Male Gender Role Conflict, Gay Men, and Same-Sex Romantic Relationships.

Some theorists have suggested that the traditionally socialized male reluctance to express intimacy is compounded within gay men’s same-sex romantic relationships. In both Study 1 and Study 2, analysis-of-variance comparisons between single gay men and gay men in a same-sex relationship failed to confirm this assertion. At the same time, hierarchical regression results demonstrated a small negative relationship between the traditionally socialized male discomfort for expressing affection for other men and levels of gay men’s relationship satisfaction.