Gender-stereotypes in Dutchman and M. Butterfly

Both Dutchman and M. Butterfly focus on two main characters. Dutchman is Lula and Clay. The contrast between two characters that Lula is “a tall, slender, beautiful woman with long red hair…wearing only loud lipstick in somebody’s good taste” (p. 1896). Clay is described as a young, middle-class, educated black man. He wears three-button suit, reading books, pretty much suggesting that he talks, acts and dresses like a white man (p. 1901). In this play, both Lula and clay indicate there is a gender stereotype. According Eagly and Steffen in their journal ; “A gender stereotypes stem from the distribution of women and men into social roles, “A gender stereotype consists belief about the psychological and characteristic of, as well as the activities appropriate to, men or women. Gender stereotype are beliefs and attitudes about masculinity and feminity.” Lula’s role in the play shows female control. She controls conversation with Clay, and the whole play. Besides, Clay is passive and looks intimidated. From beginning, when Lula asks about he was staring at her through window, Clay shows his nervous in front of woman. Even Lula has to say twice that he was staring at her. Lula’s role shows masculinity even though she is a woman. In Dutchman, gender stereotype influenced by a race between black and white. The characters change their attitude in the climax when Lula started to mock black people.

In M. Butterfly, gender stereotype is about oriental woman which presented by Song Liling that makes Galimmard to be fooled by Song over twenty years. Gallimmard and Song have a sexual affair. Song takes advantage from Galimmard, because he considers Song as woman. He also believes that oriental woman as submissive and shy; “in real life, women who put their total worth at less than sixty-six cents are quite hard to find” (13) he thinks that oriental woman more modest than western woman. In this play, the stereotypes of race showed by the idea of East and West. Galimmard as Western man demonstrated the real masculinity, he said “Orientals will always submit to a greater force” (37) and Song as oriental woman indicates “Femininity”. The truth about Song is a man changes the stereotype between them. Gallimard the symbol of “masculine” being feminine because in the end, he still chooses his fantasy that Song is his butterfly. Song, the symbol of “feminine” becomes Oriental man that shows his masculinity in exposing his true identity.

Bibliography

Baraka, A. (1980). Dutchman. In G. McMichael, Anthology of American Literature. New York: MacMillan Publishing.

Hwang, D. H.(1986). " M. Butterfly":

Eagly, A. H., & Steffen, V. J. (1984). Gender stereotypes stem from the distribution of women and men into social roles. Journal of personality and social psychology, 46(4), 735

(Response 2)