I apologize for the delayed post but today I would like to bring up a point mentioned in The Celluloid Closet (Epstein & Friedman, 1995) about the role of the “sissy” in cinematic history. The “sissy” was the role of a gay man that made “both men feel more manly and women feel more feminine by playing the role in-between,” and these stereotyped characters were mostly seen in films in the 1920s and 30s. Although we did not have the time to see the entire documentary in class, I think the idea of the “sissy” in film has definitely evolved from a male that was not overtly gay, but was seen as feminine simply through his actions, to male characters who flaunt their sexuality overtly on film.

Here’s what I mean… If you are to look at The Producers (Stroman, 2005) there is a scene where two Broadway producers are trying to create the worst play on Broadway, and in order for their plan to work they want to hire the most flamboyant director in New York. While Gary Beach’s character does not exactly follow the stereotype of the sissy because he is very confident in his sexuality and there is no restrictions towards conveying his confidence, I also think that Beach’s character is fulfilling the same purpose as the “sissy”,  to make the male characters in the room feel more masculine and the female characters in the room feel like females by placing an “in-between” character in the film.