Today I want to air a few thoughts that have been rattling around in my head for a while. These are related to the acceptability, or otherwise, of male bisexuality/bicuriousity.
Unless you've been living in another star system, where TV signals from the mid-1990s have yet to reach, you're undoubtedly aware that girls snogging each other is not really a bit taboo anymore. Thanks to everything from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine to The L Word, the media has become quite comfortable with straight women indulging in a little sapphic experimentation.
The result seems to be that female bisexuality/bicuriousity has become destigmatised in society. Of course there are still people who disapprove, but I get the feeling (from talking with friends and reading those sex surveys that pop up in independent newspapers and magazines every valentine's day) that a lot of straight girls are interested in trying an encounter with another girl.
For guys, on the other hand, there still seems to be a stigma. The media hasn't been flooded with male characters tongue-wrestling, the way girls did on Ally McBeal and whatever-else. Yet interestingly, if the sex surveys are to be believed, the number of bicurious guys is definitely on the increase.
So what's holding the guys back from going mainstream? I wonder if girls feel more comfortable experimenting with each other because the don't find each other threatening. Girls can snog on the dancefloor in a nightclub and write it off as a bit of fun. I wonder why guys can't. Maybe the difference lies partly in the fact that the gay male culture is well-established and visible, while the lesbian community is not so much so. Perhaps this makes guys feel more like they'll be perceived as joining the gay community, rather than just having a bit of fun and experimenting (which would make male bicuriousity feel like a more serious commitment than female bicuriousity).
Well, that's my random thought for the day. Comments?
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3 comments:
I'm sure it's a factor that lesbian encounters have been glorified by the male media. The idea that woman-on-woman action gets men sexually excited is fairly prominent in our culture.
It's not really reflected the other way around. Man-on-man isn't really seen as that appealing to women, is it...
Personally, I've seen lesbian imagery so often that I can ignore it - whereas some guys have strong reactions against the same scenes with men.
I know this post is pretty old but I just stumbled across it and wanted to give my tuppence...
From experience of being a student for the past 3yrs, I reckon guy-on-guy "just for fun" is on the up. I have a lot of friends in the military who I wouldn't consider to have the slightest homosexual streak, but I've still seen them pull and regularly kiss each other on the cheek. It's the same with the rugby team...
But, as anna said, it's not glorified by the media like lesbians are, and so it's not seen as sexy. Instead it's just a laugh.
I'd just like to say that there is a community of women that find man-on-man appealing. I am obviously including myself in this but its just not as mainstream. Although yaoi and shoinen ai (man on man manga comics) are increasing in popularity. Just thought I would raise this issue though obviously this post is a bit old.
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