Gay masculinity field as a subfield of masculinity

The aim of this study is to find out how the gay masculinity field and the gay identity are constructed and how the social relations are experienced in a heterosexist social arrangement in the specific case of gay men by carrying out a field research based on in-depth interviews with 10 men living in Antalya. The focus point of the research consists of the endeavor to determine how the urban, young, educated and middle-class gay men define their gay identities and how they correspondingly constitute the strategies and practises in various social fields by the help of Connell?s conceptualization of hegemonic masculinity and Bourdieu?s practice theory. At the outset the research focuses on gay masculinities as a form of masculinity which is feminized in the field of gender in accordance with the notion of multiple masculinities constructed socially.The development of sexual identities is a complex process wherein one continually negotiates with oneself and with one?s environment. Masculinity performances which are experienced in a relational way are performed by men in various ways considering the specific social fields and meanings in the gay masculinity field but at the same time it reveals the similar strategies of them. The importance of the strategies in the masculinity performances of the gay men who have been interviewed within the context of the research are emphasized. The strategies emerge more often as `invisible? gay identity experiences in the public field. In some cases the gay men trivialise their gender performances by featuring the different types of the capital they have in social context. On the other hand it was discovered that a gender neutral arrangement is experienced by them in the private field.