The Embodied Gaze: Intracommunity Violence and Gender Norms Among Homosexual Men
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This study analyzes intracommunity violence among gay men in Santiago, Chile, emphasizing how the gaze operates as a mechanism of power over bodies. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 16 self-identified gay men, we explore how heterocisnormative practices and discourses strain the materiality and subjective lived experience of corporealities, giving rise to processes of cisgenderist violence. The research employs feminist, queer, decolonial, and intersectional perspectives, revealing how internalized visual and material surveillance fosters bodily self-monitoring and strategies to “pass” or “go unnoticed.” Findings show that, rather than direct aggression alone, participants experience normative gazes that produce validation or rejection based on physical attributes, simultaneously reinforcing specific masculine ideals while marginalizing gender expressions that challenge normative standards. The gaze thus emerges as a subtle yet constant mechanism of social control, producing psychological and symbolic violence that negatively affects self-esteem and mental health. The results also underscore the importance of critically addressing these dynamics from a bodily and visual standpoint, shifting emphasis away from digital platforms toward everyday embodied interactions. Finally, based on the findings, we suggest expanding future qualitative and quantitative methodologies to probe intracommunity dynamics more deeply by incorporating intersectional and comparative approaches. We also advocate for interventions aimed at reducing this form of violence and promoting more inclusive and safer spaces within the gay community.
Source: SAGE Open
Author: Wilson Orlando Albornoz Fuentes
Language: English
Topic: Gender and Feminist Studies
Subfield: Gender Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,600
OpenAlex ID: W7117133388