Looking queer? Gay men’s negotiations between masculinity and femininity in style and dress in the twenty-first century

Appearance has long been of concern to gay men, whether manifested as an identifiable visibility, an intentional invisibility or a conscious playing with gendered and social signifiers. This ties to Judith Butler’s propositions that gendered identities are performed in relation to external societal and internal personal pressures and considerations, as well as being regulated by cultural discourses. The notions of gay male femininity and the authenticity of a ‘real’ masculinity, that can be presented through choices of clothing and behavioural traits, have traditionally been a perennial concern within the urban gay male communities of Britain and America. However, perhaps given the changes in social, moral and legal conditions for, and attitudes towards, gay people that have manifested in the twenty-first century, the negotiation of this oppositional binary is no longer of such importance. Thus the question of a contemporary gay male visual identity and appearance is interesting to consider. Based on a series of interviews conducted with gay men between the ages of 19 and 46 in 2012–2013, this article will articulate some of the ways in which these British and American gay men have negotiated concerns with their sexual identity and personal appearance. It will consider the ways in which style and dress can signify meanings about the multitude of aspects that make up an individual’s identity, with a particular focus on how the acceptance and articulation of their own sexual orientation has varied between operating as a key motivator and an incidental component of the style and dress of these young gay men.