Hegemonic Masculinity Flashcards
‘He heaves the package at her’
This symbolises their sexual relationship - Stanley is the hunter and Stella waits happily at home for his return
‘Animal joy in his being is implicit’
Suggests wildness and promiscuous
‘I don’t like to be swindled’
As a man Stanley likes to be in charge - he does not wanted to be cheated out of anything especially money and also especially by a woman
‘Jerks out an armful of dresses’
‘Jerks’ is a dynamic verb - aggressive - little care for Blanche
‘The touch of your hands insults them’
Blanche’s hypocrisy - also foreshadows Stanley’s destructive nature
‘Poker players…wear coloured shirts’
The bright colours emphasises all the male domination and control that these character have
‘Hurry back and we’ll fix you a sugar tit’
Idiom - Mitch is seen to be caring but Stanley makes fun of this - asserting masculine stereotypes
‘When men are drinking…it’s always a powder keg’
Metaphor - Stella is making excuses for Stanley - because they are men Blanche wouldn’t understand that this what they do
‘Holding some packages…wears an undershirt and grease stained pants’
Stanley’s appearance is always rough but emphasises his role as the breadwinner and worker for the family - also demonstrates his masculinity
‘He grins through the curtains at Blanche’
This creates a menacing atmosphere as Stanley has set up the rivalry between him and Blanche over Stella
‘Mitch is a buddy of mine
Cult of masculinity - men stick up for each other - soldier mentality to stick together
‘She’ll go! Period. P.S She’ll go Tuesday’
Stanley’s speech features lots of elisions - he is being petty and childish in order to get control back
‘Of course you boys don’t notice things like that’
This is rather backhanded - Blanche is talking to Mitch as though he is a child or a ‘boy’
‘The same raw and lurid one of the disastrous poker night’
Foreshadows the disaster which again will follows in this scene - the two most climatic moments happen at a poker games
‘I always did say that men are callous things with no feeling but this does beat anything. Making pigs of yourselves’
Eunice is the voice of reason for the all the characters in the play - she is not afraid to stand up to the men and point out what they are doing is wrong
‘[wildly] You! You done this all o’ your Goddamn interfering’/ ‘I’ll kill you [he lunges and strikes at Stanley’
Mitch has never properly stood up to Stanley before but he is trying to stand up for Blanche as she is unable to anymore
Connell (1995) gender theory?
hegemonic masculinity - practices that authorise and encourage male domination
other types: complicit masculinity, marginalised masculinity and subordinate masculinity
Context for hegemonic masculinity?
Andrew Rotundo - the rise of a market economy and republican government saw a shift into self made manhood
WWII led veteran pursuing passions more
Napoleonic code gave husbands authority
Why is Blanche said to have a masculine energy and what are the consequences of this?
she is openly flirtatious and sexual with the young man and can control situations to her benefit
while her sexuality is condemned Stanley’s is praised
What is Stella’s approach to hegemonic masculinity?
she dismisses Stanley’s brutishness as an expert behaviour of an alpha male - he holds a psychological power over her
her relationship reflects the patriarchal hierarchy
Stanley and hegemonic masculinity?
Stanley becomes the embodiment of archetypal machismo
his male power is rooted in his sexual male gaze
his response to social justice inferiors is violence - his rape of Blanche is to push her back to a status of inferiority as he feels threatened by her
How does Stanley not fully fit into the category of hegemonic masculinity?
Stanley in 1940s would have been denied many privileges of american men as he was polish
he would have been conscious of his ostracisation by society
he is also a blue collar worker
he therefore uses verbal and physical dominance to assert his power on Blanche - compensation for the fact he does not possess hegemonic masculinity
What are example of subordinate masculinity in the play?
allan gray-
homosexuality was considered a mental illness was
his association with the colour grey shows how he is different from stanley’s harsh colours
he is camouflaging himself to survive
this is similar to Blanches name - they both end up victims of hegemonic masculinity
mitch-
presented to be a beta male
as he acts like a gentleman society labels him rather as awkward
his treatment of blanche at the end reclaims his status as an alpha male as well as his sexist ideals
