Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx is in essence a love story, told through the nature imagery and simple words suited to the cowboys who are our sad fated protagonists. Masked by the straightforward style is a complex commentary on our culture and the expectations that come with our gender roles – roles that the story shows have very little give to them. The gender binaries in Brokeback Mountain are rigid and set by signifiers, these signifiers do not allow for the characters (male or female) able to live their true nature – which for the most part are a balancing act between male and female traits. It is no surprise that the two cowboys spend most of their intimate and relaxed moments in nature away, from civilization and its expectations. The natural setting for these moments could be seen as an interpretation of the feminist assertion brought forth by Beauvoir and expanded upon by Wittig: “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” Meaning, of course, that gender is a social construct and not one determined by biology (Barthes, R., & Lavers, A., 1972)
The fact is, the emotions between Ennis and Jack are not exclusive to one gender, and the problems that arise in their relationship with each other – and their relationships with others occur mostly because of the expectations of what it was to be men, in that time and in the lifestyle they lived. The gender binaries in Brokeback Mountain for both the male and female characters pave the way for gender role elements becoming a problem and gender roles being reversed and because they were not born their genders, rather became their genders – their true natures (which are a mix of the cultural gender traits) buck against the binary boxes they were put into (Leitch, V. B., 2010...
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...aking big plans that no one took seriously. This is against the gender binary that says that men are more logical. Ennis embodies that logic, giving Jack sound reasons why he couldn’t meet him as often as he would like. Ennis’s logical approach makes Jack angry and this leads to another element of the feminine reality that Jack displays (Leitch, 2010).
References
Barry, P. (2009). Beginning theory: an introduction to literary and cultural theory (3rd ed.). Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press ;.
Barthes, R., & Lavers, A. (1972). Mythologies. New York: Hill and Wang
Leitch, V. B. (2010). The second Sex Chapter XI. Myth and Reality, Monique Wittig, One Is Not Born a Woman, .. The Norton anthology of theory and criticism (2nd ed., ). New York: W.W. Norton & Co..
Proulx, A. (2005). Brokeback Mountain from Close Range: Wyoming Stories. New York: Scribner.
In his essay, “Come Back to the Raft Ag’in, Ed Gentry,” Betina Entzminger argues that at the heart of James Dickey’s Deliverance lies the search for a lost masculinity in today’s world, told through the lens of the protagonist’s canoe trip. He asserts that Ed understands the societal pressures upon each gender, forces that compel us towards the stereotypes that pervade our culture. Further, Entzminger believes, “Despite the fact that Ed sees these constructions as constructions, he is unable to rise above them” (Entzminger). Ultimately, Entzminger posits, “Ed dutifully destroys that which challenges his own and his community’s conceptions of gender and sexuality, and he finds comfort in his return to his community at the novel’s close” (Entzminger). However, though Entzminger is correct that Ed never does ascend beyond society’s gender constructions, his error is in his assumption that Ed ever wanted to, or that he even should have.
Even in Brokeback Mountain, the story of two homosexual men, there is “a reproduction of heteronormative ideas and stereotypes concerning the relationship between the two cowboys and the way the cowboys themselves behave” (de Jesus 2016, p. 40). Despite the fact that both characters are men, they are still portrayed into the roles of a heterosexual couple, where one is distinctly feminine and one is distinctly masculine. Because the pressures on them to conform from other heteronormative characters, they never directly discuss what is occurring between them and one of them even marries a woman to attempt to “[affirm] that he is not ‘queer’ and should not be classified as such” (de Jesus, 2016, p. 48). The accentuation of hypermasculinity often causes an insecurity in men who do not fit these cookie cutter ideas, leading to a need “to prove their dominance, power, and manliness” (Kluch, 2015, p. 365) especially in regards to women. This internal struggle causes a conflict within the hierarchy between what has always been accepted and what is becoming the new
Irigaray, Luce. "This Sex Which Is Not One." Feminism: An Anthology of Literary Theory and Criticism. Ed. Robyn R. Warhol and Diane Price Herndle. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 1991.
Saiving, Valerie. "The Human Situation: A Feminine View" in Womanspirit Rising, Carol P. Christ and Judith Plaskow, eds. Harper & Row, 1979, pp. 25-42.
Sexual dominance of males in this novel was a prominent view held by most of the main characters. Women are supposed to follow the demands of men and this is especially true for Janie in her relationship with Jody. Jody set very strict regulations for Janie during the time of their
Irigaray, Luce. “That Sex Which is Not One.” The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends. Ed. David H. Richter. Boston: Bedford Books, 1998. 1467-1471.
Parker, Robert Dale. How to Interpret Literature: Critical Theory for Literary and Cultural Studies. New York: Oxford, 2011. Print.
Although neither take a significant role in the novel, Jack and Leon Tallis are critical starting points to understanding the expectations of masculinity. Beginning with Jack Tallis, we are not told outright, but it seems masculinity includes being the provider for the family, even if that means long nights away from the home. Emily has come to expect the “phone call from the department to say that Mr. Tallis had to work late and had to stay up in town” (96). But, this also implies Jack Tallis is having an affair, suggesting being involved with multiple women and sexual superiority is a right of those claiming masculinity. From the example set forth by Leon, readers can also assume the “gift of avoiding responsibility” and the ability to “float free” is also bestowed upon men if they so desire it as an option (96). From this limited view of masculinity readers are shown both freedom and power as key
(6) Simone deBeauvoir, The Second Sex, translated by H.M. Parshley (New York: Random House, 1972) p. xxx
1. Rivkin, Julie and Ryan, Micheal. Literary Theory: An Anthology. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 1998.
Betsy Lucal, "What it means to be gendered me: Life on the Boundaries of a Dichotomous Gender System."
In Alice Munro’s “Boys and Girls,” there is a time line in a young girl’s life when she leaves childhood and its freedoms behind to become a woman. The story depicts hardships in which the protagonist and her younger brother, Laird, experience in order to find their own rite of passage. The main character, who is nameless, faces difficulties and implications on her way to womanhood because of gender stereotyping. Initially, she tries to prevent her initiation into womanhood by resisting her parent’s efforts to make her more “lady-like”. The story ends with the girl socially positioned and accepted as a girl, which she accepts with some unease.
In Alice Munro’s “Boys and Girls” she tells a story about a young girl’s resistance to womanhood in a society infested with gender roles and stereotypes. The story takes place in the 1940s on a fox farm outside of Jubilee, Ontario, Canada. During this time, women were viewed as second class citizens, but the narrator was not going to accept this position without a fight.
Women are often described as weak, emotional, and powerless in comparison to men. The general thought is that men, because they are bigger and most times stronger, hold power over women’s minds and bodies. To be a feminist is to advocate for women’s rights in all aspects of humanity. In An Untamed State by Roxane Gay, Gay is able to portray the power of strength and survival in women. Men have a certain incompetence when it comes to expressing true emotion, while women, because of their ability to see things through a compassionate insight, hold the utmost power.
Le, F. G., Buehrle, M. C., & Von, H. A. (2010). The Eternal woman: The timeless meaning of the feminine. San Francisco: Ignatius Press.