Misogynistic gay men
While this may not be seen as misogynistic or discriminatory to some, it certainly seems that way to those who have experienced it. It is important to address this issue in order to foster a genuinely supportive and inclusive environment. Now, there are certainly plenty of sexist, indeed misogynistic, gay men out there, but that’s a rather broad brush, and on the surface, this seems orthogonal to our feelings toward female genitalia.
Oppositional sexism is seen as the belief that female and male are rigid, mutually exclusive categories, and traditional sexism is the belief that maleness and masculinity are superior to femaleness and femininity. When a person of any gender shows emotion, sensitivity or even likes the color pink, some men automatically categorize these traits as feminine and, therefore, inferior to more masculine traits and people.
The topic of misogyny among gay men is a difficult one to broach. Male homosexuality has traditionally been linked with feminine behaviors. According to an article by Sean Arayasirikul, PhD. She recalled an incident in which she and some of her female friends went to a local bar; her female friends were ignored by the bartender, but when two gay men walked up they were immediately served.
Trans-misogyny can drive the demonization and fetishization of trans women in society, as compared to trans men and cis women. Wilson, DrPH, in the Journal of Homosexualitytrans-misogyny is understudied and has been used to describe an interlocking form of oppression for trans women.
Some believe that homophobia itself is rooted in misogyny, and the same can be said of transphobia. This term is often used to reference anti-effeminacy in gay men, suggesting that this phobia was partly rooted in the desire to avoid being stereotyped, dating from early experiences as feminine boys in society.
Valerie Jacksonwho identifies as a trans-feminine woman, shared her experience with misogyny in the community:. Cisgender gay men can often perpetuate misogyny by devaluing femininity, mocking women or excluding trans women and lesbians from queer bars, clubs and social circles.
By acknowledging and confronting misogyny, we can begin to unravel the harmful dynamics that undermine our unity. Effeminate men and butch women were examples of the exterior notions of inverted gender behavior, and because both threatened customary conceptions of masculinity and femininity, they were seen as a cause for alarm.
Gay times, some drag spaces normalize misogynist humor, targeting cis and trans women and reinforcing stereotypes about femininity. That attitude causes some men to become cold and jaded. This definition of femmephobia relates well misogynistic the apprehension gay men have toward femininity, particularly in other gay and bisexual men.
Men anti-effeminacy attitudes can be motivated by a need to be accepted by others as men try to enhance their own appeal by aligning themselves with the anti-effeminacy views they perceive to be popular. Then there are gay men who realize that they suffer too under the patriarchy and that homophobia and misogyny are closely related.
Even though traditional sexism is more often taken up as the gay of feminism, oppositional sexism represents the investment in the gender binary embedded in sexism. As a queer women in the San Francisco Bay Area, I know more of the latter type of gay people, but the former type are so loud that they dominate my perception -- and, I believe, generally have an outsize media presence.
Fiónn McFadden discusses the problem of misogyny among gay men and how it relates to the stereotype of the "gay best friend". This femme-phobic framing demonstrates adherence to a masculine ideal within the gay culture. Many trans women, including myself, experience societal scrutiny over our bodies, exacerbated by gendered expectations and biases against femininity.
Some users rely on anti-effeminacy themes to frame their romantic preferences in these apps, resulting in femme-phobic language. The article concludes with a discussion of the ways in which gay male misogyny reinforces white male dominance over women and queer femininities specifically, advocating for resistance to the reproduction of such patriarchal arrangements.
It is a unique and intersectional form of sexism stemming from the interaction between misogynistic and traditional sexism. In my experience, men either simply refuse to believe the phenomenon exists, or the conversation is quickly derailed (“yeah, but. Men are often told not to cry, not to be vulnerable, etc.
Trans women, especially trans women of color, experience disproportionate rates of hate crimes, police brutality and sexual violence.