Masculinity In Brokeback Mountain

Ang Lee’s 2005 film, Brokeback Mountain reinforces the idea that Gail Bederman introduces about masculinity in “Remaking Manhood Through Race And Civilization”, which says that masculinity encompasses “masculine ideals more familiar to the twentieth-century Americans- ideals like aggressiveness, physical force, and male sexuality.” (19). Through the films two main characters Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger), we see that this idea of masculinity is clearly present during the 1970’s, the time in which this movie takes place. Both Twist, and Del Mar are cowboys, who display traditional masculine ideals, such as participation in farming, ranching, and activities in which you get your hands dirty. To the outside viewer, these two men seem to be the ideal type of masculine man that Bederman describes as the normal, ideal man. The traditional masculinity characteristics and traits that these two men display allow their relationship to remain a secret far longer than that of two men who displayed characteristics that Benderman described as non-traditional masculine traits. With that said, as the film progresses, we see that the two men are not the typical type of masculine

This goes back to the idea of the male privilege. The fact that these two men displayed such masculine characteristics they were able to get away with and hide their relationship for as long as they did. Del Mar’s wife was not as suspicious as she would have been if they hadn’t displayed such masculine traits and characteristics. These traditional masculine traits gave the two men a safety net to fall back into, in that because of having these traits they had the privilege of being invisible, allowing themselves to do things, such as go on extended camping trips without much pre