Emotionality in Same-Sex Attracted Men's Sexual Scripting
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Emotionality in same-sex attracted men’s sexual scripting: Four expatriate men in Burma tell their stories by Kerry William Kim Benton BBSc, GradDipBS, DipDrama, LTh. Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Deakin University November 2013 Acknowledgments I could not have accomplished this thesis without the support and encouragement of my supervisor Dr Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli, and I am so appreciative of her generosity and graciousness in sharing her expertise and insight. I also want to express my thanks to Dr Pallotta-Chiarolli for guiding me in my research with such candidness and good humour and being for me so intellectually inspiring. I am deeply grateful for her judicious handling of my candidature, despite the obstacles of being a remote student, firstly in Myanmar, and then in rural Victoria. I have so welcomed her warm friendship and I look forward to continuing our association in the future. I extend my sincere thanks to the three men, who gave of their time and bravely subjected themselves to my questions with such honesty and candidness, and without whom this thesis would not have been possible. I am indebted to Bruce Gallacher for his support and generosity in gently leading me through the initial interview. I am most appreciative of the insightful assistance and comments of Bob Pease and Daniel Marshall, and Phoebe Taylor for her editorial assistance. I also wish to thank my friends and colleagues for supporting the work, especially the Burnet Institute for Medical Research and International Health, and the Anglican Diocese of Wangaratta for study leave. 1 Finally, my heartfelt thanks to my partner, my lover and best friend, whose grace and good humour has been such an immeasurable source of encouragement. 2 Abstract Sexual scripting is understood to refer to the plot that guides a person’s sexual expression. Script theory distinguishes three dimensions of a sexual script: cultural scenarios, which provide general socio-cultural regulations and guidelines for roles in all aspects of sexual behaviour, including the influence of constructs of masculinity and gender; the intrapsychic - the motivational elements that produce arousal; and the interpersonal – the script as the organisation of mutually shared conventions (Gagnon & Simon, 1973). Sexual script theory therefore provides a dramaturgical metaphor to frame sexual expression and behaviour, and to provide meaning and referential elements, which can be analysed and reworked according to new situations and experiences. The word “emotionality” generally refers to an individual’s predominant intensity of emotional reactivity. However, “emotional” is also often used to refer to a general matrix of experience within which behaviour is embedded. This matrix is set in the context of emotional syndromes, constituted from existential beliefs and social rules. Emotional appraisal and expression are also set in a cultural context and as such emotional scripts guide and govern emotional responses. In this thesis I have endeavoured to illustrate that there is an integral relationship of emotionality to men’s sexuality and sexual scripts. The research is grounded in qualitative methods of enquiry, in particular autoethnography. Four case studies of men, one of which was my own 3 as both participant and researcher, were collected through interactive interviews and then analysed using grounded theory to both describe and interpret the interaction of emotionality with sexual scripting. There are important components of bodily and emotional interactions in these scripts, but these are not merely cultural signals. Rather, these components are learnt, honed, adapted and reinforced by the intrinsic rewards, pleasures, and satisfactions that result from the performance of specific scripts, and the abandoning of other scripts that are no longer relevant or salient. This is accomplished through a reflexive process of engagement with oneself and others within an emotional and sexual environment to produce competent sexual scripts that lead to sexual and emotional satisfaction. Further research is necessary to investigate the interaction and the intersection of sexual scripts and emotional scripts to understand how emotional scripts influence the enactment of sexual scripts, and how interactions of sexuality, identity, desire, gender and emotions are present and influential in the construction and performance of sexual scripts. 4 Frontispiece: “Men by daaram” by Olivier Jollant (2005) http://daaram.deviantart.com/art/Men-35881191 5 CONTENTS CONTENTS .............................................................................................6 Chapter 1: Introduction...........................................................................17 1.2 Dynamics of sexuality................................................................... 18 1.3 Sexual scripting ............................................................................ 19 1.4 The multidisciplinary field of sexology .......................................... 22 1.5 The research approach................................................................. 23 1.6 Location of the study .................................................................... 24 1.7 Aims of the research..................................................................... 29 1.8 Terms ........................................................................................... 29 1.9 Principal research question .......................................................... 30 1.10 Outline of the thesis.................................................................... 30 Chapter 2: Literature Review..................................................................31 2.0 Introduction................................................................................... 31 2.1 Sexual scripts ............................................................................... 31 2.1.1 Introduction................................................................................ 31 2.1.2 Sexual scripting ......................................................................... 32 2.1.3 Sexual behaviours ..................................................................... 34 2.1.4 Script theory .............................................................................. 36 2.1.5 The dimensions of sexual scripts............................................... 37 2.1.5.1 The cultural dimension........................................................ 38 6 2.1.5.1.1 Institutions .................................................................... 41 2.1.5.1.2 Religion ........................................................................ 42 2.1.5.1.3 Spaces ......................................................................... 44 2.1.5.1.4 Gay specific sites.......................................................... 46 2.1.6 Erotic capital.............................................................................. 47 2.1.7 Sexual hierarchies and stratification .......................................... 51 2.1.8 The intrapsychic dimension ....................................................... 57 2.1.8.1 The Intrapsychic script ........................................................ 58 2.1.8.2 Notions of the self ............................................................... 61 2.1.8.2.1 Foucault and technologies of the self ........................... 61 2.1.8.3 Sexual and erotic fluidity ..................................................... 64 2.1.8.3.1 Pansexuality ................................................................. 66 2.1.8.4 Now to the personal – the production of self....................... 67 2.1.8.5 Objectification ..................................................................... 73 2.1.9 Interpersonal Scripts.................................................................. 75 2.1.10 Not-so-normal scripts............................................................... 78 2.1.11 Scripts in action ....................................................................... 81 2.1.11.1 Cruising and display scripts .............................................. 81 2.1.12 Concluding comments ............................................................. 89 2.2 Emotions....................................................................................... 90 2.2.1 Introduction ............................................................................ 90 2.2.2 What do we mean by emotions?............................................ 90 2.2.3 Basic emotions....................................................................... 92 7 2.2.4 Emotions, the brain, and the social context............................ 94 2.2.5 Social construction of emotions ............................................. 95 2.2.5.1 Dramaturgical Theory of Emotions .................................. 97 2.2.6 Emotion Geography ............................................................. 101 2.2.7 Controlling the emotions ...................................................... 104 2.2.8 Performance of emotions..................................................... 105 2.2.9 Psychological issues............................................................ 107 2.2.10 Emotional scripts and their performance........................... 108 2.2.11 Emotional competence....................................................... 112 2.2.12 Self-efficacy, emotion and sexuality................................... 113 2.2.13 Emotions as narrative .......................................................