"Rethinking Masculinity"

Corbett’s essay was a fun and intriguing read. There were a few points that stood out to me. Corbett’s main purpose is to understand why and how “faggot” is used to mark experiences of failure and loss. This idea makes me realize that society is built around competition as we see ourselves praising people for their successes. In reference to how we view disability today, there is this notion that in order to claim that something is right, or successful, we also have to claim what is wrong. The fact that disabled people are viewed as different, or not “normal,” strengthens our definition of what is normal. Similarly, Corbett shows how boys use the word “faggot” toward others to verify their own normalcy.

This idea provides an explanation to the question of why males have been viewed as superior to females since the medieval period. This question came up as I read Juan Huarte’s essay, which explained how women can become warmer and turn into men, since nature tends to improve itself. Why does this improvement favor men? At some point, someone must have decided that males were superior in this process, and that, in Corbett’s words “To be a man is to win.” Corbett explains how the phrase “Boys will be boys” intones a degree of resignation in the face of boys’ demeanor, and exemplifies our approach to the question above. However, the underlying fact that boys are constantly in the presence of losing and longing creates this desire for domination and suggests the answer to the question above.

Corbett’s essay does not question how transgender individuals or hermaphrodites view the term “faggot.” The essay plays into the idea of “gender binarism,” the theory discussed by Sharon Preves, which society has instilled into us. In a way, the term “faggot” strengthens this gender binarism by excluding all others who seem “different” because of their biological and social characteristics.