The Butch Woman Inside James Dean or 'What Kind of Person Do You Think a Girl Wants
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2392710 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Marie Cartier (0009-0001-0982-3172, Claremont Graduate University, USA, [email protected], corresponding author) |
| Year | 2003 |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 3-4 |
| Pages | 443-458 |
| Publication date | 2003-11-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sexualities (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1363-4607 • E-ISSN: 1461-7382 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/136346070363011 |
| OpenAlex | W2117220894 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 2 |
This article suggests that because during the Second World War, legions of women, for the first time, could legitimately be employed, this economic freedom facilitated a freedom to create a new kind of masculinity - that of the butch. These butches dated femmes, a new kind of woman. This type of coupling was apparent in urban culture, but was not presented on film. This article explores the idea that James Dean, an admitted homosexual, acted in Rebel Without a Cause, as a butch woman, cloaked in the guise of his fictional heterosexuality. This gave heterosexual men the permission to learn the new masculinity that had been created during the war - by butch women. Dean is the perfect butch for Judy (played by Natalie Wood), except he is male - or is he? Is it a coincidence that Hilary Swank's Oscar-winning role in Boys Don't Cry was frequently compared to 'a young James Dean?' What are the implications of Dean's gender bending? Was Dean a new kind of man - or woman
Developmental psychology · Girl · Heterosexuality · Human sexuality · Masculinity · Psychoanalysis · Sociology · Cinema and Media Studies · European history and politics · French Historical and Cultural Studies · Gender Studies · Psychology
| Citations per year | 0.07 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2012 - 2012 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |