Sexual fluidity among non-heterosexual men: discourses and practices on sexual variability negotiated with hegemonic masculinity

ABSTRACT

Hegemonic masculinity constitutes a relevant tool for understanding the genderization processes prevailing in men’s sexualities. Hence, we deployed this concept as a resource to analyse how sexual fluidity might apply to the sexuality of non-heterosexual men and how they experienced this. We carried out semi-structured interviews with 15 participants, ranging from 20 to 53 years old, who all reported having experienced sexual fluidity. This article presents experiences of sexual fluidity as a shifting identity amidst flexible sexual activities and concerns over normativity through personal and social reactions taking place in a heterostable social world. These results exhibit the negotiations of sexual fluidity with hegemonic masculinities, both reproduced and questioned.

KEYWORDS:

• Hegemonic masculinities
• non-heterosexual men
• normativity
• sexual fluidity
• sexualities

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by grants from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) [SFRH/BD/132267/2017] and the COMPETE 2020 program [CPUP UIDB/00050/2020, POCI-01- 0145-FEDER-0072].

Notes on contributors

Rita Grave

Rita Grave has a degree in Primary Education from the University of Minho and is a Psychologist and Master in Psychology by the University of Porto – Faculty of Psychology and Education Science. Her most recent publication is A meta-synthesis about the study of men's sexual behavior through the lens of hegemonic masculinity published in 2020 by PSICOLOGIA, journal of the Portuguese Psychology Association. Currently, she is a Ph.D. student with a Ph.D. grant (FCT) for her doctoral working program (SFRH/BD/132267/2017) studying sexuality and masculinity at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Porto, Portugal.

Ana R. Pinho

Ana R. Pinho is a Licensed Psychologist, by the Portuguese Order of Psychologists, and a Master in Clinical and Health Psychology. She is a Ph.D. student of the Doctoral Programme in Human Sexuality at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of the University of Porto. Her most recent publication is Sex workers' narratives about clients with disabilities: Can training improve sexual health in Portugal? Published in 2020 by Saúde e Sociedade. Her areas of interest and scientific production focus on sexualities, sexual health, gender studies, and sexual assistance.

António M. Marques

António M. Marques holds a Ph.D. in Social Psychology and is a coordinating Professor at the School of Health of the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal. Has participated in projects and published in the fields of gender, sexuality, and health.

Conceição Nogueira

Conceição Nogueira holds a Ph.D. in Social Psychology. She is an Associate Professor with Aggregation at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of the University of Porto and vice-director of the Ph.D. Program in Human Sexuality of the same faculty. She is the author of several books (national and international), book chapters, and articles on the theme of Gender Studies, Sexualities, and Feminisms. She is the coordinator of several international and national projects. Her most recent publication is Prematurity-related knowledge among mothers and fathers of very preterm infants published in 2020 by Journal of Clinical Nursing.