Reading Outline 3/29/07:Kupers, Terry A. Homophobia in Stright Men

Description: In this article Kupers describes how one prisoner was being fought over and raped by bigger, stronger prisoners. The inmate’s solution was to dress as a woman so he could become the “passive sexual partner of one dominant man.” Kupers then describes how prisoners will often do a lot of body building so they can protect themselves from homosexual rape. Finally Kupers links this body building to the average man toughening himself up so he does not seem weak or vulnerable.

Analysis: This article is short so Kupers’ analysis is brief but to the point. Men who are not in prison do a lot of toughening up physically, mentally, financially, etc. This toughening up is meant to make them able to protect themselves from getting “the shaft.” This has obvious connections with inmates working out so they can physically protect themselves. One area of description that does not get much analysis is the inmate who dressed as a woman so he could become a “passive sexual partner.” This brings up obvious issues of women being viewed as property, and homosexuality being seen as unreasonable (I address the latter in one of my blog posts so I will not repeat the argument here) but Kupers does not address either of these issues during his analysis.

Vision: Kupers does not explicitly state a vision is his short article, but in the last few sentences he seems to imply his vision as being a society where masculinity is not equated with fears of vulnerability and intimacy.

Strategy: Kupers’ brief article does not address a strategy.