Some thoughts on gang bangs and "proving it"

[bobbieinok]

http://hugoboy.typepad.com/hugo_schwyzer/2006/05/abyss2hope_at_a.html

Some thoughts on gang bangs and "proving it"

....

In the field of "men and masculinity studies", there's an extraordinary amount of material written about the problem of "proving it". In virtually every young American man's life, establishing one's masculine credentials in the eyes of male peers is one of the most difficult, most constant -- and most self-defining -- activities of childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. In both fiction and autobiography, countless men have recorded the sad, brave, appalling, frightening, disgusting, daring, and frequently unsuccessful measures they took, alone or collectively, to "prove" that they were men.

A book I use regularly in my Men and Masculinity class is Muy Macho: Latino Men Confront their Manhood, edited by Ray Gonzalez. One of the essays in the book is by Rudolfo Anaya, who describes this phenomenon -- and the way in which women are used -- perfectly:

"Little boys like to brag about the length of their penises, or they have contests to see who can piss the farthest. Acting out "I'm bigger, I'm better", the game begins to have a built-in power aspect. Later, boys will brag about having scored with a girl, and in the boast is contained a hint of the power they have exercised. Those who haven't yet scored have less power. They're virgins in the game. Those who don't see girls as the goal to be conquered have even less power. A hierarchy of needs and behavior begins to define the male role and the power inherent in it."

....

The thrill of the gang bang -- or gang rape, which is different -- is not the sex: it's the audience. Pardon the vulgarity: but the real payoff is not to fuck, but to be seen fucking. Homosociality (the overwhelming need to prove oneself in the eyes of one's own sex) all too often trumps authentic sexual desire, or becomes so hopelessly entangled with innate sexual desire that many men have trouble distinguishing what they a priori want and enjoy from what behavior will bring them the pleasure of greater status in the eyes of men. In other words, like Stavans, they derive more lasting pleasure from sharing with other men their conquest narrative than they do from the sexual experience itself! That's one of the most universal -- and ugliest -- aspects of modern American masculinity.

[tuvor]

1. Am I one of the few lucky ones?

I don't see any of my own history in the text you've posted.

What's the sex of the author, by the way?

[bobbieinok]

2. male

[Union Thug]

3. I didn't grow up like that either...

Competitive penis length? Huh? Maybe I didn't play in many of the same reindeer games described here, but neither did any of my friends. The only one's who behaved this way during my adolescent years (late 70s/early 80s) were the asshole, rich kids who were into sports (while we were into Black Sabbath and the "sweet leaf" ;-) ).

And as for the gang-bang hypothesis; doubtful. Personally, and this is just my sick and twisted opinion...the gang bang thing is more about witnessing a ferociously horny female in action.

[Broken_Hero]

5. I didn't grow up that way either...

good post btw, agreed.

[RagingInMiami]

4. Fortunately, most men are not into the "gangbang"