This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (4) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Korobov, N. Articles by Thorne, A. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Intimacy and Distancing

Young Men’s Conversations About Romantic Relationships

University of California, Santa Cruz, Nkorobov{at}ucsc.edu

Avril Thorne

University of California, Santa Cruz

This study examinedhow 32 pairs of 19-to 22-year-oldEuro-Americanmale friends constructed intimacy when telling romantic-relationship stories in casual conversations. Analyses centered on the emergence of two types of conversational positions: intimate positions and distancing positions. Intimate positions constructed young men as warm, caring, and emotionally vulnerable; distancing positions functioned to diminish intimacy, care, and vulnerability. Although intimate positions were present, they did not arise in a straightforward or unmarked way. Instead, intimate positions were often eclipsed or supplanted by distancing positions. The findings provide a conversationally nuanced understanding of how young men practice intimacy by constructing themselves as moving both toward and away from close relationships with women. For emerging adult males, we suggest that such shifting positions can help to develop a clearer sense of what one wants, and does not want, in a love relationship.

Key Words: emerging adulthood • romantic relationships • intimacy • masculinity • discourse • positioning

Journal of Adolescent Research, Vol. 21, No. 1, 27-55 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0743558405284035


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				N. Korobov Expanding Hegemonic Masculinity: The Use of Irony in Young Men's Stories About Romantic Experiences American Journal of Men's Health, December 1, 2009; 3(4): 286 - 299. [Abstract] [PDF]

				A. Hyde, J. Drennan, E. Howlett, and D. Brady Young Men's Vulnerability in Constituting Hegemonic Masculinity in Sexual Relations American Journal of Men's Health, September 1, 2009; 3(3): 238 - 251. [Abstract] [PDF]

				N. Korobov and A. Thorne The Negotiation of Compulsory Romance in Young Women Friends' Stories about Romantic Heterosexual Experiences Feminism Psychology, February 1, 2009; 19(1): 49 - 70. [Abstract] [PDF]

				R. Tuval-Mashiach, S. Walsh, S. Harel, and S. Shulman Romantic Fantasies, Cross-Gender Friendships, and Romantic Experiences in Adolescence Journal of Adolescent Research, July 1, 2008; 23(4): 471 - 487. [Abstract] [PDF]

				C. Maxwell 'Alternative' Narratives of Young People's Heterosexual Experiences in the UK Sexualities, December 1, 2007; 10(5): 539 - 558. [Abstract] [PDF]

				N. Korobov and A. Thorne How late-adolescent friends share stories about relationships: The importance of mitigating the seriousness of romantic problems Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, December 1, 2007; 24(6): 971 - 992. [Abstract] [PDF]

				K. Radmacher and M. Azmitia Are There Gendered Pathways to Intimacy in Early Adolescents' and Emerging Adults' Friendships? Journal of Adolescent Research, July 1, 2006; 21(4): 415 - 448. [Abstract] [PDF]