Manhood in Jeopardy: Masculinity and Shame in James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room

Abstract

Masculinity has been a source of confusion and rather problematic in the representations of Queer culture. Masculinity is essentially a construct that not only informs a person’s sexual habits but also how that person behaves in society. Thus being, it does not necessarily inform the sexual orientation of a person. Sexual orientation, on the other hand, is natural. The concepts of masculinity and femininity are closely related to the concept of heteronormativity which normalizes and thus, legitimizes, heterosexual tendencies and practices, thereby, marginalizing homosexuality, among others. Attached to the concept of masculinity is a sense of shame and repellence in being or acting effeminate. This shame, along with an all-encompassing sense of Homophobia are two of the main reasons that normalized Heteronormativity in contemporary society. This essay will explore toxic masculine behaviour and its relationship with shame and Heteronormativity in James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room (1956). We will also briefly look at Gore Vidal’s 1948 novel The City and the Pillar by way of establishing this point.

In this essay, we will see how the characters in the novel are repeatedly weighed down by the powerful heterosexual ideals pervasive in their society. Finding his homosexual desires stifled in an aggressively masculine environment, the protagonist give in to heteronormativity, becoming increasingly manly, sacrificing his love, in his bid to be assimilated into the heterosexually dominant society. A brief study of the Baudrillardian theory of Sign Value with respect to David’s relationships could shed some light on the protagonist’s behaviour. I have also observed that in trying to conform to the heterosexual society, the characters fail to embrace traits of toxic masculinity while despising fairies at the same time.