Book not gay

Review of "Not Gay: Sex Between Straight White Men" by Jane Ward

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Ward’s book, Not Gay: Sex Between Straight White Men is a look at a timeless, but under evaluated phenomena. Sex between straight white men sounds prefer a paradox: some kind of residual heteronormative notion. Ward’s statement is that it is not- that for time immemorial otherwise heterosexual white men have engaged in homosexual and homosocial behaviors under a variety of homosocial circumstances (fraternities, the military, pornography, bathhouses). Ward’s thesis is aligned with queer theory and the notion that sexuality is fluid and sexual identities and practices may be at odds; that primarily heterosexual men can and do engage in homosexual sex acts that do not accrue into some salient identity. Ward asserts these men are not bisexual, not closeted gay men, but rather, that heterosexuality may coexist with these behaviors and even encompass them. This subversion of dominant sexuality narratives is quite bold and Ward does an excellent job in execute

Description

A different look at heterosexuality in the twenty-first century

A vertical white girl can kiss a young woman, like it, and still call herself straight--her boyfriend may even encourage her. But can unbent white guys trial the same uncomplicated sexual fluidity, or would kissing a guy just represent that they are really gay? Not Gaythrusts deep into a world where straight guy-on-guy activity is not a myth but a reality: there's fraternity and military hazing rituals, where modern recruits are made to grab each other's penises and stick fingers up their fellow members' anuses; online personal ads, where direct men seek other straight men to masturbate with; and, last but not least, the elongated and clandestine history of straight men frequenting public restrooms for sexual encounters with other men. For Jane Ward, these sexual practices reveal a singular social space where straight white men can--and do--have sex with other unbent white men; in fact, she argues, to do so reaffirms rather than challenges their gender and racial self. Ward illustrates that sex between unbent white

Not Gay: Sex Between Vertical White Men

Alex

25 reviews3 followers

August 2,

“I began this study because I felt heterosexuality calling me to do something, repeatedly hailing me, flagging me down to tell an obligatory and erroneous story about myself.” (pg. ) Later, Jane Ward writes, “I find both heterosexual and mainstream gay culture distasteful and often pitiable; that my partner and I are not ladies and we don’t want our relationship described as beautiful; that if you reflect you would be happier as a dyke you could and should be one; and that I don’t want a wonderful public image (at least not the kind for which mainstream gay and lesbian movement is striving); and that it is precisely because queerness refuses normalization that is meaningful to me and to other queers. The subversion is where the intimacy lies.” (Why is this in Not Gay: Sex Between Straight White Men?)

Now that you know too much about the writer, Jane Ward, (she describes her lesbian sexual encounters throughout Not Gay: Sex Between Straight White Men), you should remind yourself, this is an academic book pu

Not Gay

"Wards book is confident and theoretically well-informed, and applications a rich, often counterintuitive and thought-provoking tour through straight white mens gay activities and their shifting meanings in history, in the military, in fan fiction, in French kissing among Hells Angel members, as well as in the accounts of pop psychological experts who confirm straight men having sex with other men that they arenot gay. In short, this is cultural studies at its best." ~Times Higher Awareness

"[Not Gay] provides a compelling and intriguing argument, that, rather than erasing queer identities, complicates the concept of individuality itself." ~The Culture Pages

"What I love about this publication is that it expands our notions about what it means to be human." ~Women’s Studies Quarterly

"The title of Jane Wards manual is not meant to be ironic. Her argument is that while sexual activity between straight alabaster men does take place, it doesnt mean that the participants are queer . The book is about exploring the circumstances under which this situation can be said to arise