Navigating Gender Fluidity Amidst the Male Gaze:An Analysis of David Cronenberg’s M. Butterfly

Abstract

David Cronenberg’s M. Butterfly (1993) tells the story of René Gallimard, a French diplomat, and Song Liling, a Peking opera performer who is later revealed to be a spy. Their 20-year affair unfolds with Gallimard unaware of Song’s true identity as a man. This essay will explore the view of gender through Gallimard’s expectations of eastern women. It will also examine how Song’s “gender change” challenges the traditional gender concepts at the time. Additionally, the essay will analyze the criticism from the director of Gallimard’s “male gaze”, and how the director, as a man, unavoidably has some extent of “male gaze” in narration. Finally, the essay will compare M. Butterfly with the other film about gender fluidity in the Chinese context - Farewell My Concubine.