Yes, straight men sleep together.
That’s according to a new study out of Britain on the changing social habits of heterosexual males.
Published in the journal of Men and Masculinities in March, the study
revealed that 98 percent of the study’s participants -- all white,
college-age male athletes -- have shared a bed with another guy. In
addition, 93 percent also reported having spooned or cuddled with another man.
James Franco recently took a "bed selfie" with friend Keegan Allen and posted it to Instagram.
Study
co-author and sociologist Mark McCormack, of Durham University, says
the study’s results exemplify changing conceptions of masculinity in
contemporary culture. As homophobia decreases, McCormack says,
straight men are acting “much softer” than those from older generations
-- something he and Eric Anderson, of the University of Winchester, set
out to examine.
"We
knew they [straight males] were hugging and cuddling, and we wanted to
understand this phenomenon in more detail," McCormack told The
Huffington Post in an email. "How do men gain from rejecting the
homophobia of previous generations?"
The
two sociologists conducted in-depth interviews with 40 young male
athletes -- a sample they
chose because of the group's likelihood to be in closer physical
contact with one another and because of the notion that athletes embody
what it means to be traditionally masculine. McCormack told HuffPost he
was surprised by how uneventful and mundane participants viewed their
behaviors.
“They
don't realize this is something that older men would find shocking," he
said. "It's older generations that think men cuddling is taboo.”
Matt, one of the men interviewed for the study, explained his
viewpoint on cuddling with his male friend Connor. The researchers noted the response in their study:
I feel comfortable with Connor and we spend a lot of time together. I happily rest my head on Connor’s shoulder when lying on the couch or hold him in bed. But he’s not the only one. The way I see it, is that we are all very good and close mates. We have a bromance where we are very comfortable around each other.
The
history of homosocial relationships, or heterosexual male friendships,
is deeply complex and steeped in social stigmas, myth, rejection and
aggression, the authors explain in their research. But stigmas and
traditional roles are going out the window as younger generations are
becoming more open and accepting.
“The
social taboo against cuddling has been because for two men to get close
was traditionally seen as 'gay'. Men wanted to avoid being the target
of homophobic abuse, so they would be macho to distance themselves from
any perception of homosexuality,” McCormack told HuffPost. “But there is
a generational effect here: Older men who grew up in the 1980s may
still feel the need to present a very straight version of themselves,
but more positive attitudes toward homosexuality in contemporary culture
mean that younger men are simply less concerned about how other people
view their behaviors."
McCormack
says Anderson, who expanded on the study, found similar behaviors
across country lines, though American men were found to engage
in those behaviors less frequently.
“British
men are more advanced than American men in doing this, but these
behaviors are still occurring, and we predict that increasing numbers of
American men will engage in them as they realize the benefits of doing
so,” McCormack said.
McCormack
acknowledges that anti-gay sentiment is still around but that many guys
don't seem to mind expressing themselves however they want.
“Homophobia
hasn't disappeared, but straight men today are not expected to be
homophobic like they were in the 1980s and 1990s," he said. "This
enables them to be [engaged] in softer gendered behaviors -- they can
cuddle and hug, wear fashionable clothes, care about looking good, and
openly declare love for their friends.”
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