Butler’s "Imitation and Gender Insubordination" and G. Winston James’ "Uncle"

An intriguing quote from Judith Butler’s Imitation and Gender Insubordination, is “Conventionally, one comes out of the closet (and yet, how often is it the case that we are “outted” when we are young and without resources?)” This ties to G. Winston James’ Uncle in that Jake fears that everyone will see or realize his secret and will be angry at him for it. This is exemplified when Jake says, “I can tell he [Uncle Paul] knows something. He can feel it…I know I’m gonna cry if he looks at me not saying anything for even one second longer. If he looks down at my shorts. I’ve got my hands trying to cover them. I think he’s gonna yell at me.” In this case, Jake seems to feel as if he’s been caught defenseless doing something that is not allowed and thus he is in a way suspended in fear of being “outted” while he is “young and without resources.”

Butler also notes, “For being “out” always depends to some extent on being “in”; it gains its meaning only within that polarity.” The highlights the prejudiced stereotype that being heterosexual is seen as the norm whereas being homosexual is not. This is touched upon in James’ Uncle as Jake is told to keep the “barber” games a secret and when he is afraid that Uncle Paul knows what is happening and will get angry at the instance of the homosexual tendency. Here homosexuality is seen as outside the norm, as he tries to hide it. Analyzing Butler’s quote, she seems to say that being gay is determined by group consensus. The structure that we’re all in determines how we think. The differentiation of gay from straight is only in existence in a heteronormative environment, because society (those who are “in”) sees being gay as different and thus determining that one is gay is considered coming “out”.

Another one of Butler’s quotes that resonates within James’s story is “For if the “I” is a site of repetition, that is, if the “I” only achieves the semblance of identity through a certain repetition of itself, then the “I” is always displaced by the very repetition that sustains it.” This suggests that ones view and identity is shaped my repetition of certain aspects of their environment. For example, in G. Winston James’ Uncle, Jake’s brother always makes him play “barber” with him and this repetition of homosexual tendencies, according to Butler, would initially shape Jake’s identity and eventually displace it.