But you're so queer for a straight guy! Affirming complexities of gendered sexualities in men

This paper argues the need for expansion of the categories of sexuality and gender as these relate to heterosexual-identified males; it calls for an increased visibility of males who are straight but who, by queering straight masculinity, challenge normative, hegemonic hetero-masculinity. Queering here is seen as the disrupting of both normative heterosexuality and masculinity, presenting the heterosexual male in a way that adopts characteristics of both the feminine and that which is perceived to be gay. Drawing on a typology of “queer masculinities of straight males” (Heasley, 2003; 2005), this paper argues that this articulation of the diversity within the hetero-masculine is critical to examine for its disruption of hegemonic masculinity and its accompanying partner, hegemonic heterosexuality. By acknowledging, legitimizing, and reproducing queer straight masculinity, “another world becomes possible” – a world where both masculinity and heterosexuality takes on a new range of meanings – meanings that become associated positively with the feminine and with homosexuality. This paper uses the typology of queer-straight masculinity as well as photos and narratives from an art exhibit on intimate male friendships as a way to examine how straight males can and do disrupt the normative gender/sexual system.