Styles of Male Gendered Self-Presentation and the Construal of Sexual Identities in Barcelona, Spain.

This mixed-methods study tests the hypothesis that recognizably heteronormative (“straight-acting”) styles of visual self-presentation enhance men’s social status in a specific geographical and historical locus (Barcelona, Spain; 2021-22). Visual impression formation and attitudes were examined by showing observers 20 video fragments of male-presenting individuals with a broad range of styles of gendered self-presentation and asking them to describe and rate them. The individuals in those 30-second video fragments self-identified as “heterosexual” (10), “gay” (9), “bisexual” (1), “trans” (1), “intersex” (1) and/or “queer” (1). Clusters of observers were selected representing a diverse range of social groups: young women (n=20), older gay-identifying men (n=20) and heterosexual-identifying men who were serving a prison sentence (n=5). Results do not support the initial hypothesis and point to the label “gay” not designating a sexual orientation, but rather a range of roles, with very different expectations and visual identity markers across different social clusters and generational cohorts. For the past 40 years, the literature on men and masculinities has largely been built on the axiom that “hegemonic masculinities” are socially policed and reinforced. This study challenges that premise by providing a specific counterexample and exploring which other theories and models may currently better explain such data.