Autor/es
Descripción
ver mas
Colaborador
Pecheny, Mario
Canevaro, Santiago
Materias
Spatial Coverage
Temporal Coverage
2017-2018
Idioma
spa
Extent
437 p.
Derechos
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 2.0 Genérica (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Formato
application/pdf
Identificador
Cobertura
7593303
Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (autonomus city)
2017-2018
Abstract
This thesis describes and analyzes experiences and conditions of gay love, compared to heterosexual love. In a regime of compulsory heterosexuality (Rich, 1996; Wittig, 2006), nonheterosexual sexual orientation defines the meanings that people assign to their love practices. Since the goal is to understand the meanings that gay men attribute to their love practices, this investigation is based on a qualitative research. Interviews conducted on thirty gay men (23-38 years old), residents in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires, allowed for the reconstruction of their love stories, defined as the narratives that structure their love experiences. Interviews conducted in several meetings enable delving into those stories. The age range responds to the socialization of these men under the regime of gayness (Meccia, 2011, 2014), characterized by a higher level of tolerance to sexual diversity in comparison with the secrecy experienced by previous generations of homosexual men and women. The conditions of possibility of love are framed in a sociopolitical context that allows for greater freedom when experiencing it.
The thesis is located in the intersection of two field studies. The first one is the sociology of love, tended to pose questions about love in imbrication with modernity and individualization (Bauman, 2013; Beck and Beck-Gernsheim, 2001; Boltanski, 2000; García Andrade and Sabido Ramos, 2014; Giddens 2004; Illouz, 2009, 2012; Jónasdóttir, 2014; Luhmann, 2008; Swidler, 2001). I take those concerns into account, but I modify the individual-centric approach of this perspective by considering the individual as a modern project that was never completed as such, for which it is necessary to track the sociability networks around him (Araujo and Martucelli, 2012, 2014; Elías, 2008; Latour, 2008; Semán, 2006). Therefore, couples’ experiences are never shaped by just two people.
The second field in which this thesis is located is formed by studies about homosexuality, especially male homosexuality, in Argentina. Two different approaches can be identified in these studies. The first approach emphasizes the relationship between homosexuality and politics by problematizing how the social and political identities were questioned by the State and the society as a whole under different regimes (Ben and Insausti, 2018; Clérico and Aldao, 2010; Fernández, 2013; Insausti, 2016, 2018; Meccia, 2006, 2011, 2014; Pecheny, 2003). The second approach is centered in answer how gay men, when inserted in the market of homoerotic exchanges, generate sociability networks that transcend the sexual dimension and that welcome them to be members of a bigger community (Boy, 2008; Leal Guerrero, 2011; Sívori, 2004).
The vacancy that this thesis intends to fill emerges from that intersection. Firstly, there is a lack of empiric evidence about the ways gay couples experience love. In sociology of love, works are mostly produced in essay or theoretical forms, and the ones that are empirical are focused on heterosexual couples, especially in women’s experiences. For non-academic audiences, the works produced by feminist female contemporary Argentinian authors are also focused on love among heterosexual people (Peker, 2018; Tenembaum, 2019). Secondly, the works about homosexuality did not pay too much attention to the affective dimension in couples. The absence of the affective dimension is also noticeable in works written about different sexualities where, with some exceptions (Cosse, 2010; Jones, 2010; Palumbo, 2016, 2017, 2018a, 2018b, 2018c, 2019), the link between sexual and love experiences is not studied in depth. A third contribution made by this thesis is its theoretical and methodological proposal. The love story as an analytical device is a tool that facilitates the study of love. By focusing on the love practices taking place inside narratives, it is possible to understand both the meanings that actors assign to their practices and representations about love.
The thesis is structured in three parts that examine the specificities of gay love. These specificities result from a tacit comparison with heterosexual love, a comparison that can be complemented by future works. The first part describes the acceptance of gay sexuality by these men’s families. Love allows coming out of the closet, but it still needs to find tactics to overcome the barrier that limits it. The second part places the love stories in a hypersexualized sphere of gay sociability. There, love offers elements to distinguish plain intercourse from intercourse that takes place in the context of a deeper bond. In that same sphere, couples try answers to practices like sexual exclusivity, monogamy and fidelity. The third part analyzes the principles of equality and inequality in couples. Inasmuch as the asymmetry in love tends to be explained considering the differences among women and men, the question about what happens with gay couples arises. In these couples, other equating principles are updated and resignified, principles that are typical of modern societies (like homogamy), of the homoerotic tradition (the age disparity) and of affective relationships (than one is more attached than the other).
