Synopses & Reviews
and#160;and#160;and#160; A photograph of two men, cowboy-hatted and -booted and discreetly holding hands, is the departure point in a groundbreaking study on masculinity and homosexuality in Mexico. Just Between Us, an ethnography of intimacy and affection between men, explores the concept of masculine identity and homoeroticism, expressing the difficulties men face in maintaining their masculinity while expressing intimacy and affection.
and#160;and#160; and#160;Using fieldwork from rural Sonora, Mexico, Guillermo Nand#250;and#241;ez Noriega posits that men accept this intimacy outside gender categories and stereotypes, despite the traditional patriarchal society. This work contests homophobia and the heterosexual ideal of men and attempts to break down the barriers between genders.
and#160;and#160; and#160;The photograph Nand#250;and#241;ez Noriega uses to explore the shifting attitudes and perceptions of sexuality and gender provokes more questions than answers. Recognizing the societal regulations at play, the author demonstrates the existence in contemporary Mexico of an invisible regime of power that constructs and regulates the field of possibilities for menand#8217;s social actions, especially acts of friendship, affection, and eroticism with other men. The work investigates and#8220;modes of speakingand#8221; about being a man, on being gay, on the implicit meanings of the words homosexual, masculine, trade, fairy, and othersand#8212;words that construct possibilities for intimacy, particularly affective and erotic intimacy among men.
and#160;and#160; and#160;Multiple variants of homoeroticism fall outside the dominant model, Nand#250;and#241;ez Noriega argues, a finding that offers many lessons on men and masculine identities. This book challenges patriarchal definitions of sex, gender, and identity; it promotes the unlearning of dominant conventions of masculinity to allow new ways of being.
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Review
and#8220;This is really one of the most moving pieces of scholarship I have read in a long time, and it stands to change how we think about menand#8217;s pleasures, subjectivation, and sense of belonging.and#8221;and#8212;Carlos Ulises Decena, author of Tacit
Review
and#8220;This bookand#8217;s ambitions are to demonstrate that masculinities in the Sonoran mountain region are constructed under a code of conduct that while depending on traditional patriarchal values opens the possibility of enjoying male-to-male affection and intimacy.and#8221;and#8212;Hector Dominguez Ruvalcaba, author of Gender Violence at the U.S.-Mexico Border: Media Representation and Public Response
Synopsis
Just Between Us, set in the context of Mexicoand#8217;s cultural codes, challenges norms in thinking about menand#8217;s identities, their pleasures, and their sense of belonging. Author Guillermo Nand#250;and#241;ez Noriega offers a groundbreaking study that contests patriarchal concepts limiting male relationships and masculinity.
About the Author
Guillermo Nuand#241;ez Noriega works as a researcher of gender studies and sexual health in the Department of Human Development and Social Welfare at the Centro de Investigaciand#243;n en Alimentaciand#243;n y Desarrollo in Sonora, Mexico.