Not Gay


Not Gay: Sex Between Straight White Men is a 2015 book by Jane Ward, in which the author details the phenomenon of straight men seeking out sex with other straight men despite not identifying as gay, bisexual, or bi-curious.

Themes

Ward discusses hazing traditions, such as the "elephant walk" and the circle jerk as examples of sexual contact between heterosexual men. She also discusses male-male sexual activities in prisons and the military. The book features excerpts from Craigslist personal ads, and discusses a number of reasons why straight men might seek out sex with other men, such as fear of being rejected by women, or finding women's bodies gross.
The term "bro-job" refers to a sexual encounter between two straight men who are often close friends. Ward expresses the view that "bro-jobs" are not an indication that a man is actually gay, but rather a means for straight men to explore their own sexual identity. Despite having been credited with coining the term bro-job, Ward clarified:
"I do describe in the book what could arguably be called bro-jobs, but I never once use that word....It's sort of like a game of telephone, four blogs down the line I'm reading stuff that says 'Jane Ward has written an entire book about bro-jobs.' I just had to laugh."

Awards

Not Gay was a 2016 Lambda Literary Award finalist.

Response

's book The Professor: Witnessing White Power uses empiricism to surmise that sleeping with white men – either straight or gay – gave some of the most prominent black men of the 20th century like James Baldwin, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Marvin Gaye and Richard Pryor a fearlessness when dealing with racist whites. Redding, who is black, utilizes a mix of communication theories like proxemics, kinesics and haptics, along with analysis of Jane Ward's book as a case study to explore how interracial relationships between men can be transformative for the black community. He states: "Ward, who is a lesbian, writes about power exchanges between white men. The Professor explores how gay interracial relationships and encounters may have empirically had an impact on the black community."