This is interesting Marge, could you explain a little bit more about what you think the "unacknowledged conflict buttons" might be?
Well, very few of us are as free of stereotypes and prejudices as we like to think we are. And while Ennis and Jack may challenge masculine stereotypes in terms of sexuality, someone like Monroe doesn't fit the stereotypes much better. The actor has an unfortunate arrangement of features, described variously as bland and baby-faced, that would lead people to make negative assumptions about him. In a traditional Western movie, Monroe would have been the Western town's general storekeeper; here, he's translated into the Riverton grocer who wears an apron and knows what "condiments" are. IMO, this character gives viewers who might feel some uneasiness about the implied challenges to American/Western/masculine stereotypes a kind of safety valve: now, here's a character that one can safely consider a "sissy" -- he even uses an electric knife. That isn't a comment about BBM fans generally and certainly not about anyone on this thread, but Monroe, in addition to being a necessary plot device, does serve the classic dramatic function of a "foil." And I guess it's possible that Ang Lee did intend that, come to think of it.
Of course, this character isn't much developed in the movie and even less in the ss, but I'd really question as to whether he can be considered "less of a man" than some of the other characters, especially Lureen's father. The "stud duck" displayes his perceived masculinity by dissing his son-in-law and insisting on carving poultry; Monroe is willing to have his stepdaughters' father at Thanksgiving dinner. And for that matter, he was willing to hang in there and wait for the woman he loved.
Well, I guess we've meandered pretty far from slicing up that turkey.....
