Managing deviance: Hustling,homophobia, and the bodybuilding subculture

The subculture of bodybuilding is the backdrop of an analysis of some contradictions inherent in American masculinity. One of the most unusual, but telling of these has to do with “hustling”: the widespread selling of sexual favors by bodybuilders to gay men. In this, one also finds the incongruent presence of homophobia. Hence, homosexual behavior is juxtaposed by anti‐homosexual behavior. This study shows that this irony is necessary if the hustler is to maintain his alleged heterosexual identity. Hypermasculinity and strategies of economic survival in the highly competitive southern California bodybuilding scene are also examined in relation to hustling and more generally to American masculinity. Contradictions in bodybuilding are shown to be more problematic than studies of other street hustlers and prison populations where homosexual behavior is juggled with heterosexual identity.     

On hating in the first person plural: thinking psychoanalytically about racism, homophobia, and misogyny.

On the basis of personal, cultural, and clinical references, misogyny, homophobia, and racism are conceptualized as structured forms of hatred grounded in a defensive use of the first person plural voice. This use of hatred defends against dangers associated with desires linked to the first person singular. In these hatreds, "I want" is defensively transformed into "we hate." Disidentification from and hatred of the object appear where identification and yearning had been. Along with this defensive move into plurality, with these forms of hatred comes the use of what is conceptualized as the "hermeneutics of transparency." Here the hated qualities of the objects in question are sensed to be transparently obvious, a matter not of thought but of perception. The underlying premises of these hatreds are then contrasted with the underlying premises of psychoanalysis. Effective psychoanalytic work with these hatreds entails resisting the moral pressure to disidentify from them, while bearing the often profound discomfort linked with identifying with them.     

Unsanctioned aggression in rugby union: relationships among aggressiveness,anger, athletic identity,and professionalization

Aggressive players who intentionally cause injury to their opponents are common in many sports, particularly collision sports such as Rugby Union. Although some acts of aggression fall within the rules (sanctioned), others do not (unsanctioned), with the latter tending to be less acceptable than the former. This study attempts to identify characteristics of players who are more likely to employ unsanctioned methods in order to injure an opponent. Male Rugby Union players completed questionnaires assessing aggressiveness, anger, past aggression, professionalization, and athletic identity. Players were assigned to one of two groups based on self‐reported past unsanctioned aggression. Results indicated that demographic variables (e.g., age, playing position, or level of play) were not predictive of group membership. Measures of aggressiveness and professionalization were significant predictors; high scores on both indicated a greater probability of reporting the use of unsanctioned aggressive force for the sole purpose of causing injury or pain. In addition, players who had been taught how to execute aggressive illegal plays without detection were also more likely to report using excessive force to injure an opponent. Results provide further support that highly professionalized players may be more likely to use methods outside the constitutive rules of Rugby Union in order to intentionally injure their opponents. Results are discussed within the context of the increasing win‐at‐all‐cost attitude that is becoming more prevalent in sport and its implications for youth athletes. Aggr. Behav. 35:237–243, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Radical therapy: A research note on the use of ideological work in maintaining a deviant subculture

A social protest movement which survived the demise of the New Left is explored in terms of ways in which a countercultural group preserved a particular kind of deviant subculture. Radical therapy developed from an opposition to American middle class values as they were institutionalized in psychiatric practice. While identifying themselves as Marxist revolutionaries, members reacted to the decline of social activism by adopting a hidden agenda of psychological transformation activities and duplicating traditional structures in their “radical” therapy. The longevity of radical therapy is explained in terms of its effectiveness in benefitting from the dominant culture while preserving members's deviant identities through various forms of ideological work.     

Relational aggression and victimization in gay male relationships: the role of internalized homophobia

This article presents two studies that are the first to examine relational aggression and relational victimization in gay male peer relationships. A qualitative pilot study provides a strong rationale for a subsequent empirical investigation of 100 young adult, self-identified gay males. Results of both studies demonstrate that relational aggression and relational victimization are common experiences in gay male relationships. They also reveal forms of relational aggression and victimization that appear to be unique to gay males (e.g., outing). Results of the empirical study found significant relations between engaging in relational aggression against gay males and experiencing relational victimization and between experiencing relational victimization and internalized homophobia. However, there was no significant correlation between internalized homophobia and engaging in relational aggression. A multiple regression analysis found that experiencing relational victimization was correlated more strongly with the combination of engaging in relational aggression and internalized homophobia together than with relational aggression alone. Results are discussed within the framework of Allport's "traits due to victimization" theory and Meyer's theory of "minority stress." Implications for the prevention of relational aggression/victimization in gay male relationships are offered.     

