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Alondra Blanco
Professor Holly Batty
English 102 (V 25031)
October 18, 2017
Questioning History and Gender Norms

In todays time we have opened our eyes to explore new things that were not once common in

the world that we know. We now take into account other peoples judgment and points of view.

With so much diversity now we begin to question ourselves due to the opinions of other people.

We now question our country, that was once known as the land of opportunity and freedom, but

has recently become restricted of handing such opportunities and free. Through this way of

thinking we ask ourselves this were we always this controlled by a hierarchy of rich white men

that care for no one but themselves and if so how were we so blind to it. we weren't blind to it

thats just how we (Americans) have been taught to look at our Country. Another thing that is

getting a lot of attention these days are people feeling safe and confident about their sexuality

and coming out into the world to be normal human beings, as it should be. Things weren't

always like this, there was always a taboo about being homosexual and people were taught to be

uncomfortable with who they were. David Henry Hwang takes in so much from the western

culture as he does from communist China and Vietnam on views about sexuality, masculinity,

and devotion to one's country. M. Butterfly is a representation of how countries view themselves

through their masculinity and dominance over the world and how that plays an important role in

gender roles. We will first identify how postcolonialism generates a division between how each

country sees themselves, secondly how through stereotypes certain people are portrayed with a

different gender expression, and lastly how a sense of pride and sexuality are very different but

exactly the same in either western culture or china through their ancient ways of seeing things.
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As someone who has lived in the United States her whole life I was taught that the United

States has always gotten what its wanted simply in the name of becoming better. Growing up

pin history class we didn't play too much attention to slavery or Native American genocide, we

focused more on all the world wars and Nazi Germany and other worldly flaws, this is because in

the Western World there is no wrong doing, stealing other people's land and territory for your

own just because you have the weapons and money to do so wasnt wrong it was a victory in M.

Butterfly we see Beijing, China through a western point of view, through this western point of

view China is described as awful, dirty, and it's its people ignorant. This is because any place

that is not conquered by the west is considered not worthy, according to the west. The French

Diplomats in M. Butterfly treat their mission in china like a chore and really only talk about

France when they complain about something in china and want to compare it to something better

in France. The west has this way of making themselves always look like the heros. Madame

Butterfly is a western invention that created this whole problem in the first place, creating a

western character that is very masculine and powerful and having a weak, feminine oriental

woman falling in loving with him coming at his every beck and call. In this play there is already

a division in ethnic groups. Song later says that if the roles were reversed then this play would be

no tragedy but simply an act of tomfoolery. You can see that there is a hint of postcolonialism in

the feminization of an entire country that is not your own. David Henry Hwang drama Not only

reinterpretation, but also a subversion of how westerns stereotype Asia and its people.

Throughout the play there are many example or gender roles and gender expression that are

used to symbolize a certain image that people have been bred to bear. It isnt even about females

being feminine or males being masculine but as some characters being portrayed with certain
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traits. Gallimard is seen as weak and almost feminine because everything is done for him, in the

case of his friend helping him lose his virginity and his wife marrying him for convenience.

Gallimard doesnt like that, in fact he does whatever he can in order to surround himself with

people that bear exactly the opposite views. Gallimards friend Marc is entirely different than

Gallimard in that he is outpouring in masculinity and has no respect for women, thinking that

they are property to only be used up, and Gallimard looks up to him and his views. Marc isnt

the only one in Gallimards life that surround him in Masculinity the women of the west are also

seen as straightforward, while even though Song is not female, he created this vision that

Gallimard takes in as shy, weak, and honored woman. These two different type of women are

both very feminine in gender and in expression of gender, yet they couldnt be more apart in the

way that they are looked at by each country. The character Renee was a woman that rene met

after his confidence was advanced by Song, a timid woman that offered him everything except

sexual attention that would increase his masculinity, Renee was exactly the same except that she

didnt ask for him, she didnt care about Renes well-being, she was a westerner who only

needed Rene to complete her desire. In this way we are able to see even female characters having

masculine aura and not necessarily be attracted to women as Galimard and his male companions

do. Song goes through many transitions as a spy and an actor. Biologically male, Song seems to

have no attraction to Gallimard at the beginning of the Drama, when speaking to Comrade Chin

he keeps it all professional and he seems to be taking on his role as a woman seriously. Song

says that it is to strongly convince Gallimard of his performance but I believe that eventually

Song begins to fall into his role to seriously when he goes to live with Gallimard in France. This

heterosexual relationship that Gallimard wants and Song performs have reflected national values

that in turn demonstrate how men are attracted to women in western culture. To Gallimard Song
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is just someone that he can control and take over due to her weak notion and non resistful

nature.

Anyway that you look at it you can see that David Henry Hwang intends to demonstrate that

the Postcolonialism is trying to be overshadowed in his Drama. Song even comes out to say to

Gallimard that Western culture is Whitewashing history. That Madame Butterfly is nothing more

than a western culture invention to perceive the Orient as weak and submissive. Hwang also

addresses political problems that are shared in both China and France there are many elements of

political scandal and law breaking that has to be done in order for things to go i a way that appeal

to each party. Song has to have a same-sex relationship that is outlawed in Maoist China,

implying that Songs spying represents and imposed punishment for the crime of his relationship

with Gallimard. Gallimard on the other hand turns the Drama into a tragedy when he commits

suicide over not having the perfect women in his life, a lie that was created by song. Gallimard

traded important governmental secrets with Song and China in order to get his son back and to

make Song happy. I dont believe that Gallimard ever did question his relationship with Song,

not that he was blind to do so, he simply did not know.

M. Butterfly was a drama that representation of what one country (western) thinks of the

other (Eastern) in a way that has been presented to us (the audience) for many years. We are able

to see feminine and masculine roles changing throughout the story and even question what we

once thought about certain characters. Being feminine isnt directly linked with women and

masculinity isnt always tied with men and in M. Butterfly we can see that Song isnt really ties

with either. M. Butterfly does demonstrate postcolonialism in the way that it shows how the
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West views the East and its people and Vice Versa. However, the East sees the West for what it

really is, they dont view it as a hero that is there its help, but as a monster that wants to rule over

everything that it considers weak and feminine, whether it be the country or its women.

Bibliography

Wen, Songfeng. The Subversion of the Oriental Stereotype in M. Butterfly. M. Butterfly: An

Intentional Subversion of the Butterfly Stereotype, vol. 3, no. No.2, ser. 2013, 26 Apr. 2013.

2013, citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.838.6330&rep=rep1&type=pdf.
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Balaev, Michelle. "Performing gender and fictions of the nation in David Hwang's M. Butterfly."

Forum for World Literature Studies, vol. 6, no. 4, 2014, p. 608+. Literature Resource Center,

library.lavc.edu:2077/ps/i.do?p=GLS&sw=w&u=lavc_main&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA3982

53065&asid=da20bbd4eba63f055df6dc0dad4851a7. Accessed 18 Oct. 2017.

Grist, Leighton. "'It's only a piece of meat': gender ambiguity, sexuality, and politics in The

Crying Game and M. Butterfly." Cinema Journal, vol. 42, no. 4, 2003, p. 3+. Literature

Resource Center,

library.lavc.edu:2077/ps/i.do?p=GLS&sw=w&u=lavc_main&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA1604

18995&asid=aa56668493fc341b7bcaead28db28755. Accessed 18 Oct. 2017.