Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
what's the point of the job switch?
Aussie Chris:
--- Quote from: moremojo on May 01, 2006, 05:48:41 pm ---I agree with Jeff on the improbability of Ennis deviating much, if ever, from the dominant, "top" position in regard to his sexual relations with Jack. I think he would be more likely to become more experimental as time passed and he felt more at ease with his sexual identity, but I'm not sure how much he would have progressed along these lines before the moment of Jack's death. It is that latter event that forces Ennis to acknowledge, if only to himself, the reality of what Jack was, and the true nature of their relationship.
Now, we know that Ennis was in love with Jack while Jack was still living (though it's debatable how conscious Ennis was of his true feelings), and strong love can propel people into activities and gestures that they might not otherwise countenance. But Ennis's strong internalized homophobia may have acted as a potent counterbalance to any impulse he might have entertained of reciprocating Jack's position/role, though this does beg the question of how he rationalized Jack's playing of that role, considering the impression I have that, for most of their time together, Ennis insisted in his mind that Jack, like he, is really a straight guy who is overtaken by this strange "thing" that exists between them.
Another observation: I have observed, in gay male pornography, the frequent phenomenon of some performers reciprocating fellatio but never receptive anal intercourse. If Ennis ever did "service" Jack, I think it far more likely that he would have done so orally rather than anally. Of course, either way, we can never know for sure.
--- End quote ---
It's one of life's great mysteries to me, why men gay or straight would have such strong opinions about the subject of where one person's anatomy is inserted into another's. Sure receiving may be considered for "special" occasions, or maybe requiring the giving up of a certain amount of authority, but I don't know why giving is somehow manlier than receiving and that a repressed individual would necessarily make them unable to deal with it. With Ennis and Jack I see them both as versatile. Jack, we know is because of TS1, but I get that impression also from Ennis in the "afterglow" scene in the hotel, lying blissfully in Jack's arms. I don't see this as an egregious violation of the character at all; in fact I see it as being part of the reason why Ennis is so conflicted. And these are not just two guys having sex, they are in total love with each other (conscious or not), and I think that distinguishes them from the guys who do or do not like playing hide the salami, and who does the hiding!
MaineWriter:
--- Quote from: Aussie Chris on May 01, 2006, 10:13:05 pm ---t of their time together, Ennis insisted in his mind that Jack, like he, is really a straight guy who is overtaken by this
It's one of life's great mysteries to me, why men gay or straight would have such strong opinions about the subject of where one person's anatomy is inserted into another's.
--- End quote ---
Thank you for saying this, Chris...reading some of the messages today, I have to say, I was surprised at the rigidity about how things are done, who participates in what role, etc...to me, if there is any message from the "sexual revolution" of the past 35 years, it is that we should all be open to experimenting, trying new things...all in the name of helping one's partner and oneself find pleasure in the experience. Love can be liberating in this regard...giving you the courage to try things not otherwise considered.
In a gay relationship, if someone is always the "bottom" and someone else always the "top"--is that really any different from het sex always performed in the missionary position?....can get old, fast, in my opinion.
Leslie
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: lnicoll on May 01, 2006, 10:51:41 pm ---
--- Quote from: Aussie Chris on May 01, 2006, 10:13:05 pm ---t of their time together, Ennis insisted in his mind that Jack, like he, is really a straight guy who is overtaken by this
It's one of life's great mysteries to me, why men gay or straight would have such strong opinions about the subject of where one person's anatomy is inserted into another's.
--- End quote ---
Thank you for saying this, Chris...reading some of the messages today, I have to say, I was surprised at the rigidity about how things are done, who participates in what role, etc...to me, if there is any message from the "sexual revolution" of the past 35 years, it is that we should all be open to experimenting, trying new things...all in the name of helping one's partner and oneself find pleasure in the experience. Love can be liberating in this regard...giving you the courage to try things not otherwise considered.
In a gay relationship, if someone is always the "bottom" and someone else always the "top"--is that really any different from het sex always performed in the missionary position?....can get old, fast, in my opinion.
Leslie
--- End quote ---
Bear in mind, everybody isn't this "rigid," But I've known a number of gay men who are, especially in the leather/levi subculture, and these men are a lot like Ennis.
Personally I'd go so far as to say I feel it can be more "manly" "to receive" rather than "to give," but it's Ennis whose been the subject of the discussion, and for a self-deceiving internalized homophobe who clings like a drowning man to his own notion of his "straightness," I can't believe versatility is in the picture.
And there are lots of ways to spice things up, even if each partner always takes the same role--and trust gay men to find them! ;)
TJ:
The point of the job switch is probably more related to the fact that Jack was doing something illegal by following Aguirre's rules with the "shepherd" being on the "q.t.," which was sort of like pretending the sheep had wandered up the mountain on their own beyond the area which Aguirre's outfit was assigned. And, included in that fact, Aguirre had decided that the sheep would be pastured a long way from the assigned Forest Service platform campsite.
And, the reason that there was to be no fires up on the "q.t" (on the q.t. meant "keeping it quiet") was so the forest rangers or Forest Service would not see an unauthorized campfire or assume that a fire had started on it own where no human was supposed to be.
In the book, they could see lights of vehicles on the road in the valley below at night.
In regard to job duties and domestic roles, in real gay relationships where both men are somewhat "masculine" oriented, there are no male and female roles.
MaineWriter:
--- Quote from: Jeff Wrangler on May 01, 2006, 11:07:09 pm ---
And there are lots of ways to spice things up, even if each partner always takes the same role--and trust gay men to find them! ;)
--- End quote ---
But can we agree that gay men have not cornered the market on this? I think *all* people have the potential to spice things up...trouble is, way too many don't bother or have other reasons for not figuring it out....
L
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version