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Gemma Jimenez

Professor Batty

English 102

18 October 2017

Dismantling Dominance

If you live in Los Angeles, it is very easy to find a space that is not dominated by

heteronormativity, which means people can easily express themselves as queer, transgender, non

binary, or cisgender. Inclusive community spaces are important in the development of gender

identity because as the years pass by we come to understand that not everyone has full

identification as male or female; the spectrum of gender identity is much larger than that.

According to queer theory, experimenting with identity without restriction is an important way to

discover oneself because when individuals are forced into the heteronorm, they can easily fall

into a downward spiral. Fortunately, Los Angeles does not fully represent our society; most of

the US still follows the heteronorm, and gender identity continues to be disputed. If we analyze

the play M Butterfly by David Henry Hwang, we can see the negative effects of a society that

does not believe in gender fluidity. The play is narrated by Rene Gallimard, a French diplomat,

that fell into a downward spiral when he was forced to come to realization that the person who he

fell in love with, Song Liling, is a not a Chinese Opera singer but a male Chinese spy. Queer

theory will help us understand the negative effects of a society that does not believe in gender

fluidity.

Queer theory is a field of study that questions the construct of gender. Individuals

identities are constantly being influenced by their surroundings, that means identity is not just

dependent on gender or sexual behavior. The Salem Encyclopedia states that:

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Gender binary is an expectation that two sexes exist, and an individual can be
either male or female but has no other socially acceptable options for manner of
dress, behavior, or sexuality. Some members of the LGBTQ community do not fit
into these categories, nor do they match standard male or female labels. This can
present problems when choosing things such as a public bathroom, for example.
(Comstock).
Many problems have arose for excluding people that do not fit into the norm, to further

understand and prove issues surrounding gender identity queer theorist look into literature.

M Butterfly was written in 1986 by David Henry Hwang. The play was inspired by an

article in the New York Times that stated that a French Diplomat and a Chinese opera singer had

been sentenced to six years in jail for passing government information to China (Hwang 94). For

twenty years, Mr. Shi disguised himself as an female Opera singer. When the jury asked the

French diplomat, Bernard Boursicot, if he knew Mr.Shi was not a woman he said that he never

actually saw her naked, he respected her modesty. Hwang, was immediately inspired by the story

but he did not want to base the play on facts. He was more interested in culture and gender

stereotypes. Hwang, noticed the story resembled the play Madame Butterfly, a play about a

Asian woman who commits suicide after she realizes her caucasian lover will never come back.

Butterfly is an important symbol, Hwang says, I knew Butterfly only as a cultural stereotype;

speaking of an Asian woman, we would sometimes say, Shes pulling a Butterfly, which meant

playing the submissive Oriental number. (Hwang 95). The play quickly became a success and

of course had some controversial. May it be because a role of a woman is being played by a man,

western culture is ridiculed, or because a man loses his masculinity?

Rene Gallimard, the protagonist of M Butterfly, constantly recalls his youth in order for

the reader to better understand why he takes certain decisions and roles. The year is 1947 and

Marc, a friend of Gallimard, is trying to convince him to take advantage of the pack of college
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girls that will be coming out to his dads condo, Before you know it, every last one of them

theyre stripped and splashing around my pool. Theres no moon out, they cant see whats going

on, (Hwang 8). Gallimard is in such disbelief and insecurities begin to consume his thoughts.

He decides not to go and for this he is mocked. Even though Marc objectifies women his

decisions are validated because it is the norm. Masculinity has always dominated femininity,

there was no such thing as in between and because of that Rene Gallimard is criticized. A study

done on high school students proves that it is very common to be left out and thus cause a

downward spiral, Absence marginalizes; it reproduces heterosexuality as normal and non-

heterosexual identities recognizable only in opposition. The normalization of heterosexuality

supports exclusion, physical harassment and disassociation (Schmidt 254 ) Rene Gallimard does

not represent the norm and for this he will continue to be harassed and excluded just like the high

school students. His insecurities will deepen through adulthood unless he assimilates or

dissimulates.

Rene Gallimard chooses to assimilate but it is not until he meets Song Liling that he feels

he has achieved full masculinity. Song, presents themself as a modest, shy, and traditional

Oriental woman. They plays this role because they knows men like Rene think Oriental women

are submissive. Rene completely falls for it because he feels powerful, he tests his power to

prove it:

Bureaucrat hands him another letter.

