On the world's most utilised video-sharing social networking site, YouTube, CharlieMcDonnell (Charlieissocoollike), Dan Howell (Danisnotonfire), and Jack and Finn Harries (JacksGap) are Britain's most popular video-bloggers (vloggers). With more than two million regular subscribers to each of their channels, along with millions of casual viewers, they represent a new form of authentic online celebrity. These young men, whose YouTube careers began as teenagers, do not espouse a traditional form of masculinity; they are not sporty, macho, or even expressly concerned with being perceived as heterosexual. Instead, they present a softer masculinity, eschewing the homophobia, misogyny, and aggression attributed to boys of previous generations. These behaviours are theorised using Anderson's Inclusive Masculinity Theory. Drawing on analysis of 115 video-blogs (vlogs), along with an in-depth interview with Charlie McDonnell, this article examines how these young men developed and exhibit their inclusive masculinities and attitudes, which we postulate are a reflection of dominant youth culture.

Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. Gay guys using gay discourse: Friendship, shared values and the intent-context-effect matrixIn this article, we use in-depth interviews with 35 openly gay male undergraduates from four universities in England to develop an understanding of the changing nature of language related to homosexuality. In addition to finding a diminution in the prevalence ofhomophobic language, we demonstrate that participants maintain complex and nuanced understandings of phrases that do not use homophobic pejoratives, such as 'that's so gay'.The majority of participants rejected the notion that these phrases are inherently homophobic, instead arguing that the intent with which they are said and the context in which they are used are vital in understanding their meaning and effect. We conceptualize an intent-context-effect matrix to understand the interdependency of these variables. Highlighting the situated nature of this matrix, we also demonstrate the importance of the existence of shared norms between those saying and hearing the phrase when interpreting such language. 1996). This has focused on the gendered nature of homophobic language, and argued that homophobic language primarily regulates gendered behaviours rather than sexual identities (Kiesling 2007). Given the centrality of homophobia to constructions of masculinity, the regulatory use of such language has been particularly prevalent among adolescent males (Mac an Ghaill 1994).However, there has been a liberalization in attitudes toward homosexuality in the UK over the past thirty years ( In this article, we use in-depth interviews with 35 openly gay male undergraduates from four universities in England to develop an understanding of the contemporary dynamics of homosexually themed language that is rooted in the attitudes and experiences of gay men.In addition to finding a diminution in the prevalence of homophobic language, we demonstrate that participants maintain complex and nuanced understandings of homosexually themed language. The majority of participants rejected the notion that 'that's so gay' and similar phrases were inherently homophobic, instead arguing that the intent with which they are said and the context in which they are used are vital in understanding their meaning and effect. The interdependency of intent and context with effect was so strong that we reject using them as distinct variables, instead conceptualizing an intent-context-effect matrix.Highlighting the situated nature of this matrix, participants emphasiz...

Drawing on in-depth interviews with fifteen openly bisexual male youth from sixth forms across the UK, this article documents positive experiences of bisexual male youth in school:participants had positive coming out experiences and did not encounter significant discrimination or harassment because of their sexual identity. Participants attribute this to the inclusive environments of their schools and local cultures. Examining the narratives of two participants who had negative experiences, this article also highlights continued issues for bisexual youth in schools. It thus advances our understanding of contemporary bisexual lives in educational institutions, and contributes to debates about whether sixth forms are more inclusive spaces than secondary schools for bisexuals.Key words: biphobia; bisexuality, coming out, homophobia, inclusion, sixth form. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Gender and Education on 21/07/14, available online: http://dx.doi. org/10.1080/09540253.2014.927834 IntroductionResearch on sexual minority youth has traditionally documented harrowing experiences of homophobia, harassment and discrimination (Rivers 2001). It has found young people growing up surrounded by homophobic language and attitudes, living within a social and legal system biased towards heterosexuals (Flowers and Buston, 2001). These narratives of oppression are shown to be particularly deleterious in educational settings, with homophobic bullying rife and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students maintaining elevated levels of absenteeism compared to their heterosexual peers (Ryan and Rivers 2003; Warwick, Aggleton and Douglas, 2001).However, cultural understandings of sexuality are not static, and there has been a marked shift in attitudes toward sexual minorities in recent years (author citation; Weeks 2007). In this improving social landscape, experiences of sexual minorities are influenced by a range of demographic variables including gender, with men and women's experiences varying significantly (author citation; Russell and Seif, 2002). Yet while scholars have documented the positive influence of decreasing homophobia on both heterosexuals (Adams, 2011; author citations) and LGBT youth (author citation; Jones and Clarke, 2007; SavinWilliams, 2005), the effect it has on specific sexual identities remains unclear (Worthen, 2012). Given the unique discrimination faced by bisexuals (Burleson, 2005), often described as 'biphobia ' (Eliason, 1997), it is necessary to examine the influence of decreasing homophobia on bisexual youth and whether decreasing homophobia influences biphobia in a culture 1 (author citation; Russell and Seif, 2002).In this article, we draw on in-depth interviews with fifteen openly bisexual males aged 16-18 from sixth form colleges 2 across the United Kingdom. Adopting a critical interpretive approach grounded in social constructionist heuristic, we find that these participants' This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article publishe...

This article draws on qualitative interviews with 40 gay male undergraduates at four universities across England to explore the dynamics of participants’ friendship networks in the context of decreased homophobia. Describing their schools and universities as gay-friendly spaces, most participants developed close friendships with both straight and sexual minority peers in spontaneous ways, away from institutional venues such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender student societies. Building on Bourdieu’s conceptualization of the symbolic economy of class, I introduce a new concept to understand how having a visible gay identity can act as a form of privilege in inclusive, post-gay social fields: gay capital. Through shared knowledge of gay cultures, belonging to gay social networks, and having one’s gay identity recognized as a form of prestige, gay capital supplements cultural, social, and symbolic forms of capital. These findings trouble traditional generalizations of gay youth as victimized due to their sexual minority status. However, finding that participants’ experiences differed across the four research settings, this article also develops an intersectional analysis by highlighting that access to gay capital is limited by other forms of class, gender, and sexual hierarchy.

The experiences of people living with HIV have been transformed over recent years. Advances in medical science have made the virus a manageable chronic condition, while eliminating the risk of onward transmission for those with access to treatment, something referred to as TasP (treatment as prevention) or U=U (undetectable equals untransmissible). More recently, the availability of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), alongside PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis), through the NHS has created the conditions for condomless sexual encounters to take place without the fear of HIV transmission associated with previous decades. Despite this, the criminal law has continued to frame HIV in terms of personal responsibility and bodily autonomy within the dominant narratives of danger, disease, and out-dated science. Doctrinal law has failed to keep pace with social and scientific change. Therefore, in this article, we provide a re-examination of the criminal issues relating to HIV transmission within this new landscape, arguing that it necessitates a shift in attitude, policy and doctrine. We specifically argue that HIV transmission does not meet the appropriate harm threshold to constitute GBH and that if criminal law is ultimately about preventing or regulating harm, the ongoing criminalisation of HIV transmission is counter to that aim.