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16. “The Reason You Can Suck a Dick Is Because Some Fem Once Got Beaten Up, Right?” A Case Study of Gender, Race, and Sexuality for Latinx Queer Men

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Male Femininities
This chapter is in the book Male Femininities
22616“The Reason You Can Suck a Dick Is Because Some Fem Once Got Beaten Up, Right?”A Case Study of Gender, Race, and Sexuality for Latinx Queer MenJesús Gregorio Smith, Nikola C. Ostman, and Samantha L. TorresWhile much has been written regarding queer men and gender, scholarly analysis has often been focused on White men and masculinity;1 men who are seen as more masculine than White men, such as Black men;2 or men seen as less masculine than White men, such as Asian men.3 Less explored are the experiences of Latinx men, particularly queer Latinx men, and discussed even less are the ways members of this group under-stand femininity, or the embodiment of male femininities. According to scholar Mimi Schippers, male femininities are the “characteristics and practices that are culturally ascribed to women, do the cultural work of situating the feminine in a complementary, hierarchical relationship with the masculine, and are embodied by men.”4 By focusing on Latinx queer men and their relationship to preconceived notions of masculin-ity and femininity, gender performances, and their insights on possible structures beyond the gender binary, we argue that their gender roles and performances are strongly influenced by context in specific ways.Gender and HeteronormativityAccording to cultural theorist Judith Butler, gender is “the repeated styl-ization of the body, a set of repeated acts within a highly rigid regulatory frame that congeal over time to produce the appearance of substance, of a natural sort of being.”5 In this sense, gender can be perceived as a scripted and rehearsed presentation and performance developed Berkowitz_3p.indd 226Berkowitz_3p.indd 2269/15/22 9:50 AM9/15/22 9:50 AM
© 2023 New York University Press, New York, USA

22616“The Reason You Can Suck a Dick Is Because Some Fem Once Got Beaten Up, Right?”A Case Study of Gender, Race, and Sexuality for Latinx Queer MenJesús Gregorio Smith, Nikola C. Ostman, and Samantha L. TorresWhile much has been written regarding queer men and gender, scholarly analysis has often been focused on White men and masculinity;1 men who are seen as more masculine than White men, such as Black men;2 or men seen as less masculine than White men, such as Asian men.3 Less explored are the experiences of Latinx men, particularly queer Latinx men, and discussed even less are the ways members of this group under-stand femininity, or the embodiment of male femininities. According to scholar Mimi Schippers, male femininities are the “characteristics and practices that are culturally ascribed to women, do the cultural work of situating the feminine in a complementary, hierarchical relationship with the masculine, and are embodied by men.”4 By focusing on Latinx queer men and their relationship to preconceived notions of masculin-ity and femininity, gender performances, and their insights on possible structures beyond the gender binary, we argue that their gender roles and performances are strongly influenced by context in specific ways.Gender and HeteronormativityAccording to cultural theorist Judith Butler, gender is “the repeated styl-ization of the body, a set of repeated acts within a highly rigid regulatory frame that congeal over time to produce the appearance of substance, of a natural sort of being.”5 In this sense, gender can be perceived as a scripted and rehearsed presentation and performance developed Berkowitz_3p.indd 226Berkowitz_3p.indd 2269/15/22 9:50 AM9/15/22 9:50 AM
© 2023 New York University Press, New York, USA