Song: Your rudeness is beyond belief. I dont deserve this cruelty. Dont bother to
call. Ill have you turned away at the door.
Gallimard (To us): I didnt. (He discards the letter; bureaucrat hands him
another) And then finally, the letter that concluded my experiment.
Song: I am out of words. I can hide behind dignity no longer. What do you want?
I have already given you my shame. (Hwang 35)
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Shame is proof of submissiveness, Song has proved to be the butterfly Gallimard has longed for.

For twenty years both will play their roles in the affair to impress one another and for their own

personal interest. Twenty years may sound shocking but humans are playing roles of gender all

the time. Judith Butler, a queer theorist, believes gender is performative Gender identity is just

performance, and that is constituted by the everyday expressions of speech, utterance, gestures,

dress codes and representation ( qtd. in Tabassum). Being feminine or masculine is something

people are taught not born with. Since an androgynous or LGTBQ+ performance is not the norm,

Rene Gallimard, knows that the only way he will ever be respected is by following the masculine

performance people expect of him. Rene Gallimard, presents himself as a strong, hardworking,

and aggressive figure. Unfortunately, as the affair progresses we notice that Rene Gallimard

performance begins to break. His work status is taken away, political climate is high, and his

marriage/affair falls apart. Rene Gallimard is tired of the pretence as he realizes it is not the life

he wants to live.

If Rene Gallimard is tired of pretending, why is it hard to accept the fact that Song is a

man? He does mention that he may have known the whole time but just refused to acknowledge

it. For example, when Gallimard asks Song to strip for him, he regrets it immediately. Rene says,

Did I not undress her because, I knew somewhere deep down, what I would find? Perhaps.

Happiness is so rare that our mind can turn somersaults to protect it. (Hwang 60). Rene is aware

of what kind of society they both live in, if they were open about it they risk the chance of losing

their happiness and of losing their safe space. In a study by Sandra Schmidt, she analyses the

importance of spaces, The process of coming to identify queerly is shaped by the negotiation of

spaces read as queer and straight. The regulation of behavior in and through space triggers how

people enter, learn how to regulate themselves and their desires, and create identity narratives.
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(257). If there were safe queer spaces in the play, Gallimard would probably be more open to

being himself and Song. Since there are no a safe spaces, Rene Gallimard has to regulate who he

really is. Unfortunately, his safe space and happiness is taken away by Song themself. Song

reveals that they is a man working for the Chinese government. Gallimard is imprisoned for

giving Song information. Thrown in prison and knowing the world is laughing, Rene has no

choice but to face all the facts that he so long tried to hide. He knows he is in love with Song,

that he is not masculine, and that he will never be able to be his true self. So if the world wont

accept you, why live in it.

M Butterfly is an example of how deteriorating a heterosexual society can be. From a

young age being different automatically target you and forces you to follow the norm. For years,

Rene Gallimard will perform the role society has placed upon him. But the performance does not

last long. After the truth unfolds he has no choice but to own his queerness or to reject it.

Unfortunately, Gallimard is too broken to own his identity and chooses death instead. In many

ways, it is understandable why some might not feel bad for him because he did deny the facts in

front of him. But if Rene was born in Los Angeles, a place where people are more open, this

would have a completely different story.

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Work Cited

Comstock, Nancy W. "Queer Theory." Salem Press Encyclopedia, January. EBSCOhost,

library.lavc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&

AN=100259292&site=eds-live.

Hwang, David. M Butterfly. New York: Penguin Books,1988.Print.

Schmidt, Sandra J. "A Queer Arrangement of School: Using Spatiality to Understand Inequity."

Journal of Curriculum Studies, vol. 47, no. 2, Apr. 2015, pp. 253-273. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1080/00220272.2014.986764.

Tabassum, Shahla. "Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity By Judith Butler."

Journal of Gender and Social Issues, vol. 11, no. 2, 2012. Academic OneFile,
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go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=9211haea&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA3427

44297&it=r&asid=f3ee19464b30a973fb521bc1ff9f8462. Accessed 18 Oct. 2017.