In the conclusion section, I emphasize the insertion of this thesis in the sociological perspective about the free choice of the subject of love, but taking into account that the choice process implies renegotiations. I argue with the notion of self-referentiality in the love phenomenon, suggested by other authors, to understand the imbrication of love with other social practices.
The thesis is located in the intersection of two field studies. The first one is the sociology of love, tended to pose questions about love in imbrication with modernity and individualization (Bauman, 2013; Beck and Beck-Gernsheim, 2001; Boltanski, 2000; García Andrade and Sabido Ramos, 2014; Giddens 2004; Illouz, 2009, 2012; Jónasdóttir, 2014; Luhmann, 2008; Swidler, 2001). I take those concerns into account, but I modify the individual-centric approach of this perspective by considering the individual as a modern project that was never completed as such, for which it is necessary to track the sociability networks around him (Araujo and Martucelli, 2012, 2014; Elías, 2008; Latour, 2008; Semán, 2006). Therefore, couples’ experiences are never shaped by just two people.
The second field in which this thesis is located is formed by studies about homosexuality, especially male homosexuality, in Argentina. Two different approaches can be identified in these studies. The first approach emphasizes the relationship between homosexuality and politics by problematizing how the social and political identities were questioned by the State and the society as a whole under different regimes (Ben and Insausti, 2018; Clérico and Aldao, 2010; Fernández, 2013; Insausti, 2016, 2018; Meccia, 2006, 2011, 2014; Pecheny, 2003). The second approach is centered in answer how gay men, when inserted in the market of homoerotic exchanges, generate sociability networks that transcend the sexual dimension and that welcome them to be members of a bigger community (Boy, 2008; Leal Guerrero, 2011; Sívori, 2004).
The vacancy that this thesis intends to fill emerges from that intersection. Firstly, there is a lack of empiric evidence about the ways gay couples experience love. In sociology of love, works are mostly produced in essay or theoretical forms, and the ones that are empirical are focused on heterosexual couples, especially in women’s experiences. For non-academic audiences, the works produced by feminist female contemporary Argentinian authors are also focused on love among heterosexual people (Peker, 2018; Tenembaum, 2019). Secondly, the works about homosexuality did not pay too much attention to the affective dimension in couples. The absence of the affective dimension is also noticeable in works written about different sexualities where, with some exceptions (Cosse, 2010; Jones, 2010; Palumbo, 2016, 2017, 2018a, 2018b, 2018c, 2019), the link between sexual and love experiences is not studied in depth. A third contribution made by this thesis is its theoretical and methodological proposal. The love story as an analytical device is a tool that facilitates the study of love. By focusing on the love practices taking place inside narratives, it is possible to understand both the meanings that actors assign to their practices and representations about love.
The thesis is structured in three parts that examine the specificities of gay love. These specificities result from a tacit comparison with heterosexual love, a comparison that can be complemented by future works. The first part describes the acceptance of gay sexuality by these men’s families. Love allows coming out of the closet, but it still needs to find tactics to overcome the barrier that limits it. The second part places the love stories in a hypersexualized sphere of gay sociability. There, love offers elements to distinguish plain intercourse from intercourse that takes place in the context of a deeper bond. In that same sphere, couples try answers to practices like sexual exclusivity, monogamy and fidelity. The third part analyzes the principles of equality and inequality in couples. Inasmuch as the asymmetry in love tends to be explained considering the differences among women and men, the question about what happens with gay couples arises. In these couples, other equating principles are updated and resignified, principles that are typical of modern societies (like homogamy), of the homoerotic tradition (the age disparity) and of affective relationships (than one is more attached than the other).
In the conclusion section, I emphasize the insertion of this thesis in the sociological perspective about the free choice of the subject of love, but taking into account that the choice process implies renegotiations. I argue with the notion of self-referentiality in the love phenomenon, suggested by other authors, to understand the imbrication of love with other social practices.
Título obtenido
Doctor de la Universidad de Buenos Aires en Ciencias Sociales
Institución otorgante
Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales