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The declining significance of homohysteria for male students in three sixth forms in the south of England

McCormack, M.

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Authors

M. McCormack



Abstract

English schools have traditionally been institutions with high levels of homophobia. This is attributed to the need that heterosexual boys have to maintain a heteromasculine identity. However, by drawing on 44 in-depth interviews and 12 months of participant observation across three sixth forms, I detail the ways in which homophobia holds little cultural sway with the heterosexual male students in these settings. Here, the majority of students intellectualise pro-gay attitudes, maintain friendships with openly gay students and are physically tactile with each other. Homophobic discourse is rarely heard and it is even stigmatised in two of the settings. Homosexually-themed language that I call ‘gay discourse’ replaces it. This discourse maintains socio-negative effect, but it is also used by openly gay students to bond with their heterosexual peers. Accordingly, this research shows that cultural homophobia maintains less significance than has been documented in previous studies.

Citation

McCormack, M. (2011). The declining significance of homohysteria for male students in three sixth forms in the south of England. British Educational Research Journal, 37(2), 337-353. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411921003653357

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Apr 1, 2011
Deposit Date Sep 10, 2012
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal British Educational Research Journal
Print ISSN 0141-1926
Electronic ISSN 1469-3518
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 37
Issue 2
Pages 337-353
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/01411921003653357

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Copyright Statement
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: McCormack, M. (2011), The declining significance of homohysteria for male students in three sixth forms in the south of England. British Educational Research Journal, 37 92): 337–353, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01411921003653357. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.




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