The Influence of Declining Homophobia on Men's Gender in the United States: An Argument for the Study of Homohysteria

Generations of scholars have examined the variety of cor relates of attitudes and behaviors of heterosexual men toward gay men. There has also been s ubstantial exploration of the impact of homophobia on gay men and its gendering of heterosexual m en. However, less research exists into the effects of the liberalization of sexua l attitudes on these groups . In this forum, we call for scholarly engagement with a relatively new ar ena of masculinities studies: the impact of decreasing homophobia on socially acceptable gender ed behaviors among heterosexual males in the U.S. We offer homohysteria as a concept to examine the impact of heterosexual male ’ s fear of being thought gay; suggesting that homohysteria is an effe ctive heurism for investigating micro- and macro-level process es relating homophobia to masculinity. Our thesis is that as homohysteria declines, heterosexual males are able to engage in homosocial relationships characterized by a nu mber of positive traits, including: the social inclusion of gay male peers; the embrace of once-feminized artifacts; increased emotional intimacy; increased physical tactility; the eros ion of the one-time rule of homosexuality; and a rejection of violence. We focus sol ely upon heterosexual males and their attitudes toward gay males because these are the demo graphics of the participants in the empirical research in this area. We then highlight eigh t key areas where further research could both develop homohysteria as a concept and enhance unders tanding of social life. Keywords : gender; heterosexuality; homohysteria; homophobia; masculin ities; theory