"You all are sisters! We are all family!" The construction of parenthood in 'RuPaul's Drag Race'

Drag queens epitomise gender fluidity, where the heteronormative binarism male/female is blurred and parodied. Their unconventional nature is reflected in the structure of their community, where they have created alternatives to the heteronormative family, which is historically based on heterosexual marriage and parenthood. Drag families are to be seen as places of personal and financial support, a refuge for young gay men who have been rejected by their “real” families and have financial problems. This study seeks to give prominence to the construction of parenthood in RuPaul’s Drag Race (2009-2021) by analysing the discourse – i. e. the system of statements – around drag family, parenthood and sisterhood in a corpus of 174 episodes. The research is carried out in the light of Corpus Linguistics, with the use of #Lancsbox, a software for the analysis of language data and corpora.

Becoming a Man

This paper seeks to analyze the affective-sexual trajectories of young gay men in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Based on qualitative research with 15 young, urban, low-income gay men aged between 19 and 24, carried out in 2019, this article shows the learning of masculinity and its consequences on the men’s sex lives. As a result, we argue that these young men have been brought up for the exaltation of heterosexuality and being a real man since boyhood; that the pedagogies of masculinity produce hierarchies among gay masculinities; and that the connection with other social markers, such as race, social class, religion, sexual preferences related to being active or passive, and gender expressions, upholds the notion of hegemonic masculinity. Regarding those who escape this pattern, these young men reveal several vulnerabilities and multiple violent acts during their trajectories.

Forever young: Gay men and cosmetic medical treatments

Purpose This study aims to explore innate and sociocultural forces that lead gay men to purchase invasive and non-invasive cosmetic medical treatments. Design/methodology/approach This work draws on a literature review and personal reflections to identify and interpret patterns and themes on drivers that encourage gay men to use cosmetic medical treatments. Findings In line with evolutionary theory, the authors suggest that the male proclivity to evaluate a partner’s sexual desirability on the basis of physical appearance and youth remains consistent among gay men. They also posit that sociocultural norms, such as media imagery, portray gay men as physically attractive and youthful. Among gay men, homonormative ideals that define attractiveness fall on a continuum ranging from hyper-masculinity to hypo-masculinity, with each end encouraging gay men to accept different beauty standards. Research limitations/implications To date, service researchers have mostly overlooked the role of evolution in consumers’ propensity to purchase professional services. This study sets the foundation for researchers to consider both instinctual and sociocultural norms that encourage consumers to purchase not only cosmetic medical treatments but also professional services in general. Practical implications Gay men represent a prime target market for cosmetic medical treatment providers, as their desire for physical attractiveness and youth remains constant as they age. Originality/value This study offers novel insights into gay male consumption of cosmetic medical treatments and services from theoretical and practical perspectives.

No country for old gay men: Age and sexuality category intersection renders older gay men invisible

Four studies analyzed how sexual orientation (heterosexual vs. gay) and age categories (young vs. elderly) referring to men are cognitively combined. In Study 1, young gay men were judged as more prototypical of gay men than adult or elderly gay men, while young, adult, and elderly heterosexual men were perceived as equally prototypical of heterosexual men. In Study 2, gay men were stereotyped more by young rather than elderly stereotypical traits, while heterosexual men were not stereotyped in terms of age. In Study 3, elderly men were stereotyped more by heterosexual than gay-stereotypical traits, while young men were not stereotyped in terms of sexual orientation. In Study 4, gay men were judged to be young rather than elderly, while elderly men were judged to be heterosexual rather than gay. Overall, elderly gay men were overlooked when processing their constituent categories, “gay” and “elderly” men. Implications for models of intersectionality are discussed.

Peggy Ahwesh, Steve McQueen and Russell T. Davies: Reflections on the 1980s under lockdown

In lockdown as I finished my five-year project, on women experimental filmmakers from the 1970s and 1980s, I have been focusing on this past time that formed me. Watching films by artist/filmmakers that I love has helped to keep my anger at the present at bay. A parallel journey back in time has been playing out on TV via the high-profile voices of Steve McQueen and Russell T. Davies. Steve McQueen’s series, Small Axe pays tribute to the Black communities’ struggles, as the postwar era waned and the aggressively neo-liberal individualist world waxed. The anger and activism from an earlier period presciently planned for a 2020 screening speaks out at us from the TV, coinciding with Black Lives Matter, and begs the question of how exactly have things improved in the last 40 years? By contrast Russell T. Davies’ It’s a Sin, is a more sugar-coated dramatization of the 1980s in its treatment of the trauma of the AIDS generation and the impact of the disease on a small group of young gay men and allies in London. How do these different voices meet, mix and coalesce as both a vision from that era and a memory of that era?

The Changing Narratives of Death, Dying, and HIV in the United Kingdom

Death and infection were closely linked from the start of the HIV epidemic, until successful treatments became available. The initial impact of mostly young, gay men dying from HIV was powerful in shaping UK responses. Neoliberal discourses developed at the same time, particularly focusing on how citizens (rather than the state) should take responsibility to improve health. Subsequently “successful ageing” became an allied discourse, further marginalising death discussions. Our study reflected on a broad range of meanings around death within the historical UK epidemic, to examine how dying narratives shape contemporary HIV experiences. Fifty-one participants including people living with HIV, professionals, and activists were recruited for semistructured interviews. Assuming a symbolic interactionist framework, analysis highlighted how HIV deaths were initially experienced as not only traumatic but also energizing, leading to creativity. With effective antiretrovirals, dying changed shape (e.g., loss of death literacy), and better integration of palliative care was recommended.

Singing Your Way out of the Closet: Young Gay Men in the Operatic World

Little has been written about the reasons gay men choose opera as a venue for professional achievement and social acceptance. Espousing an ethnographic approach, the current article sets out to question their motives. Applying Bourdieu’s concepts of field, cultural capital and habitus, I suggest looking at the opera as a cultural setting, which provides young gay men with a venue for coming out of the closet and, should they be talented and meticulous, achieving professional and social positions. In constituting a safe zone for expressing closeted emotions, engagement in operatic activities enables the development and application of gay capital, as well as cultural capital, such that gayness is interpreted as an invaluable resource, granting them professional and social acceptance.

Otherness

Otherness is an experience that greatly affects the lives of all gay men. Feelings of otherness are fueled by the heteronormative structures ranging from families to society at large, and through the macro- and microaggressions that gay men experience in numerous contexts. Otherness experienced by many gay men throughout the course of their lives exacerbates loneliness and social isolation, which has been endemic in the gay population throughout the generations. The power of otherness also acts as a deterrent for some gay men in disclosing their identities. While advances in society and depiction of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals in media may have impact in “normalizing gay identity, the experience of otherness continues to be incredibly powerful, first taking roots for gay men when they are young boys, creating emotional distress in childhood that perpetuates into adult lives even after coming out. Some young gay men turn to intergenerational love as means establishing feelings of normalcy as gay men and combatting otherness.