ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with same-sex, erotic, ‘online’ activities of men who use Internet sex chatrooms but who may not yet, if ever, define themselves as gay or even bisexual. These erotic activities often breach the borders of hegemonic masculinities and may involve the individual in a reconstruction of social identities and sexual performativity, especially for a man who had considered himself to be heterosexual or ‘straight’. The apparent dissonance of men who identify as straight and married, but who have sex with men, is not a new phenomenon (Kinsey et al. 1948; Humphreys 1970), nor is it uncommon (Pathela et al. 2006). With the Internet now ubiquitous as a freely available means of transmitting and consuming erotic imagery and engaging in sexual interaction, the opportunities for same-sex activity have expanded, yet the organisation of chatroom sexualities remains potentially risky, requiring practical organisation and discretion management that require them to learn new forms of interaction.
