Overview

Since the 1970s, effeminate gay men, and fem bottoms in particular, have increasingly become the 'marginalised among the marginalised' in Anglo-American gay culture, which tends to place a premium on appearing, behaving, and sounding masculine. Effeminate Belonging compares how boys and men in Western and global majority contexts negotiate connections between homosexuality, effeminacy, and bottom identity and practice, and why conversations that re-connect sex role positionality and gender expression are important to gay men's sexual wellbeing and sense of belonging. Providing new readings of autobiographical narratives in film, documentary, social media, gay porn, and written erotica, Richard Vytniorgu explores how fem bottoms negotiate gender nonconforming experience and bottom identities in different places and spaces, including in the home, school, LGBTQ+ community, online, and in their own bodies. Consolidating key research on effeminacy and gay bottom identities in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, this interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and historical discussion of gay men's sexual and gendered identities offers new insights for readers interested in gender nonconformity, bottoming, and male homosexuality across cultures. Vytniorgu also offers new perspectives for readers interested in connecting socio-cultural and psychobiological dimensions of gender and sexuality, and for health and educational professionals seeking to deepen their knowledge of LGBTQ+ identities and sexual experiences.

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9781804550106

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Reviews

Richard Vytniorgu has marshalled his scholarly acumen and media savvy to investigate a pocket of gay male experience that is under-researched. The search for community as a fem gay bottom requires persistence, patience, self-compassion, and the courage to prize difference over conformity. The overlap of gender identity, erotic practice, and embodied expression can present in different ways, and the author makes a thoughtful case for the meaningful link between effeminate belonging and sexual wellbeing. -- Don Shewey, Author of The Paradox of Porn: Notes on Gay Male Sexual Culture and Daddy Lover God: A Sacred Intimacy Journey This book explores popular media narratives, queer theory, and biological explorations to coin a multifaceted understanding of effeminacy, gender normativity, and sexual pleasure. Moving from autobiographical narratives to twink porn, and well beyond, Richard Vytniorgu weaves together diverse voices while retaining a notably enjoyable authorial tone throughout; one committed to honoring the complexities of gay male bottoming and its cultural framings. -- Susanna Paasonen, Professor of Media Studies, University of Turku, Finland What if the bottom is more than a sexual position? In Effeminate Belonging, Richard Vytniorgu challenges readers to reconceptualize and reorient themselves towards and about the bottom. Drawing on an expansive archive that braids together the social sciences and literary and cultural studies, the bottom is no longer just a position, but an identity, one rich with complexity and nuance. By reimagining the idea of the bottom, masculinity and belonging is brought into a new light, one which illuminates possibility. -- Jonathan A. Allan, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Men and Masculinities, Faculty of Arts, Brandon University, Canada The uncoupling of same-sex desire, receptive positionality, and effeminacy might have enhanced the acceptance of same-sex sexuality and promoted the respectability of the LGBTQ+ community. Nevertheless, this separation has come at the expense of marginalizing men whose identities are shaped by these very aspects. This book presents a genuine and daring interdisciplinary argument for the reassessment and recognition of individuals embodying these characteristics. It advocates for the rehabilitation of fairies, pansies, and queens, while urging a more profound exploration of gender and positionality-based identities. -- Theo Sandfort, Professor of Clinical Sociomedical Science (in Psychiatry), Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, USA Breathtaking in scope and beautifully composed, Effeminate Belonging illustrates the ways gay bottoms are structured as a ‘minority within a minority’ and how fem gay bottoms write themselves into spaces of belonging despite these minoritizing tendencies. Richard Vytniorgu’s interdisciplinary approach to the subject of fem gay bottoms and his deft negotiation of non-Western cultural practices to critique Anglo-American discourses of bottoming is revelatory. A model approach for research and a gift to clinicians, Effeminate Belonging should be required reading for anyone interested in gay male identity or sexuality. -- Timothy Oleksiak, Associate Professor and Director of the Professional and New Media Writing Program, Department of English, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA Drawing from multiple disciplines, including psychology, sociology, queer theories, porn studies and fiction literature, this book is extraordinarily well-researched in spotlighting the often dismissed populations of effeminate gay bottoms. Richard Vytniorgu thoroughly explores the nuanced in-between space of sexual orientations, gender nonconformity and sex role preference, highlighting the double marginalisation of homophobia and femmephobia, as well as courageously bringing forth the unsettling discussion on heterogender homosexuality. Vytniorgu skilfully analyses the narratives of sexuality, gender and sexual behaviours in Western culture and beyond, helping his readers with an in-depth understanding of the bio-psycho-social landscape in which effeminate gay bottoms live. It is an essential read for academics in psychology, sociology, and queer theories as well as psychotherapists specialising in gender, sex, and relationship diversity. -- Silva Neves, Psychosexual and Relationship Psychotherapist and Author of Sexology: The Basics, Pink Therapy Clinical Associate, UK

Author Information

Richard Vytniorgu is Research Fellow at the University of Hertfordshire, UK.

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