‘Dude, You’re a Fag’: Adolescent Masculinity and the Fag Discourse

Abstract

This article argues that American adolescent boys become masculine through the continual repudiation of a ‘fag’ identity. Using insights from sociologists of interaction and post-structural theorists of sexuality this article demonstrates that the fag insult has multiple meanings which are primarily gendered but also sexualized and raced. This article builds on prior analyses of adolescent homophobia by (1) pointing to the limits of an argument that focuses centrally on homophobia, (2) demonstrating that the fag is not only an identity linked to homosexual boys but an identity that can temporarily adhere to heterosexual boys as well and (3) highlighting the racialized nature of this fag discourse.