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Masculinity In Giovanni's Room By James Baldwin And Beebo Brinker

496 Words2 Pages

When one thinks about masculinity it is characteristically applied to males, and when it is applied to females it is not a complement. Both Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin and Beebo Brinker by Ann Bannon toy with the idea of masculinity. The only difference in the way they use masculinity is the bodies they chose to apply them to. Baldwin chooses to apply masculinity to the typical man, and Bannon applies to a female character. Baldwin applies masculinity to the character of David, and by doing this it causes David to match the ideals of heteronormativity. David spends most of the novel trying to demonstrate his masculinity as a way to please his father: “all I want for David is that he grows up to be a man. And when I say a man, Ellen, I don’t mean a Sunday school teacher” (Baldwin 15). David is attempting to fulfill his father’s desires for him to be a man. In doing so he has to prove his …show more content…

She takes the ideals of masculinity and applies them to a female: “he tried to take her wicker case to carry it for her, but she pulled away, offended as if his offer were a comment on her ability to take care of herself” (Bannon location 67 in ebook). This is one of the first impressions we as the reader get of Beebo, and her masculinity. She refuses to play the role of the weak woman in distress instead she makes it clear that she wants to be seen as strong and power, both of which are seen as masculine traits. Beebo does not enjoy letting anyone perform any kind of masculinity over her either: “It evidently bothered her to let him perform the small masculine courtesies for her, as if they were an encroachment on her independence” (location 129). Beebo does not want to be seen as unable to take care of herself and this queers her, because she is not fitting into the role society has put in place for females. Beebo is not a feminine character and this causes society to view her as queer and out of the

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