Queer Theory in Mean Girls

Queer Theory in Mean Girls

I watched 20 minutes of the movie 'Mean girls'. My main purpose was to identify 'Queer' person in those 20 minutes of the movie. By watching 'Mean girls', I found two types of homosexual one them was Damian and second one was Janis.

Damian I could identify as camp or queen, because he acts very feminine. First example could be his question when he saw main protagonist Cady. He asked if her hair colour was natural and that he would like have that hair colour. Second example could be his voice, which is higher than heterosexual men have. Third example could be his hand gestures, when he is talking. He always uses hand gestures, which connects that person might be homosexual.

Janis I could identify as butch, because comparing with Damian she is manlier than him. First example, when her course mate asked her about her wig, she answered quickly and angry to him.  Second example could be how she introduced Damian to Cady, 'This is Damian he is almost too gay to function'. 

Other look comparing them Janis always wears dark colour clothes, when Damian wears colourful or white colour clothes. Other clothes comparison could be about their sleeves. Damian wears shirt with short sleeves, when Janis wears long sleeved shirts, which connect to manliness. Last comparing about her manliness and Damian's feminine side would be their conversation about a pink top. In a situation Janis does not even have a pink top, when Damian proudly said, that he has one and could give it to Cady.

From these simple old-fashioned stereotypes I could see, which of the characters in the movie could be gay or lesbian. However, by watching this movie I could see only one say of the queer stereotypes, because life changed and these days not all gay people act so 'feminine' or lesbians are so manly.

One of the Queer theorists Judith Butler suggested that gender is not the result of the nature, but it is socially constructed. Because male and female behaviour roles are not the result of biology, but are constructed and reinforced by society mostly through media and culture. She thinks that you cannot put people into the borders, as representations of masculinity and femininity, because it causes ''gender trouble''.

Gender trouble - any behaviour or representation, that disrupts culturally accepted notions of gender.

In conclusion this movie shows an old look to the queer people, which has been created a long time ago.