‘Gay, aren’t they?' An ethnographic approach to compulsory heterosexuality

This chapter draws upon two ethnographic studies - one of a university women’s field hockey team and one of a university friendship group - to explore instances in which compulsory heterosexuality has produced both physical and symbolic violence. The focus is on instances in which participants were required by their peers to engage in heterosexual activity - specifically, they were compelled or coerced to kiss men against their will. A grammatical analysis of the participants’ accounts reveals different ways in which selves are presented as vulnerable in the face of compulsory heterosexuality. These constructions of the vulnerable self coincide with constructions of alternative social worlds - worlds in which vulnerable selves are protected, and heterosexuality loses its force.