homosocialadj.
/ˌhəʊmə(ʊ)ˈsəʊʃl/, /ˌhɒmə(ʊ)ˈsəʊʃl/, U.S. /ˌhoʊməˈsoʊʃ(ə)l/, /ˌhoʊmoʊˈsoʊʃ(ə)l/ Originally Psychology and Sociology.
Designating social interaction between members of the same sex, esp. men; of, relating to, or characterized by such interaction. Contrasted with heterosocial.
ΚΠ
1927 J. C. Flügel in Brit. Jrnl. Med. Psychol. 7 147 We may perhaps be allowed to coin the word ‘homosocial’ to designate ‘social’ relationships between members of the same sex.
1968 ETC. June 186 Patterns of sexual development continue to be too highly shaped by homosocial commitment.
1976 Signs 1 18 The development of a homosocial world for women that reaches beyond the domestic sphere is still in its infancy.
1985 E. K. Sedgwick Between Men iii. 57 The schism in women's status, between being ostensibly the objects of men's heterosexual desire and being more functionally the conduits of their homosocial desire toward other men.
2012 E. A. Utley Rap & Relig. v. 108 The homosocial bond among male rappers is their primary intimate relationship.
Derivatives
homoˈsocially adv. in terms of homosociality; in a homosocial manner.
ΚΠ
1984 E. K. Sedgwick in Crit. Inq. 11 232 Horner presents himself..as making a sacrifice of his (homosocially defined) masculinity in favor of the pleasure of women.
2013 J. S. Williams Space & Being in Contemp. French Cinema iii. 123 In the restaurant..men bond together homosocially (and for..the viewer homoerotically) over a meal and dance together.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1927