“I sexually identify as an Attack Helicopter”: Incels, trolls, and non-binary gender politics online

Recent public debate on gender identification has provided new alternatives to the traditional binary divergent titles of “man and woman”. Some contributors to this discussion have proposed a more regressive position regarding gender equity and identity awareness, instead choosing to mock online discussion by relabeling their own gender as different forms of military hardware (“attack helicopters”). The describing characteristics of these individuals are unclear. Using a sample of respondents (N=20) to the 2016 Australian Sex Survey, we explore some key demographics of those identifying as inanimate objects of modern warfare, and those simply rejecting the possibility of non-binary alternatives. Our archetype analysis delineates participant characteristics into two subpopulations of “Incel” and “Troll”, and identifies key differences in their demographics, personality traits and online behaviours. On average, the study population presents as single Caucasian males, high school educated, with average to low incomes, and some degree of non-heterosexual attraction. While cyber aggression and trolling are well researched areas, further qualitative and quantitative research is warranted into new growing sub-populations such as Incels, and how they differ from other individuals and groups online.

Performing heterosexual attraction in a bisexual interview: A methodological account of gendered power

The article describes the specific gender and sexuality relations that emerged in a life story interview I conducted with a gay-identified man who desires both women and men. I provide a detailed description not only of the eroticization he performed in the interview, but also of my reactions: I felt vulnerable, attractive, attracted, and repulsed. My reflexive analysis frames these reactions in the context of the power dynamics between us, as well as in the context of his narrated experiences with women (including solidarity, desire, abuse and economic interests) – some of which my analysis would not have revealed without taking our interaction into account. I thus argue for the importance of processes of embodied learning, and specifically, for the theoretical significance of the bisexual gendered dynamics between researcher and respondent. Further, my account illuminates the ambiguity of bonding between queer women and men. I argue that owing to the theoretical productivity of the researcher’s reflexivity, the transactional erotic aspects of our own subjectivity are telling of the very meanings (of sex, gender, sexuality and other categories) we aim to interrogate.

Meta-Analysis of the Effect of Red on Perceived Attractiveness

We conducted meta-analyses of studies that test the red-romance hypothesis, which is that the color red enhances heterosexual attraction in romantic contexts. For men rating women, we found a small, statistically significant effect ( d = 0.26 [0.12, 0.40], p = .0004, N = 2,961), with substantial heterogeneity, Q(44) = 172.5, pQ < .0001, I2 = 89% [82, 94], and equivocal results regarding the possibility of upward bias in the estimate. For women rating men, we found a very small effect ( d = 0.13 [0.01, 0.25], p = .03, N = 2,739), with substantial heterogeneity, Q(35) = 73.0, pQ = .0002, I2 = 53% [33, 80], and evidence of upward bias in the estimate. Moderator analyses suggest effect sizes may have declined over time (both genders), may be largest when an original shade of red is used (men only), and may be smaller in preregistered studies (women only). We present contrasting interpretations and suggestions for future research.

“That’s Not the Only Reason I’m Watching the Game”: Women’s (Hetero)Sexual Desire and Sports Fandom

Women make up increasingly large proportions of fan bases of the most popular spectator sports in the United States and are recognized as a viable marketing segment. Despite their growing cultural and economic presence, scholars have noted the stereotypical assumptions women sports fans routinely experience, particularly with regard to the widely held assumption that women’s interest in men’s sport is primarily motivated by heterosexual attraction to male athletes. Recently, feminist scholars have begun to investigate the role of heterosexual desire in shaping the experiences of women sports fans. Building on this literature, we examine the role of heterosexuality in women’s fandom of men’s sports, bringing to our research the feminist articulations of contradiction and a both/and ethos. In doing so, we empirically interrogate popular understandings of the role that women’s heterosexual sexual desire plays in the consumption of men’s sports through an examination of the lived experiences of women fans. Drawing on qualitative semistructured interviews with 11 self-identified women sports fans, we found that the participants navigated the marginalization of women’s heterosexuality in sport fandom in four ways: by positioning the sexualization of athletes as antithetical to fandom, by challenging the exclusion of women’s heterosexuality in the fan cultures surrounding men’s sports, by discussing their own experiences of sexualizing athletes with guilt or ambivalence, and by downplaying the role that sexual attraction plays in their own fandom. We conclude that the marginalization of women sports fans’ heterosexual desire within the institutional center of sports denies important facets of their experience and thereby upholds normative understandings of gendered sexuality that underpin masculine hegemony in sport.

Un-Straightening Boaz in Ruth Scholarship

Scholarly interpretations of Boaz’s sexuality in the book of Ruth largely assume that Boaz experiences sexual desires for Ruth specifically and for women generally. This essay will highlight the heterosexual bias that has commonly framed scholarly interpretations of Boaz and that imposes heterosexual attraction into the text. This essay illustrates that Boaz’s sexuality, far from an obvious aspect of the text, is largely produced through interpretive imagination. Although some scholars have questioned Ruth’s sexuality and her relationship with Naomi, Boaz’s sexuality has largely remained under-analyzed, leaving in place the assumption that the text is clear about his desires for women.