Editing Homosociality (section)

{{Short description|Socializing with the same sex}}
{{Close Relationships}}
{{Distinguish|Homosocialization|Same-sex relationship}}
In [[sociology]], '''homosociality''' means same-sex friendships that are not of a [[romance (love)|romantic]] or sexual nature, such as [[friendship]], [[mentorship]], or others. Researchers who use the concept mainly do so to explain how [[man|men]] uphold [[patriarchy|men's dominance]] in society.<ref name=hammaren>{{cite journal |last1=Hammarén|first1=Nils |last2=Johansson|first2=Thomas |title=Homosociality: In Between Power and Intimacy |journal=[[SAGE Open]] |date=1 January 2014 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=2158244013518057 |doi=10.1177/2158244013518057 |language=en |issn=2158-2440 |quote=In the literature, this concept is mainly used as a tool to understand and dissect male friendships and men’s collective attempts to uphold and maintain power and hegemony....The overall picture from the research, however, promotes the notion that homosociality clearly is a part and extension of hegemony, thus serving to always reconstruct and safeguard male interests and power.|doi-access=free }}</ref>

''Homosocial'' was popularized by [[Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick]] in her discussion of ''male homosocial desire''.<ref>J. Childers/G. Hentzi eds., ''The Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism'' (New York 1995) p. 138</ref> Sedgwick used the term to distinguish from ''homosexual'' and to connote a form of [[male bonding]] often accompanied by [[homophobia|fear or hatred]] of [[homosexuality]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Yaeger|first1=Patricia S.|title=Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, ''Between Men: English Literature and Male Homosocial Desire''|journal=[[Modern Language Notes|MLN]]|date=December 1985|volume=100|issue=5|pages=1139–1144|doi=10.2307/2905456|jstor=2905456|url=http://www.gbv.de/dms/bowker/toc/9780231058605.pdf }}</ref> [[Jean Lipman-Blumen]] had earlier (1976) defined homosociality as a preference for members of one's own sex – a social rather than a sexual preference.<ref>Merl Storr, ''Latex and Lingerie'' (2003) p. 39-40</ref>

The opposite of homosocial is [[heterosociality|heterosocial]], describing non-sexual relations with the opposite sex.