ABSTRACT
This chapter explores a collection of identity practices mobilized by heterosexual-identifying men with radically different gender politics—identifying elements of their performances of masculinity as “gay” in historically novel attempts to construct heterosexual masculine identities as men. Through their reliance upon gay culture and “gay aesthetics,” these straight men gain symbolic distance from stereotypes of masculinity and, for some, simultaneously position themselves as politically progressive. Building on the work on hybrid masculinities, we theorize “hybrid hegemonic masculinity” to explore the dynamics of these men’s gender projects and contribute to this growing body of scholarship critically considering the meanings, motives, and consequences of these emergent gender strategies. We argue that these discursive tactics are a profoundly visible element of a larger social and cultural process whereby durable systems of power are capable of incredible flexibility—particularly visible during moments of change and uncertainty. We argue here that the queer(ish) practices of straight men simultaneously secure and obscure systems of power and inequality.
