Same- and cross-sex friendships and the psychology of homosociality. Sex Roles, 12(1/2), 63-75.
  6. ↑ Harkness, S., & Super, C.M. (1985). The cultural context of gender segregation in children’s peer groups. Child Development, 56, 219-224.
  7. ↑ Maccoby, E.E., & Jacklin, C.N. (1987). Gener segregation in childhood. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 20, 239-287.
  8. ↑ LaFreriere, P., Strayer, F.F., & Gauthier, R. (1984). The emergence of same-sex preferences among preschool peers: A developmental ethological perspective. Child Development, 55, 1958-1965.
  9. ↑ LaFreriere, P., Strayer, F.F., & Gauthier, R. (1984). The emergence of same-sex preferences among preschool peers: A developmental ethological perspective. Child Development, 55, 1958-1965.
  10. ↑ Harkness, S., & Super, C.M. (1985). The cultural context of gender segregation in children's peer groups. Child Development, 56, 219-224.
  11. ↑ Harkness, S., & Super, C.M. (1985). The cultural context of gender segregation in children's peer groups. Child Development, 56, 219-224.
  12. ↑ Bussey, K., & Bandura, A. (1992). Self-regulatory mechanisms governing gender development. Child Development, 63, 1236-1250.
  13. ↑ Martin, C. L. (1989) Children's use of gender-related information in making social judgments. Developmental Psychology, 25, 80-88.
  14. ↑ Lobel, T. E., Bempechat, J., Gewirtz, J. C., Shoken- Topaz, T., & Bashe, E. (1993). The role of gender-related information and self-endorsement traits in preadolescents' inferences and judgments. Child Development, 64, 1285-1294.
  15. ↑ Juhasz, Suzanne (2003). A Desire for Women: Relational Psychoanalysis, Writing, and Relationships Between Women. Rutgers University Press. ISBN   978-0-8135-3274-5.
  16. ↑ Gilbert H. Herdt, in Merl Storr ed., Bisexuality: A Critical Reader (1999) p. 152
  17. ↑ Harriet Bradley, Gender (2007) p. 103-4
  18. ↑ P.E. Sandhu: Persistent Homogeneity in Top Management , doctoral dissertation, Berlin, 2013
  19. ↑ C. R. Ember/M. Ember, Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender Vol I (2003) p. 102
  20. ↑ F. J. Crosly et al, Sex Discrimination in the Workplace (2007) p. 198
  21. ↑ Laurie, Timothy (2015). "Masculinity Studies and the Jargon of Strategy: Hegemony, Tautology, Sense". Angelaki: Journal of the Theoretical Humanities 20(1).
  22. ↑ Gabriel, Karen. "Towards an Understanding of Homosociality in India". Norma: Nordic Journal of Masculinity Studies, (vol. 9, no. 1, 2014).
  23. ↑ Storr, Latex p. 39
  24. ↑ Childers/Hentzi, p. 139
  25. ↑ Storr, Latex p. 41
  26. ↑ Childers/Hentzi eds., p. 139
  27. ↑ René Girard, A Theatre of Envy (Oxford 1991) p. 259 and p. 44
  28. ↑ Abstract of "Men, Sex, and Homosociality: How Bonds between Men Shape Their Sexual Relations with Women" by Michael Flood
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.