Virility and masculinity have always been in “crisis”

Abstract

This work is the result of concerns that I have carried with me over the years. The data brought is a sample, the product of a broader research that has Cruising Bars as a field of study on homosexuality, masculinity, and related subjects. We propose a critical analysis of the idea of a recent “crisis in masculinity” or “crisis of masculinity”. Like other authors, we believe that the “crisis”, impermanence and dissymmetries are part of “making up” a “man”. We question the idea that gender standards are anchored above all in heterosexuality. We explain how homosexuality is an important factor for a greater understanding of men and masculinity, seen as a universe, a system and a device.