A Gay Masculinity: An analysis of the portrayal of masculinity, gender and sexuality in Maurice and Moonlight
Author
Kalinic, Nikola
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2021
Abstract
This thesis examines how masculinity, gender, and sexuality are portrayed in Maurice (1987) and Moonlight (2016), focusing on ideological interpellations and the constraints imposed by heteronormative contexts. Using a critical close reading informed by Judith Butler’s theory of gender and sexual performativity and Raewyn Connell’s concepts of hegemonic and toxic masculinity, the analyses incorporate class and race to a limited extent to add nuance. Findings indicate that both films depict societies with structural limits on the freedom to perform gender and sexuality and with significant consequences for departing from dominant masculinities: legal persecution is possible in Maurice, while Moonlight portrays social ostracization and harassment. The thesis uses these films as case studies to consider change from the late 1980s to the present and concludes that they differ notably in how they represent these inequalities, with multiple potential causes that warrant further research.
Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan maskulinitet, køn og seksualitet fremstilles i filmene Maurice (1987) og Moonlight (2016), med fokus på ideologiske interpellationer og de begrænsninger, som heteronormative kontekster opstiller. Gennem en kritisk close reading, informeret af Judith Butlers teori om køns- og seksualitetsperformativitet samt Raewyn Connells begreber om hegemonisk og toksisk maskulinitet, analyseres filmene; aspekter af klasse og race inddrages i begrænset omfang for at nuancere læsningen. Analysen peger på, at begge værker skildrer samfund med strukturelle barrierer for friheden til at performe køn og seksualitet og betydelige konsekvenser ved at afvige fra dominerende maskuliniteter: i Maurice kan retlig forfølgelse forekomme, mens Moonlight viser social udstødelse og chikane. Afhandlingen anvender filmene som cases for at belyse udvikling fra slut-80’erne til i dag og konkluderer, at de adskiller sig markant i måden, de fremstiller ulighederne, hvilket kan skyldes flere faktorer, der kræver yderligere forskning.
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