Abstract

Male homosexuality has long been associated with effeminacy. Yet, despite the long-standing historical association between effeminacy and male homosexuality, little research has examined the monitoring and punishing of effeminacy within the gay male community. This project is devoted to the study of gay male effeminacy and the shame that often accompanies its presence. What is it about effeminacy that continues to haunt the gay male community today? How, and why, is masculinity enforced by so many gay men, and what is at stake in the fight against all things flaming? What is wrong culturally about shaming effeminacy? Looking at personal ads and specifically the phrase 'No femmes, queens or flamers!,' this thesis examines the gender hierarchy within the gay male communitiy that privileges the masculine by subjugating effeminacy. I argue that the gay male community employs a practice of shame and shaming in order to consciously reject, suppress and oppress effeminacy. Integral to this thesis is how a culture of shame fuels the process of inclusion/exclusion by, and among, gay men. This thesis also examines the intersection of race, gender and sexuality, examining how both the gay male and the Asian male bodies have been discursively constructed as effeminate. Overall, this thesis critiques current modes of gay and lesbian politics that strive for normalization, elsewhere known as assimilation, tolerance, or sexual 'minority rights,' particularly with respect of gender.