Heteronormativity and Homophobia In
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Oregon Scholars' Bank POWER AND PLEASURE: HETERONORMATIVITY AND HOMOPHOBIA IN HETEROSEXUAL SEX by LAUREN STEWART A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of Sociology and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2018 DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE Student: Lauren Stewart Title: Power and Pleasure: Heteronormativity and Homophobia in Heterosexual Sex This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of Sociology by: Jocelyn Hollander Co-Chair CJ Pascoe Co-Chair Eileen Otis Core Member Yvonne Braun Institutional Representative and Sara D. Hodges Interim Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded June 2018. ii © 2018 Lauren Stewart DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Lauren Stewart iii Doctor of Philosophy Department of Sociology June 2018 Title: Power and Pleasure: Heteronormativity and Homophobia in Heterosexual Sex How 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. CURRICULUM VITAE iv NAME OF AUTHOR: Lauren Stewart GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene Portland State University, Portland, Oregon Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro DEGREES AWARDED Doctor of Philosophy, Sociology, 2018, University of Oregon Master of Science, Sociology, 2010, University of Oregon Master of Science, Sociology, 2009, Portland State University Bachelor of Arts, Sociology, 2007, Middle Tennessee State University AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST Sexualities Gender Theory PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Graduate Teaching Fellow, Department of Sociology and Women’s, Gender, and Sexualities Studies 2009-2018 Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Sociology, PSU, 2007-2009 INDEPENDENT TEACHING EXPERIENCE Women, Work, and Class (WGS 341) Summer 2017 Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS 101) Summer 2017 Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS 101) Spring 2017 Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS 101) Winter 2017 Sex and Society (SOC 457) Summer 2016 Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS 101) Spring 2016 Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS 101) Winter 2016 History and Development of Feminist Theory (WGS 321) Summer 2015 Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS 101) Spring 2015 Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS 101) Winter 2015 Sex and Society (SOC 457) Summer 2014 Sex and Society (SOC 457) Summer 2013 v Sex and Society (SOC 457) Summer 2011 Sex and Society (SOC 457) Summer 2010 PUBLICATIONS Pascoe, C.J. and Lauren Charles Stewart. 2016. “Policing Masculinity and Femininity.” The SAGE Encyclopedia of LGBTQ Studies, edited by Abbie E. Goldberg. Sage. Pascoe, C.J. and Lauren Charles Stewart. 2016. “Sexualities at School.” The SAGE Encyclopedia of LGBTQ Studies, edited by Abbie E. Goldberg. Sage. Coltrane, Scott, Elizabeth Miller, Tracy DeHaan, and Lauren Stewart. 2013. “Fathers and the Flexibility Stigma.” Journal of Social Issues 69(2): 279-302. SCHOLARSHIPS, GRANTS, AND AWARDS Graduate Student Dissertation Research Grant ($2,500), Center for the Study of Women in Society, UO (2015) Research Travel Grant ($300), Center for the Study of Women in Society, UO (2015) Small Research Grant ($300), Department of Sociology, UO (2014) Charles W. Hunt Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, Department of Sociology, UO (2014) Wasby-Johnson Dissertation Award ($7,000) Department of Sociology, UO (2012) Research Travel Grant ($300), Center for the Study of Women in Society, UO (2011) Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Projects Grant ($3,500), URC, MTSU (2009) Tau Sigma Honor Society, MTSU (2007) Marian Clark Scholarship for Social Service Oriented Sociology ($1,000), Department of Sociology and Anthropology, MTSU (2006) Alpha Kappa Delta, Sociology Honor Society, MTSU (2006) Golden Key International Honor Society, MTSU (2006) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vi I thank Professors Jocelyn Hollander and CJ Pascoe for their guidance and encouragement throughout this project and preparation of this manuscript. I could not have done this without your wisdom. I also thank Eileen Otis and Yvonne Braun for their support and advice throughout this research. Special thanks are in order to Ellen Scott, Elizabeth Reiss, and Scott Coltrane for their help in developing this project. I also thank the Department of Sociology and the Wasby-Johnson fellowship that funded this research. Additionally, I thank the Center for the Study of Women in Society for research and travel grants and scholarships supporting this research. A special thanks to the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies for the opportunities to further develop this project through pedagogical experience. I also thank Keith Miller, Mary Allison-Smith, Julie Dewsnup, and Victoria Skellcerf for their support and assistance. A very special thank you to Allison Ford for all of your love, support, and scholarly advice. Finally, I want to thank my mother, Mary Charles Stewart. It is ultimately you who got me this far. Thank you. TABLE OF CONTENTS vii Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 The Politics of Having Sex .................................................................................... 2 Sexology and Normal Sex ..................................................................................... 3 Theorizing Gender and Sexuality .......................................................................... 5 Sodomy Laws................................................................................................... 6 Sociological and Queer Theories of Gender and Sexuality ............................. 7 Discourse and Cultural Intelligibility ............................................................... 11 Homophobia ........................................................................................................... 13 Gender and Homophobia ................................................................................. 16 Masculinities and Homophobia ....................................................................... 18 Dissertation Outline ............................................................................................... 21 Why Study Pegging?.............................................................................................. 22 II. METHODS.............................................................................................................. 23 Analysis and the Internet ....................................................................................... 24 Reality, Interaction, and the Internet ................................................................ 25 Limitations of Analysis .................................................................................... 27 Reddit ..................................................................................................................... 28 Subreddits .............................................................................................................. 31 r/sex ........................................................................................................................ 32 r/pegging ................................................................................................................ 34 Chapter Page viii Selecting Cases and Data Analysis ........................................................................ 35 Karma .............................................................................................................. 35 Selecting Cases and Open Coding ................................................................... 35 III. HAVING SEX: A HETERONORMATIVE FRAMEWORK .............................. 39 “Regular” Sex and a Gender Role Reversal ......................................................... 42 Gender Confusion and Cultural Intelligibility ...................................................... 50 “Cross-Dressing” .................................................................................................