Abstract

Young gay men may both desire and fear, even dread, the act of being penetrated anally. In Norwegian culture today, these men not infrequently associate this act with a loss of dignity and manhood. Closely connected to this, the act of being anally penetrated has the power to shape or define the young man's sense of self. Young gay Norwegian men have, however, developed or adopted strategies for gaining experience and experiencing pleasure in emotionally satisfying, culturally transformative and physiologically safe ways. Hence, and examination of these strategies seems especially worthwhile. The empirical data underlying this examination were gathered through a qualitative study among young gay men in Norway (1994-1996).