I have seen Magic Mike XXL multiple times. In "The Gender Politics of Magic Mike XXL" you see a role reversal with men and women. In the movie they have a strip tease scene with a wedding theme, this is their way of giving women something sexy that the men know they want, along with an underlying message that they want the commitment too. "Normally" it's the men who "crave" sex and pay to see something that gets them excited, but in Magic Mike XXL you see the woman longing for the excitement while the men are longing for marriage and companionship. This right here gives everyone the idea that maybe, just maybe, men and woman actually want some of the same things. (Crazy I know!)
In the article they state, "One thing that's not traditional about the guys is their utter lack of gay panic. Early on during their trip, they stop in at a drag show and start vogue-ing on stage, having as much fun as anyone at a Pride parade." The men don't let it phase them because (obviously) they are comfortable in their own bodies and sexuality. They are doing whatever they can to make the money they need. They perform at a drag show, and they talk out their feelings. These things are normally deemed as "gay" but they don't make it feel that way in the movie. This is because they don't make a big deal out of it and they don't highlight it in the movie. They are taking the roles of women in a way here because normally it is woman who talk out their feelings and men just beat each other up.
They do a good job of switching the gender roles/politics, but the gender roles will always be there no matter what. They can be switched all they want but the matter of the fact is that they aren't going away and those who step out of their roles will be unfortunately ridiculed by others even though we all want the same things.
I really like what you said about how the gender roles will always exist and I agree. We have been living with these gender roles for such a long time that even if we try to reverse them, we can not erase them. I have never watched Magic Mike personally, but after reading the article and your blog post, I have a bit of an insight on it. I like the fact that the gender roles are reversed in the film, because in reality men and women do want a lot of the same things. As much as men like to brag about having hoes and having a lot of sex, a lot them also long for a serious relationship, to connect with someone intimately just like women do. In high school, I had a lot of male friends and they always treated me like one of the bros, they would tell me everything. This showed me that men can be just as vulnerable as women. I think that more movies like Magic Mike should be put out to show everyone that it is okay to switch the gender roles every once in a while and to show people that men and women really aren't that different.
ReplyDeleteDylan, I enjoyed reading your post but I disagree with you on some points. The movie was about more than just “What women want” and whether we want the same things as men or not. The movie goes a little bit deeper and highlights the fact that these men have broken the gender norms associated with men. The women roles in the movie have also broken through gender norms associated with women. Normally it’s the man who makes the money and provides for the family, but in the movie it’s the women who have all the money to go blow on strippers and expensive cars. Also, you talk about how “the gender roles will always be there” even though this movie is in a slight sense making fun of the gender norms and switching them in the movie to show really just how unimportant they are in society.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said when you were talking about how it was a great role reversal of what men are supposed to be like and what women are supposed to be and act like. I especially like when you bring up how the male strippers want companionship and long lasting real relationships. But I have to agree with the comment from Taylor Shuman, when you talk about "but the gender roles will always be there no matter what". Like Taylor says the fact that the movie pokes fun at the gender norms it shows how unimportant they are. If they were important the movie would have had a lot of critique when it came to making men appear more feminine. No one is talking about the movie saying oh that isn't right making male strippers look and act like women should, they watch it for pure entertainment. I have not seen the movie personally but from reading the different articles it seems like the characters were not ridiculed by others around them for acting different.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with your point as that gender roles are always an ongoing role, however I have to disagree with you on one of your points. When you talked about how it did not come off as "gay" or homosexual, I'm pretty sure it would invoke some sort of double standard as to how men shouldn't be seen as gay.
ReplyDeleteI do like how you pulled up how both women and men do desire marriage and how it would defy normal gender stereotypes. Both genders do look for a long lasting relationship, something that is solid and dependable. I felt that this was important as it seems that the norm is that only the woman desires this. The movie Magic Mike does exemplify the fact that both men and women desire the same things, be it sex or a long lasting relationship with each other.
While I do agree that gender norms will be around forever, I do not think they are as important as implied in your post. I also do not think a man is going to be ridiculed for showing emotion. If this was the case, Magic Mike XXL would have had a lot more attention regarding these gender role swaps and we would not have to dig for the connections. There are many males that show a lot more emotion than I do (I am female lol) and they are not scrutinized for it. In fact, I believe that men are more emotional than women. I believe this because for so many generations, men silenced women and women were encouraged to show no emotion. In order to understand this idea, you have to look at all types of emotion; anger, rage, sadness, excitement, etc. Aside from this thought, I enjoyed the way Sophie Gilbert looked at Magic Mike XXL. Gilbert has a very carefree way of looking at the film states that “it’s a quirky path to choose, sure, but it’s a ton of fun, so I’ll take it”. Gilbert does not go too deep into the meaning; however, she praises the film due to its seemingly genuine care for how each character ends up.
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