Gay male sexual assault survivors: the relations among internalized homophobia, experiential avoidance, and psychological symptom severity

This study explored the relations among internalized homophobia (IH), experiential avoidance, and psychological symptom severity in a community sample of 74 gay male sexual assault survivors. Results indicated that IH is associated with both depressive and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity. IH accounted for more variance than assault severity in predicting both PTSD and depression symptom severity. IH and experiential avoidance similarly predicted PTSD symptom severity. In comparison with IH, however, experiential avoidance is a stronger predictor of depression symptom severity. Results also showed that experiential avoidance partially mediated the relation between IH and both depressive and PTSD symptom severity. The implications of these findings are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided.     

Minimizing subject loss in a longitudinal study of deviant behavior

A number of techniques are described to prevent attrition of four different categories of subjects in a longitudinal study of deviant behavior.Difficult to schedule subjects required persistence, empathy and flexibility to ensure their continued participation.Reluctant subjects were persuaded to participate by taking special care to build rapport with that family.Subjects who initially refused were turned around by assuming that a subject's refusal one year was circumstantial, and approaching that subject the following year with personalized correspondence that emphasized the importance of their contribution to the research. Persistence was an important factor in successfully locating and recruitingtransient subjects.     

Team weigh-ins and self-weighing: Relations to body-related perceptions and disordered eating in collegiate male athletes

ObjectivesIn this study we examined the relation of team weigh-ins and self-weighing frequency on collegiate male athletes' internalization of body ideals, social pressures about weight/body, body satisfaction, dietary intent, negative affect, drive for muscularity, and bulimic symptomatology.Design and methodsWe used a cross-sectional survey design, and collected data electronically from 738 male intercollegiate athletes in the U.S.ResultsAthletes who self-weighed 7 + times per week reported the most pressure to lose weight and be lean and muscular, engaged in muscle-building behaviors most frequently, dieted most often, and had the highest level of bulimic symptomatology. Further, athletes on teams that conducted mandatory weigh-ins (vs. not) engaged in more muscularity behaviors and dietary restriction.ConclusionWeighing, but in particularly that conducted voluntarily, may contribute to an overconcern with appearance, body size/shape, and weight, which in turn can lead to a variety of behaviors related to eating and body change.     

Social class and family size as determinants of attributed machismo,femininity, and family planning: A field study in two South American Communities

The major objective of the present investigation was to ascertain how stereotypes of machismo and femininity are related to acquired family size and perceptions of family planning. An indirect measurement approach was employed in which lower-class and upper-middle-class urban adults in Cali, Colombia, responded to photos of Colombian families which varied in size and completeness. The principal findings of the investigation revealed that (1) lower-class subjects described parents in the photos as significantly more macho and feminine because of their children than upper-middle-class subjects; (2) although no overall family size effect on attributions of machismo and femininity to parents emerged, lower-class female subjects described parents of large complete families as significantly more macho and feminine than parents of small complete families; (3) male subjects from both social classes described male spouses in the photos as more dominant and in greater control of the marital relationship as family size in the photos increased; and (4) perceptions of the incidence of family planning behaviors decreased linearly with family size for both social classes, although lower-class females attributed more family planning to spouses of large families than upper-middle-class females. Discussion of these results attempted to account for social class differences in the significance of parenthood as an indicator of sex-role identity and the psychological relevance of male dominance as a factor in fertility.This research was supported by a predoctoral research fellowship from the Council of Intersocietal Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60201.     

Disgust,scrupulosity and conservative attitudes about sex: Evidence for a mediational model of homophobia

In the present study, core disgust predicted negative attitudes toward homosexuals even after controlling for contamination fear. The effect of core disgust on negative attitudes toward homosexuals was indirect, partially mediated by conservative sexual attitudes and religiosity. The effects of religious principles on negative attitudes toward homosexuals were indirect, via conservative sexual beliefs. These results establish a link between disgust and negative attitudes towards homosexuals that is not fully accounted for by contamination concerns, but rather is partially accounted for by conservative sexual ideology and religiosity.     

