Essay Example on Not Gay: Sex Between Straight White Men

Thesis Statement and Key Questions

The thesis statement for the “Not Gay: Sex Between Straight White Men” book is that there is a dark world where guy-to-guy actions are real; therefore, the phenomenon has created a social space where white men can have sexual intercourse with other straight white males. In doing so, Ward delineates that sex between straight White men enables them to leverage their masculinity and whiteness in a bid to reinforce their heterosexual traits. The white men become trapped in perceptual pedagogies that same-sex erotic practices are accidental, meaningless, and not even essential. Thus, they end up practicing homosexuality in a heterosexual manner. The rudimentary sexual contact portrays a suppressed sexual quagmire that White straight mean paddle in to avoid expressing their sexual identities (Ward, 2015). Ward argues that the phenomenon presents a complex sexual framework reflecting the intricate nature of humanistic sexual desires. The important question in this book is whether heterosexual practices among straight White men should be considered as gay. Ward also aims to address the question of whether the unique sexual practices, such as two straight White men masturbating together are a way of hiding their gay identities. Lastly, the author strives to determine whether heterosexual privileges exist among straight White men and it how it affects their relationships with other males.

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Methodology

Ward uses a delineative method to show the readers that a new dimension of perceiving heterosexuality. Therefore, she argues that the manifestation of the phenomenon is not an indicator that homosexuality is absent. The unarticulated gay identity is described using the military rituals that recruits have to perform. The approach is useful since it helps the readers comprehend how the unique methods that the White men use are an allusion of pretense. The heterosexual ways are pinged on White privileges that the men try to protect in the face of heterosexual complexities.

Themes

The outstanding theme within the book is the adoption of hazing traditions as normative heterosexual behavior. For example, Ward uses the example of the “Elephant Walk” where males hold the penises of the ones that are behind them and insert their fingers in the anuses of the ones in front. The not sexual but same-sex contacts are addressed within the book to reinforce Ward’s argument of hidden sexual desires. Normalizing these sexual contacts create a situation of excluding certain accounts to achieve the status quo for White privileges. The theme of White privilege is also imminent in the book since the men try to legitimize their actions to avoid being seen as gay like their Black counterparts. The activities extend from ads placed on “Str8 dudes” where white men are looking for other males to have “friendly sex” to “bromance” films.

Theoretical Framework

Ward uses a theoretical framework that aims to demonstrate how the White men have conceptualized sex among them as rampant; therefore, it should not be perceived as an exception but a form of heterosexual masculinity. The framework explains that the distinction between not-gay and gay sexual contacts should not be based on sexual contacts. Rather, the men attach cultural meanings to them to dupe the public into thinking that they are not homosexual-oriented. Ward articulates that the phenomenon mentioned above is the reason why some men to have sex with other males in the backroom areas of gay bars after dancing to exhilarating techno music while other prefer having gay sex when watching same-sex pornographic content. The framework also delineates that bot gay and straight men are left with no choice of determining whether or not their sexual contacts are gay. Therefore, gay men respond to their biological stimuli while straight men are trapped under circumstantial spaces. The magnitude of the matter has culminated into a cliché of “born this way.” As a result, Ward highlights the queerness that is associated with the resistant nature of the men in a bid to maintain the pressures of normality.

Summaries

Chapter Title: Bars, Bikers, and Bathrooms: A Century of Not-Gay Sex

The chapter goes back in time to explore how straight men’s sexual contacts have been evolving over the years. Therefore, it enlightens the readers that the men have had gay traits since the 19th century. Ward presents a theoretical framework of Americans have understood the practices based on their cultural significance (Ward, 2015). The chapter draws historical events where straight white men have had sex with other males alluding to institutional and socio-cultural contexts. Therefore, such sexual encounters have been witnessed in fraternal clubs, military barracks, bathrooms, and truck stops. Thereby, the men have since found ways to have masculine heterosexual sexual contacts with each other.

Chapter Title: Average Dudes, Casual Encounters: White Homosociality and Heterosexual Authenticity

Ward analyzes the correlation between whiteness and heteromasculinity. In doing so, she concludes that it is a contemporary popular culture that reflects on the rebellious and adventure-seeking of the straight White men. The analysis of the independent film “Humpday” gives a detailed account of two White men having sexual intercourse as a form of “radical art.” The white male sub-culture of justifying the sexual contacts with each other is based on exotic, edgy, and memorable experiences (Ward, 2015). As a result, a narrative is created where white men are supposed to achieve a certain level of coolness that makes them comfortable with having sex with other males.

Chapter Title: Average Dudes, Casual Encounters: White Homosociality and Heterosexual Authenticity

Ward uses the chapter to assess the sexual fluidity and how it impacts queer politics. The political environment tends to take into account how the fluid experience has fostered the existence of gay romanticism. Normal gay males are compelled to engage in heterosexual sexual contacts to differentiate the frivolous and political-centered gay experiments as inconsequential (Ward, 2015). Therefore, Ward argues that a discourse emerges to shake the fluidity based on the normalization of homosexuality. Sincere gay feelings develop amidst the butch lesbians, fear-invoking queer personalities, and sadistic leather buddies. The feelings are impeded in such a way that sincere gay men cannot have normal relationships, families, and interact effectively in social spaces.

Chapter Title: Nowhere Without It: The Homosexual Ingredient in the Making of Straight White Men

Ward uses the chapter to describe the dominant culture of White men that has been idealized and normalized in such a way that the figures fit into the narrative that having heterosexual sexual contact is not homosexuality. Ward traces the encounters of White men from personal ads, military experiences, and pop culture. The chapter delineates that white masculinity is the crucial ingredient that converges to navigate its way out of the ethical gaze of the social eyes (Ward, 2015). However, Ward is critical that the gaze is familiar for Black gays while it is disregarded when it comes to their White counterparts.

Critiques

Firstly, the text emerges from Ward's personal fascination, having admitted that she is lesbian. Therefore, she gives a biased account of straight White men’s sexual encounters while disregarding the fact she is demeaning the entire gender. The sexual behaviors are not definitive of the sexual behaviors of all straight White men. Focusing on the most outrageous behaviors shows that she does not believe that straight white men can have heterosexual contact passionately without taking into account the power and violence. Secondly, the narrative of White privilege is narrow-minded and is propelled by the desire to expose modern sexual behaviors rather than analyzing why men depict hyper-heterosexuality. Lastly, the text has not explained heterosexuality based on contacts that emerge from friendships or friendly experimentation to show why straight white men have sexual encounters in heterosexual environments such as universities.

References

Ward, J. (2015). Not Gay: Sex between Straight White Men. In JSTOR. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.com/stable/j.ctt15zc5qz.5