The Declining Significance of Homophobia

Mark McCormack

Sexuality, Identity, and Society

McCormack's research is the first to document the presence of high schools that are receptive of homosexual youth
McCormack uses original and innovative theories to examine the changing nature of masculinities in hgih school settings
For academics and graduate and undergraduate students in gender and sexuality studies

The Declining Significance of Homophobia

Mark McCormack

Sexuality, Identity, and Society

Description

Research has traditionally shown high schools to be hostile environments for LGBT youth. Boys have used homophobia to prove their masculinity and distance themselves from homosexuality. Despite these findings over the last three decades, The Declining Significance of Homophobia tells a different story. Drawing on fieldwork and interviews of young men in three British high schools, Dr. Mark McCormack shows how heterosexual male students are inclusive of their gay peers and proud of their pro-gay attitudes. He finds that being gay does not negatively affect a boy's popularity, but being homophobic does.

Yet this accessible book goes beyond documenting this important shift in attitudes towards homosexuality: McCormack examines how decreased homophobia results in the expansion of gendered behaviors available to young men. In the schools he examines, boys are able to develop meaningful and loving friendships across many social groups. They replace toughness and aggression with emotional intimacy and displays of affection for their male friends. Free from the constant threat of social marginalization, boys are able to speak about once feminized activities without censure. The Declining Significance of Homophobia is essential reading for all those interested in masculinities, education, and the decline of homophobia.

The Declining Significance of Homophobia

Mark McCormack

Sexuality, Identity, and Society

Introduction

Part 1: Setting the Scene
Chapter 1: Researching Gender and Sexuality in Schools
Chapter 2: The Study

Part 2: Masculinities
Chapter 3: Sex, Gender and Power
Chapter 4: From Hegemonic Masculinity to Inclusive Masculinities
Chapter 5: Teenage Boys and Schooling
Chapter 6: The Rise and Fall of Homophobia

Part 3: The Declining Significance of Homophobia
Chapter 7: Decreasing Homohysteria
Chapter 8: Heterosexual Recuperation
Chapter 9: Popularity without Oppression
Chapter 10: Homosexually-Themed Language
Chapter 11: Gay Friendly High Schools

The Declining Significance of Homophobia

Mark McCormack

Sexuality, Identity, and Society

Author Information

Mark McCormack is a qualitative sociologist at Brunel University in England. His research focuses on the changing nature of masculinities among British youth. In this book, he examines how decreased homophobia has positively influenced the way in which young men bond emotionally and interact in school settings.

The Declining Significance of Homophobia

Mark McCormack

Sexuality, Identity, and Society

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Stonewalling Progress

By Mark McCormack Leading British gay rights charity, Stonewall, have produced a new report into the extent of homophobia in British schools. Surveying 1,600 sexual minority youth, it finds that 55% of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) students experience homophobic bullying, 96% hear 'homophobic remarks' and that homophobia frequently goes unchallenged. This builds on their 2007 report, which argued that homophobia was 'endemic' and 'almost epidemic' in British schools. These are harrowing findings, but they obscure rather than reveal the social dynamics of many British schools today.

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