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Gendered Expectations In The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao

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The role that gendered expectations plays in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao constructs detrimental limitations for males while reducing females to sexual beings. The prevalent Dominican males in the novel reinforce an absolute definition of masculinity characterized by dominance, attractiveness, manifestation of sexuality, and oppression of women. Such masculinity is constructed through every aspect that Rafael Trujillo, the ultimate Dominican male, embodies. Through the endorsement of expected Dominican hypermasculinity, females are overtly hypersexualized by means of objectification, while men are confined to fulfilling expected roles. In failing to embody Trujillo’s misogynistic, patriarchal ideal, males and females in the novel marginalize …show more content…

The societal norm for Dominican males indicates male approval of activities that if otherwise applied to women would be criticized. Males are encouraged to announce and celebrate their sexual actions as yet another affirmation of patriarchal dominance in which males withhold power over women. When discussing Dominican-ness, Oscar states that he “heard from a reliable source that no Dominican male had ever died a virgin,” emphasizing the importance of sexual activity among males (174). By speaking of sexual experience as such a crucial component to fulfilling the Dominican heteronormative expectation, Oscar is reiterating the point of sexual goals and merits. It is important to note that men are designated the task of taking virginity from women rather than losing their own. Such dynamic is strictly heteronormative due to the disdain for homosexuality in the scheme of Dominican hypermasculinity. When discussing Oscar’s characteristics Yunior compared him to “that fat homo Oscar Wilde,” as a method of demeaning homosexuality (180). The rejection of homosexuals is a mechanism by which the Dominican males work to assert their heteronormative sexuality, reinforcing their masculine traits. Males actively ridicule homosexuality with contempt evident when Oscar’s uncle shares a box of condoms with him and advises him to “use them all, he said, and then added: On girls” (51). This homophobia encourages a detrimental heteronormative discourse that asserts a clear-cut sexual orientation for Dominican

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