Power and Pleasure: Heteronormativity and Homophobia in Heterosexual Sex

dc.contributor.advisorHollander, Jocelyn
dc.contributor.authorStewart, Lauren
dc.date.accessioned2018-09-06T21:55:27Z
dc.date.available2018-09-06T21:55:27Z
dc.date.issued2018-09-06
dc.description.abstractHow do sex practices get constructed as normal? This research evaluates discussions of pegging, a gender non-conforming sex practice within heterosexual sex whereby women anally penetrate men. Data were collected from the website Reddit and its subreddit r/sex. 3,485 comments posted to 30 discussion threads were analyzed for common themes. Findings suggest that pegging confuses gendered expectations for “having sex”. Additionally, heteronormativity and homophobia were found to structure heterosexual interactions, including the ways in which gender and sexual identities, desire, and bodies are understood. This is illuminated by findings supporting “gender accountability” or the idea that we “do gender” because people anticipate how others will perceive their actions based on gender expectations. Finally, an examination of homophobia reveals ways in which homophobia operates in a hate-free zone. Homophobia was found to encourage heterosexuals’ treatment of homosexuals as distinctly different kinds of people than heterosexuals, including frequent boundary setting between what is gay and straight. Overall this project reveals that pegging is a culturally unintelligible sex act that causes a great deal of confusion, anxiety, and sometimes pleasure for those who partake.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1794/23732
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Oregon
dc.rightsAll Rights Reserved.
dc.subjectHeteronormativityen_US
dc.subjectHeterosexualityen_US
dc.subjectHomophobiaen_US
dc.subjectMasculinityen_US
dc.subjectSexual pleasureen_US
dc.titlePower and Pleasure: Heteronormativity and Homophobia in Heterosexual Sex
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
thesis.degree.disciplineDepartment of Sociology
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Oregon
thesis.degree.leveldoctoral
thesis.degree.namePh.D.

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