Eugenides' Middlesex provides both the traditional representations of gender roles with Desdemona and Sourmelina in the kitchen as well as the blurred lines of gender and sexuality through Cal's dating. The portion of this novel when Cal goes out on a date with Julie is one of the earliest current scenes rather than the retrospective examination of the family's inbreeding. This brief scene which spans only across pages 183 and 184 provides an interesting instance where Cal's gender and sexual ambiguity is acknowledged. One way that Eugenides brings Cal's ambiguity to the forefront is through Julie's 'gay-dar' going off. This idea of being able to pick out homosexual people rests on the traditional views and interpretations of gender roles in our society. Many people, myself included, are guilty of assuming a person's sexuality merely by one stereotypical characteristic of homosexuality a particular person might express. This is most commonly the attribution of a feminine quality in a male to mean that he is automatically a homosexual. However, the mere interpretation of a quality as feminine is just another reinforcement of gender roles that society uses to create a binary interpretation of gender and sexuality, leaving no room for those in between. Eugenides provides an interesting idea in this scene of female women being "the last stop" (Eugenides 184). This refers to the idea that since asian women's bodies are similar to those of little boys, closeted gay men will be attracted to them. This brings about the issue of where Cal's sexuality stands. Is Cal simply attracted to Julie since she is a woman or is the female past of Cal attracted to the boyish figure Julie. This is an interesting question that I feel Eugenides leaves unanswered in this particular instance for a reason. Eugenides is trying to point out that both gender and sexuality can be as intricate and confusing as Cal's family tree. There is not only male/female or heterosexual/homosexual individuals in our society but the status quo perpetuates this binary interpretation. By including both traditional interpretations of sex and gender alongside instances like Cal's dating scene Eugenides is able to highlight the weaknesses in binary interpretations and how this approach fails to account for thousands of people and relationships in society today.
Fausto-Sterling acknowledges the importance in society today for children to leave the hospital "as a sex," which then significantly shapes the childhood experience. Gender ambiguity is something that is not acceptable, and choosing one or the other is necessary to conform to the forces of society. Cal goes through a difficult time, finding himself extremely confused about his sexuality. As Dave mentioned above, it was interesting to hear Cal's current perspective about his date with Julie, rather than more family history. Julie's "Gay-dar" is something does not even need explaining, the reader can deduce the signals Julie is picking up on to bring her to this societal mold of the "femininity" within a man. The racial undertones going on in Detroit during this time period are something that adds to the confusion and upheaval in the lives of Cal's family. Desdemona's preconceptions about inbreeding shows how "taboo" it would be for her own actions to be repeated. Cal has early signs of feeling something that wasn't right, especially with his attraction to Clementine. Back into the present, Cal is embarrassed and fearful for the reaction if Julie were to find out he was born a girl. For Cal, he understands that heterosexuality is the only acceptable choice for the majority of people, although he may not fully understand because he has experienced life as both sexes at this point. The climax and turning point of the story of Cal's childhood comes when he is invited to the Object's summer house. Cal loses her virginity to the Object's brother Jerome, and feels something that is not quite right. The fact that Jerome did not notice any gender ambiguity in Cal confuses her more at the time, in my opinion. The affection Cal begins to feel for the Object is a true turning point, realizing her true inner feelings. Jerome uses the term "rug munchers" to describe Cal and the Object. These derogatory terms lead girls to feel they are doing something wrong, and are looked down upon in society, showing that heterosexuality is the only acceptable route to take in life. Cal finally admits that there is something wrong, and her femininity must come into question. This step is one that a lot of women fail to take in their lives, living constantly questioning their gender and sexuality in their heads. Fausto-Sterling also discusses the stigma of homosexuality associated with intersexuality. However, society has failed to correctly give a term to the sex of intersexuals, because there is no concrete "scientific" definition. Eugenides shows how ambiguous the gender line can be for someone faced with intersexuality, as well as the difficulty and mental strain on someone who does not have their sex "fixed" at birth.
ReplyDeleteAs Dave points out in his post, the concept of “gaydar” is one frequently used or joked about in our society. While it may seem harmless on a surface level, the term signifies deeper social implications on the way in which we interpret gender roles and the distinction between male and female behavior. When Julie raises the issue, Cal retorts it “must have been the suit” (184) that gave her the impression Cal was gay. This one small comment suggests specific clothing and other everyday mannerisms we tend not to think about may influence the manner in which someone is received by society. I think this clip from The Office does a good job of displaying the seriousness in which some people may view the issue of homosexuality while mocking the naïve action of actually believing a gaydar device exists.
ReplyDeleteAs I continued to read Middlesex, I thought Eugenides did an extremely effective description of Callie’s childhood and picking out specific instances that were pivotal to the young girl. Cal is able to recognize the racist nature of her father’s actions even as a young child. Is it usual for a child of such a young age to pick up on these social cues? I wonder whether Cal found himself especially sensitive as a child to other outsiders being picked on because on a subconscious level he knew something about himself was different.
