Calling all fag hags: from identity politics to identification politics

Thompson, Deborah

doi:10.1080/1035033042000202915

Cited by 20 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…For example, Susan Bordo points out that in My Best Friend's Wedding, the most erotic moments in the film take place between Jules and her gay friend George, as 'more touching and nuzzling goes on between George and Jules than between any other characters in the movie ' (1999: 63). Indeed, cultural critics have even argued that the term 'Fag Hag' (another vile expression in gay slang which denotes a straight woman infatuated with her gay friend) should be reclaimed as a positive term because the relationship between a gay man and his straight female friend should be valued in contemporary culture rather than criticized (see Thompson, 2004). In a similar vein, Jane Gerhard recently pointed out that one of the leading television dramas of the past decade -Sex and the City -validates a 'queer' postfeminism in that the friendship between the four women, their 'alternative' family, is represented as the most important aspect in their lives (2005).…”

Section: Friendshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effeminophobia, Misogyny and Queer Friendship: The Cultural Themes of Channel 4's Playing It Straight

Richardson

2009

Sexualities

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This article considers the theme of the Channel 4 show 'Playing It Straight' (2005), a variation on the 'dating show' genre in which a female contestant must select the man of her dreams from 10 suitors. However, the twist in the show's format is that not all of the men are heterosexually identified. The article contends that the show's narrative is not homophobic but effeminophobic. Second, the article analyses how the show positions all the male contestants, both gay and straight, within the matrix of New Lad style homosocial bonding. Finally, the article considers how the show mobilises one of the dominant cultural themes in contemporary popular culture: the 'safe eroticism' or 'queer' friendship that can develop between a straight woman and a gay identified man.

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Section: Friendshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effeminophobia, Misogyny and Queer Friendship: The Cultural Themes of Channel 4's Playing It Straight

Richardson

2009

Sexualities

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“…The literature detailing friendships between straight women and gay men has just begun to take form; many text qualitative studies have started to identify the significance of the unique, trusting bond that straight women and gay men share with one another (de la Cruz & Dolby, 2007;Gaiba, 2008;Grigoriou, 2004;Hopcke & Rafaty, 1999, Malone, 1980. Specifically, women with gay male friends-often known as ''fruit flies'' or ''fag hags''in the gay male community (Maitland, 1991;Moon, 1995;Thompson, 2004;Warren, 1976)-report having more open and intimate conversations; more social and emotional support that would take the form of companionship, sympathy, or advice; and a greater interpersonal connection with a male presence (Grigoriou, 2004). These positive interactions that women frequently experience with gay men are regarded as unique and are not necessarily present in their friendships with straight men or women.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why (and When) Straight Women Trust Gay Men: Ulterior Mating Motives and Female Competition

Russell

Lewis

et al. 2015

Arch Sex Behav

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Previous findings indicate that heterosexual women experience a greater sense of comfort and trust in their friendships with gay men than in their friendships with heterosexual individuals. In the present studies, we tested a hypothesis that not only explains why women exhibit increased trust in gay men but also yields novel predictions about when (i.e., in what contexts) this phenomenon is likely to occur. Specifically, we propose that gay men's lack of motives to mate with women or to compete with them for mates enhances women's trust in gay men and openness to befriend them. Study 1 demonstrated that women placed greater trust in a gay man's mating-but not non-mating (e.g., career) advice-than in the same advice given by heterosexual individuals. Study 2 showed that women perceived a gay man to be more sincere in scenarios relevant to sexual and competitive mating deception. In Study 3, exposing women to a visualization of increased mating competition enhanced their trust in gay men; when mating competition was salient, women's trust in mating information from a gay man was amplified. Study 4 showed that women who perceived higher levels of mating competition were more open to befriending gay men. Together, these converging findings support our central hypothesis, which not only provides a distal explanation for the trust that straight women place in gay men, but also provides novel insights into previously unidentified contexts that facilitate the formation and strengthening of this unique bond.

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“…Both popular culture and the psychological literature have recently begun to recognize the special significance of the "straight female-gay male" friendship (Castro-Convers, Gray, Ladany, and Metzler, 2005;Cruz and Dolby, 2007;Grigoriou, 2004;Hopcke and Rafaty, 1999;Maitland, 1991;Malone, 1980;Thompson, 2004). However, in contrast to a growing body of work examining the benefits of platonic relationships Evolutionary Psychology -ISSN 1474-7049 -Volume 11(1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Friends with Benefits, but without the Sex: Straight Women and Gay Men Exchange Trustworthy Mating Advice

et al. 2013

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Although research has made progress in elucidating the benefits exchanged within same- and opposite-sex friendships formed between heterosexual men and women, it is less clear why straight women and gay men form close relationships with one another. The current experiments begin to address this question by exploring a potential benefit hypothesized to be uniquely available to straight women and gay men in the context of these friendships: trustworthy mating advice. Experiment 1 revealed that straight women perceive mating-relevant advice from a gay man to be more trustworthy than similar advice offered by a straight man or woman. Experiment 2 demonstrated that gay men perceive mating advice offered by a straight woman to be more trustworthy than advice offered by a lesbian woman or another gay man. Overall, the results provide initial experimental evidence that relationships between gay men and straight women may be characterized by a mutual exchange of mating-relevant benefits in the absence of sexual interest or competition.

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Calling all fag hags: from identity politics to identification politics

Cited by 20 publications

References 5 publications

Effeminophobia, Misogyny and Queer Friendship: The Cultural Themes of Channel 4's Playing It Straight

Effeminophobia, Misogyny and Queer Friendship: The Cultural Themes of Channel 4's Playing It Straight

Why (and When) Straight Women Trust Gay Men: Ulterior Mating Motives and Female Competition

Friends with Benefits, but without the Sex: Straight Women and Gay Men Exchange Trustworthy Mating Advice

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