Heterosexuality
Introduction
Various scholars have tried to address the issues related to the male heterosexuality. Most of the studies indicate that the male heterosexuality has been associated with the body masculinity. This is essay present some of the works by different scholars who have researched on the male heterosexuality. This essay therefore presents a strong argument that the scholarships on the heterosexuality have successfully addressed the male position and perspectives.
Defining of heterosexuality
Scholars like Murray Drummond (2011) have tried to present some of the reflection on the archetypal heterosexual male bodies. In this article the author first tries to analyze what the term heterosexually indicate and how to identify the male heterosexual body (Murray, 2011). In this case he presents a scenario that the men are considered heterosexual if they possess a masculine body with a sporting body. However, he indicates that slimy and non-athletic men are thought to be gay. This therefore implies looking and being masculine plays a critical role in defining a heterosexual males. In order for the author to prove his point he also cites the works of other writers such as Connel (1983) who have also presented the idea that ‘being ‘and ‘doing’ form the basis of defining a heterosexual male(Murray,2011). This is because many of the authors argue that the heterosexual male body is supposed to have certain features and at the same time do or perform certain function. In this case the male heterosexual body is supposed to have an archetypical male physique. This archetypical male physique has seemingly been established within the psychosocial context, which has created a considerable social-cultural concern. This is because most of the men who are considered straight have to meet the criteria of first having an archetypal type of body.
Moreover Murray Drummond in his article he also indicates that the male heterosexuality is associated with the perception of strength and power (Murray, 2011). This is in relation to the male to the v-shaped male body, which is characterized by the broad shoulders and a considerable large chest. In addition other features that are also associated with the male heterosexuality include the penises and the testis. Women also have been known to contribute to defining the male heterosexuality. This is because most of the women usually indentify the heterosexual men as those who possess the robust body and therefore having the capacity to father children. Murray 2011 also indicates that owing to the backlash that had confronted the gay in the 1980 concerning HIV/AIDS many of them who were slimy began bodybuilding to be more masculine. This is because the masculine body is mainly associated with the straight men. Most of the gay men begun bodybuilding to help to them to pass the test of being considered straight. However it is important to note that this notion begun to change the whole concept of the gay people. This is because from this period most of the gay people continued with the body building exercise since it was associated with the straight men and with high degree of athleticism. This concept increasingly led to the development of the new idea that the gay are muscular and have athletic, aesthetic body.
Research has also been conducted on the meaning of the straight men in the perspective of a boy, adolescence, adult men and the aging men. In this case a research conducted by Murray indicated that according to the boys between the ages of five and six years they usually have a clear concept of what the male body can do. Most of these young men have the idea that the male body can be able to lift heavy weights given that the body has a lot of energy and power. In addition the young boys also consider the male body has the capacity to adapt to the sport more than the female body. In the adolescence the author indicates that most of them argue in terms of what their body should be. From his study it is interestingly to note most of the adolescent associate heterosexuality with the male with muscularity such as those exhibited by the Arnold Schwarzenegger. Most of the male adolescence also associated muscular body with things such as sport. In relation to this the author present an illustration where two adolescence boys associated the masculinity with two big Australian men who play in the Australia Football league who play in the offensive and defensive positions. Other adolescence also associated male muscularity with the professionals in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). In relation to the adult male the concept of heterosexuality has been associated with the rejection of the notion of homosexuality. Some of the men also indicates that the physical and sexual attraction and peer recognition as one of the indication of the male masculinity. Moreover, the sporting performance of the men has also been associated with male masculinity. In this case most of the adult men also indicated that they wished if they were given a chance they would work hard to gain the masculine body. Author also analyses the notion of the male heterosexuality with regard to the aging men. In this case the author found out that most of the older men associate male heterosexuality with the notion of ‘what I used to be’. Most of the old men interviewed in the article indicated that their current body status failed them in some ways.
References
Murray Drummond (2011): Reflections On The Archetypal Heterosexual
Male Body, Australian Feminist Studies, 26:67, 103-117
