Shaun M. Filiault

Homosocial intimacy among Australian undergraduate men

Homophobia and the avoidance of same-sex intimacy have traditionally been considered defining characteristics of heterosexual masculinity. They have not only subjugated gay men, but have maintained negative health implications for heterosexual men as well. However, in response to decreasing homohysteria, researchers from the United Kingdom found that 89% of British undergraduate heterosexual men have engaged in a particular type of same-sex kiss. This research seeks to examine whether this cultural shift, and corresponding homosocial intimacy, is evident among Australian undergraduate men. Among the 90 heterosexual men interviewed, 29% report having engaged in at least one same-sex kiss. Results indicate a changing relationship between the construction of Australian heteromasculinity and the avoidance of same-sex behaviours.

Bisexual men and body image

Although the body images of straight and gay men have received extensive research attention, there has been little consideration of bisexual men’s perceptions of body image. In this qualitative investigation of openly bisexual men from both the United Kingdom and Australia, men discuss their perceptions of body image, masculinity and sexuality. The findings show that the ideal body described resembles the mesomorphic body image suggested to be ideal by research into both gay and straight men’s perspectives on body image. However, the participants differentiated between what they termed a ‘masculine’ body and a ‘gay’ body, with the latter being viewed as undesirable. Thus, concerning perceptions of the male body, the bisexual men in this study participate in the cultural conflation of masculinity and heterosexuality, illustrating a degree of internalised homonegativity.

Gay Athletes' Perceptions of Body Hair

Recent literature regarding mens body image has called for increased understanding of body areas of concern to men, other than muscle and thinness. Accordingly, mens concerns with body hair, and hair removal (depilatory) practices, emerged as a new area of research attention. Prior literature suggests men—and especially gay men—may idealise a smooth torso, and engage in various forms of depilation to achieve that aesthetic. The present study is a qualitative investigation of the perceptions of body hair among a sub-group of gay men: gay athletes. Contrary to the opinions expressed by gay men more generally, the participants in this study shared a lack of concern regarding body hair, and rendered depilation as unnecessary, unattractive, and unnatural. These results indicate the importance of investigating sub-populations when conducting body image research among gay men.

Coming of age in Second Life: an anthropologist explores the virtually human

With the emergence of the Internet and the varieties of communication engendered by cyberspace, new forms of electronic culture would be expected to emerge. Yet, it may be the case that, upon examination, these new forms of culture are not so novel and that all culture is, in essence, ‘virtual’. Cyberspace simply may offer a new venue by which to explore human sociality. The notion that all culture is, ultimately, ‘virtual’ forms the central hypothesis of Tom Boellstorff’s Coming of age in Second Life. In the text, Boellstorff presents his findings and reflections upon a multi-year ethnographic study of ‘Second Life’, an Internet-based program with a highly visual, interactive and social component. Second Life is less a computer programme, argues Boellstorff, and more a unique culture worthy of examination on its own terms. Thus, Second Life, despite its seeming novelty, can be examined by much older forms of methodology, such as ethnography. The contention of Second Life’s worthiness of examination via traditional ethnographic methods forms the basis of much of the first half of Boellstorff’s text. In particular, Boellstorff defends his use of an in-world ethnography of Second Life, that is, in conducting the ethnography, only those events and persons encountered within Second Life are referenced as sources of information; the ‘real world’ persons controlling those online events are neither described nor contacted. In doing so, Coming of age in Second Life paints a picture of Second Life that accepts online worlds as being independent sources of information that do not necessarily need to be connected to analogues in physical reality. Specifically, the text asserts that virtual worlds, like Second Life, can be taken on their own terms since all culture is virtual in origin. Boellstorff suggests that all cultures create their own systems of meaning, representation and conceptualisation about reality. In so doing, cultures create virtual representation(s) of reality by dictating the processes by which reality is interpreted, experienced and re-enacted. Second Life, likewise, despite being digitalised, has its own manner of representing reality. That the reader accepts this argument is crucial for the remainder of Boellstorff’s investigation, since a failure to accept Second Life as culture would render trivial the ethnography of Second Life’s culture(s). Given this central point, it is not surprising that a considerable portion of the text is used to explicate it. While I found the argument convincing, it has also become quite laborious and repetitious to read. In painstakingly elaborating the applicability of ethnography to Second Life, the validity of the question seems to have been reinforced rather than discredited. After reading this section, I found myself questioning the value of an ethnography of online worlds and questioning the reasons why such a lengthy