Hegemonic Masculinity and Transclass Mobility : The Academic Migration of Gay Men Residing in Belgium

Details

Supervisors

Asuncion Fresnoza-Flot

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master de spécialisation en études de genre

Abstract

enClass, gender, masculinity, and sexual orientation intersect in this master thesis in Gender Studies. Starting from Bourdieu and Passeron’s theory on social reproduction, the thesis provides – through a migration perspective – an illustration to Jaquet’s concept of transclass and new fieldwork to Eribon’s works of sociological introspection. This study was based on the review of the literature and an interview-based case study of 17 comprehensive interviews, which were conducted in Belgium in the autumn of 2022. The participants, all men originating from working-class families, who identify today as gay and who currently reside in Belgium, narrated their triple displacements – in class, geography, and identity – as an effect of hegemonic masculinity and heteronormative education. Whereas some of them had reasoned their need to migrate out of shame of their social condition or with the conscious desire to ascending social mobility, most participants have seen their transclass journeys as a side effect to the initially intended aspiration to sexual emancipation and/or search of their personal identities. The results of this study open new perspectives on transclass mechanisms among gay men from the working class and call for further research on the social effects of hegemonic masculinity on individuals – regardless of their sexual orientation, sexual or gender identities – who do not conform with the roles they are expected to play at school and in their communities.