Cason Honea
Communication of Gender and Sexuality
4/6/12
This week in class, I presented a summary on Chapter 3 of Dude You're A Fag written by C.J. Pascoe. The section of this chapter that interested me most was titled Where The Fag Disappears: Drama Performance. In this section, Pascoe described how males who participated in drama performances tended to participate less in the act of "fag discourse". "It was as if, because they were in a space where they were all coded as fags any and couldn't be any lower socially, it didn't matter what they did"(Pascoe, p.81). After reading this, I began to consider that the act of fag discourse is just another way for some people to assert dominance over others, as well as preserve their own masculine image. I feel that like homosexuals,these drama students also have dealt with oppression and over critical judgment so it would make no sense for them to patronize a group of people with whom they share a similar struggle. Participation in fag discourse reminds me of the popular kids in high school. Like these males who participate in fag discourse to assert dominance and masculinity, the popular kids go to extremes in order to maintain a status of superiority over other groups in the school. It seems that at times, some of those highest up on the totem pole of social status feel some obligation to disassociate themselves with those deemed as different in order to salvage their own self image/reputation.

Sources

 Pascoe, C.J. (2007). Dude You're A Fag, (p. 7). University of California Press