Recently this blog post at Yellaphant tried to suggest, based on a photograph, that professional basebal player Cole Hamels is "probably gay."  Here's the picture:

The argument that the author of the post makes is that because Hamels is carrying a dog in a backpack, his masculinity (and therefore his heterosexuality) must be suspect.

This is a perfect example of how culture operates to contain, limit, and prescribe gender and sexuality, as well as a simple and vivid moment of awareness upon which to explore practical options for men trying to navigate these tricky cultural waters.  One way to examine this is the importance of disruption.

The disruption, then, comes in the moment of contradiction.  Hamels is both things at once: highly masculine and (apparently) highly feminine.  The resulting anxiety, as seen in the hostility of the blog post, is that Hamels must be gay.  That's the only "solution" to the contradiction.  Yet, as is probably obvious from looking at the picture, there's absolutely no reason to make that connection.  It's an impossible leap that can't be justified or made logical.  This is why it's a perfect example of how culture connects gender, sexuality, and behavior to fabricate definitions of masculinity.  Here, the behavior of carrying a small dog in a backpack links up to all kinds of other, unrelated tensions.

Disruption can create anxiety and tension (as it does in this example), but it can also create new spaces in which masculinity can be considered.  What's exciting about this picture is that it illustrates a "macho" man in contemporary culture doing something typically not associated with masculinity.  There's a deep significance to men disrupting the conventional boundaries of masculinity, as well as men supporting those same disruptions.  From small acts, like men wearing the color pink or crying openly at movies, to larger, more serious issues, like men's health care, disruption is a powerful social act that shakes what often seem like impenetrable boundaries around gender and sexuality.  Such acts don't come without a price, however, such as Hamels being criticized and questioned for carrying his dog in this way.  That this criticism comes in the form of homophobia confirms that what's really at stake here is Hamels' transgression of how "real men" are supposed to behave.

"Real men," regardless of their sexuality, should seek out opportunities for disruption, play with the boundaries of what's considered "appropriate" behavior, and find ways to transgress those moments in which cultural pressures dictate how men are supposed to act.  Alongside this, we should also strive to support and champion other men whose small, daily disruptions help move the boundaries forward and away from the rigid stratifications linking masculinity to behavior.  Whether that means small things that men are often discouraged from doing for fear of not being "manly" -- like gardening, watching Oprah, or owning a tiny dog -- or working toward large feminist political goals involving gender equality, the moments of disruption can be both the most difficult and the most potentially rewarding, not just for the individual, but also for culture.

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Peter Alilunas is a graduate student at the University of Michigan.  He blogs at manvertised.com.  He thinks Hamels' dog and backpack are adorable and awesome.