Recognition of difference at a young age is brought up again through Callie’s experience with Clementine. This distinction from other individuals seems to be a reoccurring issue for Cal, who when describing his birth claims “Five minutes old, and already the themes of my life – chance and sex – announced themselves” (216). This concept is deeper explored as the young girl experiments with her companion Clementine. Right from the start, Callie understands there is something socially unacceptable about her deviant behavior. Although only a child, at twelve years old Callie is able to recognize her parents will not approve of her questionable behavior of kissing her friend and leaves out this detail when describing what she did to her mother. This feeling of needing to hide something will haunt Cal throughout his life. This feeling is illustrated even as he debates and fears telling Julie the truth about his sexuality.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWEW-9J-cLs
ReplyDeleteAs Dave points out, Eugenides’ Middlesex is filled with both traditional and nontraditional, or more fluid, representations of gender roles and sexuality. Although many of the obvious representations of traditional gender roles occur during Cal’s reflections and stories of the past, there are also representations of traditional gender roles in his own life. While it seems natural to associate traditional with the past and fluid with the present, Eugenides does limit particular representations of gender roles and sexuality to particular periods of time. For me, this is just one of the many examples of how Eugenides doesn’t conform to what is expected – he plays with idea of the disruption of gender conventions instead of choosing between one way or another.
ReplyDeleteIn class, we talked about how aspects of the narrative relate to the more fluid concept of intersex and address the idea of the two-type gender system versus the fluid gender system. The narrative itself is filled with references that connect these ideas. On page 107, Cal discusses his how being a hermaphrodite (though I’m not sure if this is the correct terminology) affects his feelings on relationships and love, saying “It’s just a first date. It won’t come to anything. No reason to mention my peculiarities, my wandering in the maze these many years, shut away from sight. And from love, too.” From this short excerpt, the reader gets a sense of how Cal’s “struggle for unification” has been filled with a sense of confusion, a sense that is heighted by the phrase “wandering through a maze” (106-107). The concept of “a maze” returns on page 113, but this time in a different context. Jimmy Zizmo is ranting to Lefty about women – he doesn’t approve of women driving or voting, and he emphasizes their constant desire to fornicate:
“Women aren’t like us. They have carnal natures. The best thing to do with them is to shut them up in a maze.”
“What are you talking about?”
Zizmo smiled. “Pregnancy.”
This dialogue can be looked at in several ways. Jimmy Zizmo thinks women need to be controlled – their sexuality needs to be stifled. In order to keep women from their “constant desire to fornicate,” one simply has to shut them up… in a maze. In addition, Jimmy is saying this “maze” is pregnancy. For Zizmo, the idea of a maze seems more like the idea of a cage – something that traps and confines. But in another light, reversing the words changes their meanings: pregnancy is a maze. The story jumps to pregnant Desdemona, struggling to find a comfortable position as she “wandered the dark corridors of pregnancy” (113). Again, the reader senses confusion, but this time from Desdemona: she constantly tosses and turns to find a comfortable position. Just as the Desdemona she can’t seem to find a comfortable position physically, Cal can’t find a comfortable position in his life.
I don’t think it is a coincidence that a few pages later, Cal talks about his childhood as Callie. Callie (who I will refer to as her/she) goes to a movie with her father, and they see the Minotaur. Her father explains, “That’s Theseus…he’s got this ball of string his girlfriend gave him, see. And he’s using it to find his way back out of the maze” (123). Again, Eugenides employs the concept of the maze, this time when referencing the ancient story that played such a large part in Cal’s own father’s conception. And his mother’s. In the story, Theseus is also lost, and like Cal, he is trying to find his way out.
As I said, this is just one of the many examples of Eugenides use of terms and phrases that relate to the characters at the time but also to the larger ideas of confusion, ambiguity, and ultimately fluidity.
I think that DJT brings up some interesting points throughout his exploration of the use of "gay-dar" in the Middlesex reading. One of the most thought provoking ideas that DJT brings up is the comparison of the static gender and sexuality roles in society to the complication of Cal's family tree. Each is complicated and can not be easily defined. It is interesting that when growing up teachers, parents, and mentors emphasize that children should just "be themselves" and that everyone is unique. However, at the same time, our society mandates that everyone must fit into a check box, "male" or "female." Another interesting point that DJT discusses is the prejudgment about sexuality that we all make, "gay-dar." After reading this section, I thought about the term "metrosexual," a straight man that dresses femininely. It baffles me that now we are even creating terms for the "in-between" individuals. Overall, I think DJT thoroughly discusses the plot of Middlesex, while also incorporating some important topics from class discussions and asks the reader to think about some important questions.
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