M. Butterfly Poses a Question

An interesting aspect of M.Butterfly comes up in the first four pages: How could a man have a relationship for twenty years and not realize it was with another man?  As discussed in class, this brings up issues of the importance of gender in relationships and society.  The scene in which two men and a woman sort of joke about Gallimard's circumstance, in a way, reflects Cohen's piece about Oscar Wilde's trial posing as a sodomite.  Cohen's article focuses on how easily the public can be troubled by simply posing as something that one is not, and in this cause, with sexuality, it was particularly disturbing.  This mainly is due to the realization that gender and sexuality is a performance that can be easily used to reinforce or deny typical masculinity or femininity.  The plot of M. Butterfly relies on a man posing as a woman and perusing a relationship with another man.  The scene mentioned above, where random members of society are discussing the outrageous aspects of the situation, reflects the realizations met in Cohen's piece.  This is another example in which gender can be a performance and society finds this troubling due to how easily it can be changed with simple changes in dress or acts.  It will be interesting to see how the topic of gender and what constitutes male and female characteristics are discussed further in the play.