The effects of a motivational general-arousal imagery intervention upon preperformance symptoms in male rugby union players

ObjectivesTo investigate the efficacy of a motivational general-arousal based imagery strategy in modifying precompetitive symptom interpretations.MethodA staggered multiple baseline single-subject design was employed with five male collegiate rugby union players (M = 24.5; SD = 3.05). The dependent variable was monitored over a full competitive season via measures of precompetitive anxiety and affect together with follow-up social validation procedures.ResultsMore facilitative interpretations of symptoms associated with competitive anxiety, and greater self-confidence levels were reported postintervention, together with changes in positive and negative affect.ConclusionsThe findings highlight the importance of employing individualized imagery with motivational general-arousal content to modify performers' perceptions of their precompetitive experiences. This effect is proposed to occur directly through adaptive changes in individuals' psychological response systems and indirectly via the protection mechanisms associated with enhanced efficacy expectations.     

Global self-esteem,perceived athletic competence,and physical activity in children: A longitudinal cohort study

ObjectivesThe Exercise and Self-Esteem Model is used as a theoretical framework to describe associations between global self-esteem and physical activity, mediated by perceived athletic competence. We know little about how these associations develop over time in elementary school children. We examined the change in, and associations between, global self-esteem, perceived athletic competence, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in children from kindergarten to grade 4. We also investigated if this change and these associations were different for boys and girls.DesignA prospective longitudinal cohort-sequential design that consisted of two cohorts of children.MethodChildren in cohort I were followed from kindergarten to grade 2, and children in cohort II were followed from grade 2 to grade 4. Global self-esteem and perceived athletic competence were measured with the Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC) (n = 292; 148 boys), while MVPA was measured with proxy-reports for physical activity filled in by parents (n = 184; 88 boys).ResultsGlobal self-esteem, perceived athletic competence, and MVPA remained stable. Global self-esteem was the same in boys and girls, while boys reported higher levels of perceived athletic competence and were more physically active than girls. The change in global self-esteem was significantly associated with perceived athletic competence and MVPA in girls, but not in boys.ConclusionThere are few developmental changes in global self-esteem, perceived athletic competence, and MVPA from kindergarten to grade 4. The change in global self-esteem was associated with perceived athletic competence and MVPA in girls, but not in boys.     

Students' reports of athletic involvement as predictors of drinking: a pilot study

54 undergraduates' reports indicated that the amount of alcohol consumed per week did not differ among university athletes, intramural athletes, and non-athletes, but it was positively related to male gender and to reported smoking.     

Marines,medics, and machismo: Lack of fit with masculine occupational stereotypes discourages men's participation

Women have made substantial inroads into some traditionally masculine occupations (e.g., accounting, journalism) but not into others (e.g., military, surgery). Evidence suggests the latter group of occupations is characterized by hyper‐masculine ‘macho’ stereotypes that are especially disadvantageous to women. Here, we explore whether such macho occupational stereotypes may be especially tenacious, not just because of their impact on women, but also because of their impact on men. We examined whether macho stereotypes associated with marine commandos and surgeons discourage men who feel that they are ‘not man enough’. Study 1 demonstrates that male new recruits' (N = 218) perceived lack of fit with masculine commandos was associated with reduced occupational identification and motivation. Study 2 demonstrates that male surgical trainees' (N = 117) perceived lack of fit with masculine surgeons was associated with reduced identification and increased psychological exit a year later. Together, this suggests that macho occupational stereotypes may discourage the very men who may challenge them.     

Differences in the neurocognitive profiles of professional and semi-professional male South African rugby union players

This study investigated possible cognitive functioning profile differences between professional and semi-professional rugby players. Seventy-nine male rugby union players (professional = 55, semi-professional = 24; age range = 19–37 years) participated in the study. The players completed a battery of neuropsychological functioning tests covering the following domains: memory tasks, attention and behavioural tasks, sensory-motor tasks, executive functioning tasks, verbal tasks, and emotion identification tasks. Results following Fisher’s exact test comparisons revealed no significant group differences in the cognitive functioning profiles.