In mainstream America homophobia and sexism are part of the same power construct because women and gay men are seen as the same. The reason for this is men are dominant and powerful in society which causes women to be submissive and dainty. Homosexual men are related to women because they are allowing themselves to be placed beneath another man. By giving into this control they are seen as weak. Brokeback Mountain demonstrates this power control when Jack placed Ennis’ hand on his penis. Jack did not ask if this was a problem for Ennis but rather decided for him and Ennis conformed to the request like any typical women does for her husband. After engaging in sexual intercourse Jack and Ennis both announce they are not queers out loud. They make these statements because they are trying to hide the truth from themselves. Ennis tries to hide that he is homosexual because he remembers the tire iron incident, which killed a man named Earl in his hometown. This memory remains with him because he thinks his Dad did it, which means his Dad and society does not approve of this behavior. A physical form of this belief of homosexuality occurs when Ennis punches Jack in the face. These two men could not live the life they wanted because they are aware that they will be judged and harassed for the rest of their lives. If the tables were reversed and Jack and Ennis were lesbians society would not see an issue with their behavior because men get pleasure out of watching two women interact sexually. Homosexual men are looked down upon because they lack masculinity and the power of a typical man. Jack and Ennis knew they would not be accepted in society which is why they parted ways and never re-connected for four years. Jack talked about them owning a ranch together but it never occurred because Ennis would not leave ranch jobs though he and his wife divorced.
Brokeback Mountain left out critical information about why Jack never left Laureen. Both Ennis and Jack desperately wanted to be together but could not bring themselves to do in public because society would shun them and possibly kill them. Brokeback Mountains purpose was to break societal norms and demonstrate that the roles could be reversed successfully. However, this was not shown through Jack and Ennis but through Alma and Laureen. Alma demonstrated masculinity when she divorced Ennis and began taking care of her family without him. Laureen showed power when she ran her father’s business because Jack was too focused on sneaking off with Ennis. Ennis symbolized the role of a woman to the end of the story because like any woman in love with a man who dies they are hurt really bad and choose to keep something to remind them of their lover. Ennis goes to visit Jack’s family where he is allowed to go into Jack’s room and is overwhelmed with emotion and he finds two shirts inside of each other and realizes it is Jack and his shirt ,which represents them as one. Ennis keeps the shirts so he can forever remember Brokeback Mountain.
This short story could have represented breaking societal norms if Ennis and Jack had a homosexual relationship rather than living heterosexual lives and deceiving their wives and families. If they had gone through life as a couple and dealt with the emotional aspect of being gay in a heterosexual male powered world, a reader could have understood their struggle and accepted them for being who they are no matter what society says.
4 comments:
What an interesting take on the story. I never thought about the possibility of homosexual men being seen similarly to women, as in both being second to “men”. I do wonder though, would society truly not see an issue with this relationship had it been two women. I think during the time of the story, they may have been treated harshly, though I admit maybe not AS harshly as homosexual men were. I’m only wondering about this because of the current struggle against gay marriage. Some people don’t want ANY homosexuals to be allowed to marry, not just men. As far as we’ve come as a tolerant, equal rights society, we still have a long way to go.
I also noticed they didn’t fully explain why Jack did not leave Laureen, but to me, it seemed like he was financially dependent upon her, and I think having a wife was a good “cover” for someone who was clearly in love with another man.
-M. Corkern
good comment. Women can more easily get away with being gay because men assume they are living together because they could not get a man to marry them; thus, they live together to share expenses.
Comment for Celesting: You start out with an important statement about Jack's attitude towards Ennis, but you need to do a lot more with the story itself. Jack is certainly the passive character in his marriage as he is in his relationship with Ennis. Ennis immediately takes over the dominant agressive role in both his marriage and his relationship with Jack. He determines when they meet. Keep that in mind. He also treats his wife the way he treats Jack in their relationship. He even enters her from behind.
I agree with the premise of the white patriarchal power structure; however, I feel that in America it is much less prevalent than in other places around the world. Furthermore, woman and gay men is like comparing apples and oranges. In America, if woman and gay men are submissive, it is by choice. Woman can choose a more traditional life such as marriage and kids, or they can choose to be non-traditional and never marry or be anywhere on the spectrum from straight, bisexual, or lesbian. This to me, is quite powerful. Gay men have options as well. There are openly gay and closet gay men. There are dominate and submissive gay men, there are cities in America that openly embrace and have whole sections of town dedicated to gay and alternate lifestyles. This to, tells me that gay’s to have power to be or not be victims.
You wrote that Ennis conformed to Jacks advances like any woman would; however, Ennis took the dominant role and jack the submissive. In addition, throughout the story, Ennis seemed to be the stronger one and the one that more or less make the decisions on when and where they would see each other. It also seemed that Jack more fit the typical gay male, whereas Ennis seemed to be confused about his sexuality. I feel that this was due to Ennis having his first real understanding of the emotion of love that happened to be complicated by sex and it be towards another man.
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