#the way they deal w masculinity esp in comparison w other media properties is SO interesting to me like

[bookshelfdreams]

Opening discussion to the class: The juxtaposition of 'whippies', an entire scene devoted to Calico Jack's very specific brand of procribed masculinity, then direct cut to Frenchie and Wee John working on their room blueprints to "design [their] sanctum. [Their] space. No rules. It can be whatever [they] want it to be."

hmmm. very good.

I like the way you put this, "prescribed masculinity"( I'm assuming that's what you mean anyway, pls correct me if I'm wrong). Because that's what this specific brand of hypermasculinity Jack is performing really is; a set of very strict rules one has to follow to be considered a "real" man. There's a great essay by @mathildia that deals with the oxymoron of performative masculinity (as concerning Steve Rogers, so cw for the MCU lmao) where they say

But performative masculinity has a tension to it that performative femininity does not, because performing itself is seen as innately unmasculine. You cannot learn to be a real man, you are or you are not. You can’t make one or learn to be one. Because our story about masculinity is that it just is. It is an ur state of being. The most natural way for a human to be.

I read this in 2015 and haven't stopped thinking about it since.

You're right, Jack's whip is the epitome of his masculinity (a little unorthodox for a metaphorical dick but it makes sense in context). Jack is seen doing tricks with it. He's performing to look cool. Nothing about his masculinity is easy or natural; he may put on a veneer of "I don't give a shit" but he cares about how he is perceived, he very deliberately influences and manipulates the way people see him.

But the un-performability of masculinity means he cannot acknowledge the effort he puts into all this. he puts the whip in Olu's hand and expects him to hit a cup on the Swede's head, despite Olu saying he's never done this before. It's no coincidence that it is kind, gentle, caring, emotionally aware, community-oriented Olu, specifically, who is put on the spot like this.

Show me you're a real man, Jack says, as if he'd be able to insult Olu's masculinity.

ofmd turns the juxtaposition of performance and masculinity on it's head, because ofmd is aware of something the MCU will never understand: You do not have to fit in the gender box because there is no box. If you're a man, everything you do will automatically be manly; there is no wrong way to be a man.

Wee John especially is a really good example of this, because he's a deconstruction of that character trope, where the big, strong guy is really a sensitive soul, maybe slightly cowardly, with "unmasculine" hobbies or interests. This is also usually the Fat Guy, because fatness is seen as degendering; a fat man is inherently not a "real man" (in media!! I want to empathize that I think this trope is very stupid). And Wee John falls into this, kinda; he's sometimes seen with this little doll, he cries about Pinocchio, he used to make dresses with his mum. But. It's never a Thing. It never stands out all that much, because obviously the whole crew is Like That.

The room is "anything they want it to be", yes. But it's not about having a space to be yourself, because Frenchie and Wee John (and everyone else) constantly are themselves. It's about the luxury of privacy, not about finding a place where you can embrace your authentic self. They are not trapped in a gender prison of their own making.

Jack, for all his posturing and hall his swagger and for all the ferocity with which he swings both his metaphorical and literal dick around, is deeply, desperately unhappy. The crying about being marooned is just to antagonize Stede; but we are all social animals. One of the ways in which men are lied to is by being told that vulnerability, genuine connections, trust and openness are "unmanly"; will be their unmaking. Jack plays a grimdark Lone Ranger of the Caribbean and he thinks it makes him the ultimate man, that it makes him indestructable and heroic. But it just makes him lonely, and it is ultimately his undoing.

Now I would like to turn this over to the rest of the class :)

#that was as usual meandering and unstructured but hopefully there's something interesting in here for you <3 #the way they deal w masculinity esp in comparison w other media properties is SO interesting to me like #dont even get me started on the hair XD #our flag means death #thoughts #seaglassandeelgrass #message