Recently a relative of mine was referring to her son's status as being single, stating that she would like him to have a girlfriend again and that she might start to think he's gay. The relative in question knows that her son is not gay and would have no issue if he was, but the comment raises several important gendered notions from my local context. Of course, hegemonic masculinity is interlinked with heterosexuality in practically all societies, but the acting out of heterosexuality by men is particularly encouraged by men and women in Britain. In lad culture, this manifests itself as men encouraging other men to engage in casual sex.
At the same time, there is a shame-culture in Britain that refers to women/young girls that engage in such relations as 'slags', 'sluts' etc. This is somewhat problematic as for men to act out this masculinity, women need to also adhere to this norm, yet are placed in a position where they are considered immoral and dirty for doing so. The burden of immorality does not fall on young men in the same way and so while men feel pressure to act out heterosexuality either through casual sex or having a girlfriend, women are encouraged to maintain morality while also being sexually available to men.
This essentially places women's sexuality under male control, and men's sexuality under general societal control. Women who are not sexually available are often given greater worth by women and in lad culture be seen as more suitable as a wife, while girls that have engaged in promiscuity (read: taking on the role of allowing men to fulfill lad culture's masculinity) are treated as disposable and of less value. Whatever value society chooses to place upon sex, this value must be consistent across the gender spectrum so that women are not faced with conflicting expectations and men do not feel the need to dichotomise women in order to fulfill varying roles of masculinity.
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