Title
Ideology of Gay Racialist Skinheads and Stigma Management Techniques
Department/School
Justice and Society Studies
Date
1-1-2006
Document Type
Article
Keywords
ideology, gay radicalism, skinheads, stigma
Abstract
Gay racialists have received scant attention by academic researchers. While many dismiss gay skinheads as a contradiction in terms, these individuals provide an opportunity to explore sociologically the strategies used to both challenge the homophobia of white power groups and manage the stigma of homosexuality. An analysis of a gay racialist website reveals 7 rhetorical strategies including: minimizing the stigma, appealing to master status, appealing to higher loyalties, attacking the stigmatizers, blaming the victimizers, denying the oppressor, and rejecting the stigmatizer. Content on gay racialist message boards suggests that sexual networking and not racial politics is the primary function of these sites. Yet, we note the potential for these boards to function as a transformative-prefigurative space or a place for gay racialists to connect with one another and potentially the larger White Power movement. An examination of stigma management techniques informs our understanding of gay racialists and the diversity that comprises the dissident right.
Published in
Journal of Political and Military Sociology
Citation/Other Information
Waldner, Lisa K., Heather Martin and Lyndsay Capeder. 2006. “Ideology of Gay Racialist Skinheads and Stigma Management Techniques.” Journal of Political and Military Sociology 34 (2): 165-184.