ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I seek to unravel the relationship between hegemonic, non-hegemonic, dominant/dominating masculinities in gay relationships by using the issue of sexual violence as my core focus. I critically examine the ways in which gay men in gay relationships navigate through these different masculinities at different times, places and contexts. The intersection between masculinities, romantic love and sexual violence in gay relationships will be explored, theorised and understood. I examine these links, with the support of the conceptual lens of hegemonic masculinity. Uncovering sexual violence in gay relationships is important because it is often hidden from sight and placed on the borderlines of significance. Bringing this into focus will help us to make sense of the ways in which sexual violence is manifested in gay relationships. I aim to examine how masculinities are hierarchically structured in gay relationships, with the view of understanding how gay men move through or are positioned in different masculinities at differing times. I make links between the ideology of love and sexual violence, arguing that practices of love, such as saying ‘I love you’, act to secure male rape victims in violent/abusive relationships and often positioning them in subordinate masculinities. I argue that male rape legitimates an unequal relationship between men by constructing the perpetrator as masculine and the victim as feminine in gay relationships.
