Power Hierarchy in Wang’s M. Butterfly
...fill every males desire for sex (Act 1 Sc. 4). The assumption that women are innately submissive by this ‘desire’ for a male arouses him. He also implies that society expects him to go after women in such a way where “you close your eyes, reach out—it’s a grab bag, get it?” (Act 1, Sc. 4). He also implies that society expects him to find a woman to have sex with and to be excited at the thought because women, in his mind, wish to be dominated where “you don’t have to ask! That’s the beauty—don’t you see? They don’t have to say yes” (Act 1, Sc. 4). Interestingly, one definition of “dominance” from the OED is “the fact or position of being dominant; paramount influence, ascendancy, dominion, sway” (OED). Thus, by using “dominance” to describe the male, Marc constructs a commonly-held male position; he associates women with qualities of submissiveness and subordination to men. He again reinforces the notion of his position by saying “how could they help but be impressed by [my] cool sophistication” and “what a dangerous guy [I am]” to illustrate his dominance and superiority of his gender to women, which by and large is immature and degrading of women (Act. 1, Sc 4). In this way, Marc associates himself with his “university guys. He believes that he is beholding to the same convictions as all men. His attitude towards women reflects on sexual dominance by means of gender stereotypes. Although he expresses his belief in the stereotypical sentiments of women, being submissive to men, he mentions that “sometimes, it is mutual,” heightening his awareness of his physical desires for women and stimulating his personal enjoyment (Act 1, Sc. 9). One can interpret “mutual” as encompassing all the needs of women and causing women to feel a certain way. By saying sex is ‘mutual,’ he suggests that there is a subconscious element which arouses within him and facilitates his ability to depict women as stereotypically wanting sex when the men want it. For example, Marc says to Gallimard, “[Song] cannot help herself…she must surrender to you. It is her destiny,” he puts this into historical context by referring to Song as the colonized East and Gallimard as the Western colonizer (Act 1, Sc. 9). In effect, the premise shows the West as the power hierarchy, while the East wants what the West enjoys. The sexual demands that Marc’s attitude presents shape all his beliefs that he finds himself attractive, dominant and the superior gender over the subordinate female gender. According to Lorber, “the social construction of gender is organized around racial, ethnic, class and gender inequality…The purpose of gender as a modern institution is to construct women as a group to be the subordinates of men as a group” (Lorber, 5). In M. Butterfly, the cultural and sexual domination of the Orient by the West is representative of this social cons...