MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

In The Hunger Games, it is easy to overlook the males in the trilogy, particularly Gale and Peeta and their performances of masculinity. Gale begins in what can be termed working-class masculinity: he has power over women and his subordinates, yet he is susceptible to the hegemonic masculinity exercised by the Capitol. He demonstrates that the desire to obtain violent hegemonic masculinity is strong, especially as it would place him in more control. Therefore, The Hunger Games, as a dystopia, shows the dystopian view of masculinity and violence as Gale believes that the answer to violence is violence and not another form of masculinity.

Peeta, however, displays a masculinity that can be termed effeminate heterosexual masculinity, as he is gentle, likes to bake and decorate cakes, and refuses to be violent. Peeta’s effeminate heterosexual masculinity is posed by Katniss as ideal compared to the violent hegemonic masculinity of the Capitol and Gale. However, Peeta’s anger and violence against Katniss in Mockingjay appear to contradict his effeminate heterosexual masculinity as he tries to kill Katniss, is full of anger, and distrusts Katniss for a time. However, his violence against her is not hegemonic masculinity; rather, he still maintains his effeminate heterosexual masculinity (as evidenced by his decorating a wedding cake and asking his comrades to handcuff him so he would not hurt anyone) yet he also defends himself out of fear because the Capitol conditioned him to be so afraid of Katniss that he would defend himself to the point of attempting to kill her. That Peeta maintains effeminate heterosexual masculinity even at the end asserts that this masculinity is ideal and can contribute to a utopia, even if small and isolated from the Capitol.