ABSTRACT

Explore the feelings of men toward other men without the pigeonholing found in terms like “gay” and “straight”!Male to Male: Sexual Feeling Across the Boundaries of Identity starts with the evidence that most studies on male sexuality have ignored--the same-sex feelings of men whose identities are heterosexual. Of the more than fifty men in this book, almost half were aware of some degree of same-sex feeling. But beyond percentages, the primary focus of Male to Male is the exploration--through their own words--of how these men experienced same-sex feelings, what these feelings meant to them, the fears surrounding them, and the consequences of the collision between their heterosexual identities and their same-sex feelings.In addition to comparative data on women's same-sex feelings, as well as on what men say in regard to their feelings about women, Male to Male includes material from two in-depth case studies. The first is on Clark, an African-American man who moved into sex with men in prison. His story shows that the need to see gay men as feminine is really a cultural defense against the powerful pull toward the male-to-male bond, and points to the movement to fulfill that bond when this defense is dropped. The second is on Zack, a gay police officer. His story explores the different dimensions and meanings of the male-to-male bond as these unfolded in his own life, while telling about the heterosexually identified men who “came out” to him about their own same-sex feelings. Male to Male will help you explore:

  • same-sex feelings in heterosexual men and women
  • same-sex feelings in the military
  • prison culture and the “heterosexual role”
  • the fear of domination
  • the aesthetics of fear and power
  • the dynamics of rape
  • compassionate relationships between heterosexual-identified men . . . and much more!
Male to Male provides evidence showing that the identity that really counts--constituting the deepest source from which men's sexual feelings for each other spring--is not specifically a gay or heterosexual identity. That source is, rather, a male identity, and--beyond that--a human identity.

part |190 pages

Ordinary People

chapter |16 pages

The Inner Boundary

chapter |25 pages

Women at the Boundary

chapter |22 pages

“Moving Toward” and Resistance

chapter |53 pages

Men on Men

Image, Emotion, and Meaning

chapter |17 pages

Emotional Paths

chapter |24 pages

Identity Crises

part |51 pages

Clark

chapter |19 pages

“A Man Like Myself”

chapter |29 pages

Movement into New Territory

part |106 pages

Zack

chapter |32 pages

Cultural Confrontations and Identity

chapter |34 pages

The Color Green

chapter |36 pages

Boundary Crossings

chapter |2 pages

Conclusion

Identity and Beyond