Gay men and masculinity in a homohysteric Turkish body building culture

KAVASOĞLU İ., Anderson E.

JOURNAL OF GENDER STUDIES, cilt.31, sa.7, ss.812-824, 2022 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 31 Sayı: 7
  • Basım Tarihi: 2022
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1080/09589236.2021.2018292
  • Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF GENDER STUDIES
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, Periodicals Index Online, Educational research abstracts (ERA), Gender Studies Database, Index Islamicus, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Political Science Complete, Psycinfo, Social services abstracts, Sociological abstracts, Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.812-824
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Masculinity, homohysteria, bodybuilding, Sport, Turkey, ATTITUDES, LESBIANS, HOMOSEXUALITY, SPORT, TRUSTWORTHINESS, CONSTRUCTION, RELIGIOSITY, HOMOPHOBIA, PREJUDICE, GENDER
  • Çukurova Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This research provides the first-ever examination into the relationship between being a gay male athlete and body building in Turkey. We use the stage modelling of Inclusive Masculinity Theory in order to interpret the experiences of six gay men with recreational bodybuilding experience in a homohysteric setting. We find that they engage with bodybuilding in order to hyper-masculinize their appearance and gain self-confidence in their attraction to other gay men; as well as for protection against violence if they are discovered to be gay. However, they experience psychological dissonance with the practice, as a result of the extreme homophobia of the setting. As a result, the bodybuilding field has multiple, conflicting, meanings for the men we interviewed.