In Gender Trouble, Judith Butler articulates the ways in which gender is constructed and the ways heteronormative structures of gender and sexuality are maintained through socialization and surveillance. Visual signifiers of gender consist of presentations and absences, the recognition of non-heteronormative characteristics. Those who perform gender in a non-normative way are challenged and punished by those who recognize these differences through “intelligible grids of an idealized and compulsory heterosexuality” (Butler, 135). As a result of gendered socialization and the processes of being rewarded and checked for either conforming or nonconforming to one’s gender assignment at birth, the frameworks of heterosexuality are maintained.
The gardener, Hector, draws a parallel between the experiences of his brother, Randolph, and the ways Tyler is treated by the community. He states, “He was kind of funny. He was like you” (Mootoo, 73). Through this statement, Hector acknowledges certain visual signifiers of Randolph and Tyler’s gender expression that cause them to be coded as different. In Cereus Blooms at Night, the treatment of Nurse Tyler exemplifies the ways in which gender and sexuality are conflated. At Paradise Alms House, Tyler is isolated socially due to his gender expression and performance; he is coded as a cis gay man by the other nurses in the home due to his perceived feminine qualities and attraction to men. These assumptions are complicated by the fluidity of Tyler’s gender in the beginning of the novel. Throughout Cereus Blooms at Night, Tyler increasingly becomes more comfortable in his gender expression with the help of Mala and Otoh as they ease the looming presence of constant surveillance.
For starters, I love your title. I am LOLING. Anyway, I think this is a really nice analysis/ description of the Tyler’s experience. I really feel that he is one of the most genuine and considerate characters, and I agree, he certainly deserves to find comfort and peace. I am SO glad Mala become an aid in doing so, I think it was a really great plot point and tie in the novel. Props all around.
I agree with a previous post. First, the title is AWESOME thank you.
I like tying Butler’s reading into this post. When Tyler wears the nurse’s outfit, he immediately recognizes that he would NEVER wear it outside of Mala’s room in front of his coworkers, as he needs to maintain an appearance that is “rewarded and checked.” Tyler even references himself at a point that he is “somewhere in between” boy and girl, yet we still recognize that in order to solely survive in his professional and cultural environment, he must perform his gender in a certain way. Great connection!
I really enjoyed reading your post and the way your were able to take Judith Bulter’s Gender Trouble and relate it to Cereus Blooms at Night. I thought you had an interesting statement about how people are challenged if they perform gender in a non-normative way. This made me think about my blog post where I talk about how Mala reacts when seeing Tyler in the dress. I think this is why Mala makes Tyler feel so comfortable like you stated. I think this because she doesn’t challenge Tyler either way. She doesn’t challenge in a way that makes him feel like wearing the dress is wrong but she also does challenge him by praising him too much in the dress. She just acts like him wearing that dress is completely normal and I think that is why Mala makes Tyler feel so comfortable.
I found your connection from Gender Trouble to Tyler’s queer existence in a heteronormative space to be extremely applicable. Tyler is forced to perform his gender in the Paradise Alms house so that he can be regarded as ‘normal’ enough to continue making strides in the occupation of his choosing. According to Butler, Tyler is not able to wear a dress every day to tend to his patients because without the societal stage in which he is forced to embody a cis-identity, though I do believe that Mala has a great influence over how much the act of performance dictates Tyler’s comfort over expressing his true self.
I found your connection from Gender Trouble to Tyler’s queer existence in a heteronormative space to be extremely applicable. Tyler is forced to perform his gender in the Paradise Alms house so that he can be regarded as ‘normal’ enough to continue making strides in the occupation of his choosing. According to Butler’s ideology, Tyler is not able to wear a dress every day to tend to his patients because on the societal stage in which he is forced to embody a cis-identity, true expression is simply not a plausible option. I do believe that Mala has a great influence over how much the act of performance dictates Tyler’s comfort concerning his true identity.
I liked the progression of this post. You started with Butler to create a background for characters like Tyler and Hector’s brother, Randolph. Don’t you find it interesting that Ambrose was able to embrace his fluidity of gender while Tyler and Randolph were coded as “different”? I think Mootoo embraces the idea of how environments shape how we act and understand ourselves. It reminds me of the video of iO that we watched in class a few weeks ago. iO was born a female, and whenever she felt that she no preferred to be a boy, or vice versa, her parents never questioned that fluidity. But I digress. I liked that you mentioned at the end of your post that Tyler learned to become increasingly more comfortable in his gender expression because he no longer feels like he is constantly being watched or scrutinized. Great post!