The Gendered and Sexual Scripts Shaping Gay Latino Fraternity Men’s Experiences of Dating, Love, and Sex at a Hispanic-serving Institution

Research has demonstrated that fraternal organizations can be instrumental in fostering important outcomes for student members. However, they can also perpetuate legacies of oppression that negatively shape the lives of their members, especially for those who hold minoritized identities. One topic especially relevant to the lives of students in fraternal organizations is dating and love, as research has found fraternity membership is associated with traditional masculine ideologies around dating and sex, which can be harmful. However, little is known about how queer men, especially queer Latino men, navigate these spaces. Using a phenomenological design, this study examined the stories of 15 participants who identified as gay Latino men and who were affiliated with fraternal organizations at a Hispanic-serving institution. Specifically, the purpose of the research was to understand how they described dating, love, and sex in light of the gendered and sexual scripts present within and beyond fraternities. The experience of negotiating romantic relationships was characterized by how views of brotherhood, a central characteristic of fraternities, created boundaries for individuals to establish romantic ties within their organization, as well as how gendered and sexual expectations informed navigation of dating, love, and sex. Informed by these findings, we provide implications for research and practice.