Gendering friendship:couple culture, heteronormativity and the production of gender

Cronin, Anne (2015) Gendering friendship:couple culture, heteronormativity and the production of gender. Sociology, 49 (6). pp. 1167-1182. ISSN 0038-0385

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

This article draws on interview material to analyse the ways in which heterosexual ‘couple practices’ interface with friendship practices (outside the couple). Focusing on the qualitative detail of participants’ experiences of friendship and of coupledom, I analyse the relationalities of gender, heterosexualities and friendship. Rather than focusing on gender as a variable in friendship variance, I examine the ways in which friendships ’do’ gender and heterosexualities. In this dynamic, intimacy is practiced by participants as a zero sum game and its distribution is strongly bounded. I argue that this distribution acts to create and reinforce boundaries of ‘friendship’ and ‘sexual couple’ bonds, and I examine the implications of these findings for analysing the relational qualities of the friendship tie.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Sociology
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3300/3312
Subjects:
?? COUPLESFRIENDSHIPGENDERHETERONORMATIVITYHETEROSEXUALITYINTIMACY RELATIONALITYSOCIOLOGY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE ??
ID Code:
70784
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
15 Sep 2014 08:56
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
15 Sep 2023 00:15