Resumo

CRUZ SIERRA, Salvador. Meaning and Practice of Masculine Intimacy: A Look from Men's Point of View. Sociológica (Méx.) [online]. 2011, vol.26, n.73, pp. 183-207. ISSN 0187-0173.

This article presents a reflection about the conceptualization of intimacy and the meaning men develop about it. The author observes how this feeling is instrumentalized and handled in interpersonal relationships. This makes it possible to consider experiences of male intimacy as products and part of the process of forging the gender culture. Men refer to ideas or meanings of intimacy that can be grouped into three tendencies: 1) considering it an experience with themselves that is unique and impossible to transfer; 2) perceiving it as a quality of the relationship that strengthens and enriches interpersonal life; and 3) to a much lesser extent, seeing it as an occasional, unique, unrepeatable experience.

Palavras-chave : masculinity; men; intimacy; emotions; affectiveness.