I read your post, and idk where exactly these things come from still. If people are afraid of seeming gay, I don't understand how that explains covering shirtless men in white goop while they cooperate to climb something phallic.
What Sedgwick argues is that on one hand these institutions mandate very intense male bonds, but on the other hand absolute forbid male sexual relationships. That's what makes this seem gay! In an imaginary society without homophobia (assuming that they still wanted to do stupid shit like this) this would actually seem less gay because men being physically intimate with each other wouldn't be so fraught. It is, ironically, the prohibition that makes this seem so incredibly gay
I read your post, and idk where exactly these things come from still. If people are afraid of seeming gay, I don't understand how that explains covering shirtless men in white goop while they cooperate to climb something phallic.
I'll comment on you linked post.
What Sedgwick argues is that on one hand these institutions mandate very intense male bonds, but on the other hand absolute forbid male sexual relationships. That's what makes this seem gay! In an imaginary society without homophobia (assuming that they still wanted to do stupid shit like this) this would actually seem less gay because men being physically intimate with each other wouldn't be so fraught. It is, ironically, the prohibition that makes this seem so incredibly gay