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First published on June 19, 2008 American Journal of Men's Health 2008, doi:10.1177/1557988308319730
Young Men's Vulnerability in Constituting Hegemonic Masculinity in Sexual Relations
Abbey Hyde, BSocSc, MSocSc, PhD, RGN*,
Jonathan Drennan, BSc (Hons), MEd, RMHN, RPN, RGN, RNT, PhD,
Etaoine Howlett, BSocSc, MSocSc,
and
Dympna Brady, BNS, MSc, RSCN, RGN
University College Dublin School of Nursing, Midwifery, and Health Systems
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: abbey.hyde{at}ucd.ie.
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Abstract |
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This article reports on a qualitative analysis of the accounts of young men on their experiences of heterosexual encounters. Based on data collected in Ireland using 17 focus groups with 124 young men aged between 14 and 19 years (a subsection of a wider study), the manner in which intricate peer group mechanisms acted as surveillance strategies in regulating the young men toward presenting themselves in ways consistent with hegemonic manifestations of masculinity is explored. However, there were also elements of resistance to such a culture in the way in which sexual pleasure for some young men was derived relationally through giving pleasure rather than merely through mechanical, emotionally detached sexual acts that characterize hegemonic masculinity. In emphasizing male vulnerabilities such as uncertainty, fear, and rejection in the realm of sexuality, it is proposed that one must not lose sight of the broader context of male sexual dominance for which, as data indicate, men themselves pay a price.

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