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Introduction: Defining and Deconstructing Male Femininities 1
  4. Part 1. Historicizing Male Femininities
  5. 1. Toward a Typology and Genealogy of Effeminacies 17
  6. 2. The Effeminist Manifesto 35
  7. 3. Three Contemplations on “The Effeminist Manifesto” 40
  8. Part 2. Configuring Male Femininities
  9. 4. Pushing (Gender) Hard on the Bike: Navigating Normativities as a Queer Spin Instructor 47
  10. 5. The Small ts and the Gender Binary Shake-up: The Girl in the Boy and the Boy in the Girl 55
  11. 6. Trapped in the Glass Closet: Feminine Straight Men and the Politics of Coming Out 71
  12. 7. Two-Spirit, Not Trans: Joshua Whitehead’s Erotic Sovereignty 90
  13. Part 3. Embodying Male Femininities
  14. 8. Dear Masculinity 107
  15. 9. An Interview with Julia Serano 115
  16. 10. Unexpected Breasts, Unexpected Pleasures: Exploring Cisgender Men’s Breast Development and Bra Wearing 125
  17. 11. Brotox and the Retreat from Male Femininity 143
  18. 12. Pregnant Men and Their Reconfigurations of Pregnancy 165
  19. Part 4. Performing Male Femininities
  20. 13. Welcome to the Stage: Power, Practice, and the Performance of Drag Queening 185
  21. 14. “In My Dad’s Gun Room, There’s an 8×10 Picture of Me in Drag”: Drag and Respect in the Deep South 193
  22. 15. The Fierce World of Gay Asian Drag 210
  23. 16. “The Reason You Can Suck a Dick Is Because Some Fem Once Got Beaten Up, Right?” A Case Study of Gender, Race, and Sexuality for Latinx Queer Men 226
  24. 17. Radical Cheerbois: Genderqueer Bodies Performing Queer Femininity 249
  25. Part 5. Male Femininities and Intimacies
  26. 18. Unloved 255
  27. 19. Assume the Position: Bottom-Shaming among Black Gay Men 262
  28. 20. Are Polyamorous Men Embodying Male Femininity? 279
  29. 21. Male Femininity as Spirituality among Radical Faeries 290
  30. Part 6. Male Femininities and Institutions
  31. 22. Funeral Rights 307
  32. 23. When Our Boys Wished to Be Girls: A Retrospective Look at Parenting Gender-Nonconforming Young Boys 314
  33. 24. Negotiating Masculinity in the Fire Service: Accessing Brotherhood or Subverting Gender Norms 330
  34. 25. Resisting Femininity in Responsible Fathering: Men and the Gendering of Care in US Fatherhood Policy 346
  35. Conclusion: Male Femininities and Dismantling the Binaries and Boundaries of Gender 365
  36. Acknowledgments 369
  37. About the Contributors 371
  38. About the Editors 381
  39. Index 383
Readers are also interested in:
https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9781479870585.003.0019

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Introduction: Defining and Deconstructing Male Femininities 1
  4. Part 1. Historicizing Male Femininities
  5. 1. Toward a Typology and Genealogy of Effeminacies 17
  6. 2. The Effeminist Manifesto 35
  7. 3. Three Contemplations on “The Effeminist Manifesto” 40
  8. Part 2. Configuring Male Femininities
  9. 4. Pushing (Gender) Hard on the Bike: Navigating Normativities as a Queer Spin Instructor 47
  10. 5. The Small ts and the Gender Binary Shake-up: The Girl in the Boy and the Boy in the Girl 55
  11. 6. Trapped in the Glass Closet: Feminine Straight Men and the Politics of Coming Out 71
  12. 7. Two-Spirit, Not Trans: Joshua Whitehead’s Erotic Sovereignty 90
  13. Part 3. Embodying Male Femininities
  14. 8. Dear Masculinity 107
  15. 9. An Interview with Julia Serano 115
  16. 10. Unexpected Breasts, Unexpected Pleasures: Exploring Cisgender Men’s Breast Development and Bra Wearing 125
  17. 11. Brotox and the Retreat from Male Femininity 143
  18. 12. Pregnant Men and Their Reconfigurations of Pregnancy 165
  19. Part 4. Performing Male Femininities
  20. 13. Welcome to the Stage: Power, Practice, and the Performance of Drag Queening 185
  21. 14. “In My Dad’s Gun Room, There’s an 8×10 Picture of Me in Drag”: Drag and Respect in the Deep South 193
  22. 15. The Fierce World of Gay Asian Drag 210
  23. 16. “The Reason You Can Suck a Dick Is Because Some Fem Once Got Beaten Up, Right?” A Case Study of Gender, Race, and Sexuality for Latinx Queer Men 226
  24. 17. Radical Cheerbois: Genderqueer Bodies Performing Queer Femininity 249
  25. Part 5. Male Femininities and Intimacies
  26. 18. Unloved 255
  27. 19. Assume the Position: Bottom-Shaming among Black Gay Men 262
  28. 20. Are Polyamorous Men Embodying Male Femininity? 279
  29. 21. Male Femininity as Spirituality among Radical Faeries 290
  30. Part 6. Male Femininities and Institutions
  31. 22. Funeral Rights 307
  32. 23. When Our Boys Wished to Be Girls: A Retrospective Look at Parenting Gender-Nonconforming Young Boys 314
  33. 24. Negotiating Masculinity in the Fire Service: Accessing Brotherhood or Subverting Gender Norms 330
  34. 25. Resisting Femininity in Responsible Fathering: Men and the Gendering of Care in US Fatherhood Policy 346
  35. Conclusion: Male Femininities and Dismantling the Binaries and Boundaries of Gender 365
  36. Acknowledgments 369
  37. About the Contributors 371
  38. About the Editors 381
  39. Index 383
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