Characters in Literature and Film who Defy Traditional Gender Labels

"Georgette was a hip queer" (Selby 23). Georgette is a man biologically but her behaviors resemble those of a woman. Georgette would "giggle" when Vinnie called and told her he would come to her party. When he hung up, she would "roll her hips as she sighed." (Selby 43)

These are stereotypical characteristics of a woman infatuated with another man. Georgette not only looks but also acts exactly like a woman, if not better. She wears "womens panties, lipstick, eye makeup...long marcelled hair, manicured and polished fingernails ...padded bra, high heels and wigs." (23) Her attention to feminine details reminds us of a very self-conscious woman.

In Stage Beauty, Ned feels like a woman sexually; "I've never slept with another woman except myself." He acknowledges that he is aware of his feminine nature. His training in the theater as Desdemona changes his sexuality. He is a man who employs the womanly movements both in and out of the theater. His sexual contacts with the Duke reveal his need for protection and comfort: he wears a wig to satisfy the Duke's desire and in turn he receives the male supports, especially when the Duke holds Ned in his arm; he's seeking male support, just as a woman would in a man. Ned also displays emotional representations of womanhood. He begs the Duke to reconsider his decision when he tells Ned he's getting married. When he says, "I can act as a man. There's no artistry in that. There are things I can be as a woman that I can't be as a man." Ned is not commenting that womanhood and femininity are art forms. He's recognizing his talents of acting a woman have turned him into one. He can only be himself when he portrays Desdemona because he believes "women are beautiful and they do everything beautifully." He wants to be beautiful and behaves as elegantly as a woman regardless of his gender.

These are examples of women that contrast the conventional ideology of what constitutes a woman: a passive creature with breasts and reproductive organs capable of bearing children. Along with the definition of woman, gender and sexual identification are vague territories for one to wander into. What makes up a woman and what makes up a man are entirely subjective; however, it is important to distinguish between gender roles and sexual preferences. "Man" and "woman" are different than "male" and "female" as well as "femininity" and "masculinity". Male and female refer to the biological identities of a person; that is to ask whether he/she has a penis or a vagina. Femininity and masculinity, in contrast, compels us to ponder emotional and psychological behaviors: passive/aggressive, sensitive/insensitive. The combinations make up the various types of identities in society. One could argue that male and female identities are essential to defining man and woman; one could also support the definition of femininity and masculinity, which is the more accurate approach to determine whether someone is a man or a woman.

A "woman" is ultimately a human being who is confident and comfortable in his/her femininity. The complex nature of human sexuality discourages stereotypical and mundane identities, thus ruling out the anatomical explanation. A female can be uncomfortable in her femininity; however a male can find femininity very enjoyable. Ned is very well-situated in the theater setting because he enjoys playing the woman's role; so much that he insinuated himself with emotions of one. He threw a very girlish tantrum when Maria was auditioning in the theater; he couldn't break out of the routine of playing Desdemona when he was trying to take on the character of Othello. He pauses many times when he tries to be Othello. He stumbles and utters "I can, I can!" but in the end he cannot bring himself to display the Othello character. Therefore he is a very emotional and effeminate woman.

Bruce Bechdel in Fun Home is also another woman. The notion sounds contentious: to describe the father of three children as a woman. One should remember the term "woman" is different than female. Bruce enjoys gardening, even participates in homosexual intercourse. He is a rather feminine fellow; he decorates the house while the movie hero incinerates bad guys. Bruce is a woman on account of his various displays of femininity: he serves the refreshments while his student Roy lies on the porch with the children; he poses for pictures in women's clothes. Georgette is not that different from Bruce or Ned. After reading the poem at her party, Georgette was admired because everyone saw her elegance and beauty. Such things were not expected from a man or a man trying to be a woman, since beauty and comfort are within the domain of femininity. However, Georgette is characteristic of a woman; she yearns for Vinnie's love and affection as if she was a coming of age teenage girl holding on to her first and only love. "Georgette almost crying seeing the flash of tenderness in his eyes" (67). Her passive nature, almost submissive, proves the existence of Georgette's feminine qualities. Such qualities are in fact absent in some members of society who, like Georgette, challenge the commonly held view of sexuality.

As absurd as Bruce and Georgette might appear, there are those who would be considered female but actually lack the very comfort in expressing their femininity. Take Maria for example. She is clearly a functional female, yet she does not have the grace nor the emotions ascribed to Ned. Ned dresses, uses make up and perform better than her; Maria wears Ned's dress to audition. She even goes so far as to admit that "I love acting a woman but I'm terrible at it". She chooses to strip away her femininity because feminine women are treated as objects; when Ned is in the coach with another man, he was sexually harassed because of his femininity. Maria does not want to suffer the same fate. She absorbs the masculine qualities.

Her masculinity shows best when she displays her anger at Ned and exclaims "A real woman would fight." Ned is surprised and baffled by her assertion, laying there looking at her helpless while Maria scowls at him. This upheaval is different than Ned's earlier tantrum; this is domination of emotional strength over a passive woman. Her failure to portray herself with femininity only helps to strengthen the claim that she is, in fact, a man. However, Maria's strong characteristics juxtapose for Ned's feminine impressions. Her masculinity shadows behind her very actions. She musters the courage to save Ned from humiliating himself by showing his genital; she plays the role of a man when she and Ned position themselves in sexual positions. Ned is the better woman while Maria is the better man. The same masculine identification could be applied to Alison Bechdel. Throughout her childhood, Alison has been seeking male approval. The camping trip, where she and her brothers were looking for a snake by the creek, was the first time that Alison felt accepted. The snake is a phallic symbol. Bechdel implies that she has found her penis that day. She is no longer a girl; she symbolically has a penis now. Alison came back from the trip with a mischievous smile on her face, knowing her life would never be the same, that she would identify herself as a man, precisely what her father wasn't, or couldn't be.

As Iago explains in Othello, women are those who "suckle fools and chronicle small beer." (Shakespeare III ii 85). The traditional role of women identifying themselves by their household duties still exists in our mindset, though in modern society gender roles are fused through changing social roles. Single moms and stay at home dads, however, defy this definition. Single moms provide the protection and financial security that the fathers traditionally provide while stay-at-home dads provide the care and comfort that mothers would. Therefore, the definition of woman should be best described with femininity. A person who is feminine is a woman and one who is masculine is a man. It is very dangerous to impose upon another a different view of sexuality when sexuality can be defined by a variety of elements: male and female, femininity and masculinity, social roles, gender roles because after all, nothing is certain about sexuality.

Sources:

Last Exit to Brooklyn by Selby, Jr.

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

Othello by William Shakespeare

Stage Beauty: a movie portraying a man, who is raised in theater arts and master of the Desdemona role, finds himself unable to resume his masculine role.