Masculinity and homophobic violence in Australia’s recent past

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper examines a set of research evidence compiled in the last two decades by the author and several of his Australian colleagues to argue that violence directed at gay men, lesbians and transsexuals as ‘sexual minorities’ has not been wholly distinct from other general forms of male perpetrated violence with a broad range of victims including heterosexual women and other men attacked in general male-on-male violence. It observes that harassment and violence directed against sexual groups have been highly gendered and everyday phenomena and narrow views of homophobic prejudice should be refined in order to appreciate this. Furthermore, reflecting on these research findings indicates these violent acts have been widespread and collective social phenomena built on masculine understandings of a sexual mainstream and subordinate others. By focusing upon the masculine facets of this violence it can be seen that much of this violence has been a hostile response to sexual and gender non-conformity through which male perpetrators have sought to enact, police and reinforce sexual hierarchies and gender boundaries. There is contemporary research uncertainty about the real extent of sexual prejudice and related violence in Australia and similar liberal democratic nations around the globe. Nevertheless, it is evident that this social phenomenon had a key historical role in signaling socially acceptable masculine appearance and behavior.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)813-829
Number of pages17
JournalSexuality and Culture
Volume21
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017

Keywords

  • Australia
  • gays
  • homophobia
  • masculinity
  • sexual minorities
  • violence against

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Masculinity and homophobic violence in Australia’s recent past'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this