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Popular Culture Review
While the popular definition of the masculine ideal is an external social
phenomenon, the series amplifies the existing conditions on an internal level and
thus highlights the importance of reexamining the social constructs surrounding
masculinity. Because it is impossible to disregard the stereotypes surrounding
masculinity, the expropriation of the stereotypical ideal allows for a framework
within which masculinity itself can be examined.
In the opening sequence of the series, Bill Henrickson and his three wives—
Barb, Nicki, and Margene—ice skate serenely over the frozen waters of a lake,
hands clasped forming a seemingly unbreakable circle, when suddenly the ice
cracks beneath them and they are sent spiraling in four different directions.
Their polygamous lifestyle leaves them literally skating on thin ice, and the
same can be said of Bill’s masculinity which is forever threatened, not only from
the outside, but also from the inside of his family unit. By deconstructing the
masculine ideal, albeit a popularized, stereotypical notion, it becomes feasible to
redefine masculinity through the valorization of its own instability and the
revalorization of the stereotype itself, leading to an eventual nullification of the
stereotypical ideal. Through the examination of the four categories mentioned
previously (sexual virility, financial stability, authoritarian hierarchy, and the
male as defender), one can track the ways in which Bill Henrickson’s
masculinity is threatened when compared to the established masculine ideal. In
addition, this examination will reveal the ways in which these threats redefine
masculinity as a whole rather than simply that of the character.
Stereotypically speaking, there is a correlative relationship between sexual
virility and masculinity, the assumption being that the more sexually virile the
man, and in turn, potent and prolific, the more masculine he will be. Sexual
virility, the ability to copulate and procreate, is perhaps the most easily
identifiable characteristic of the masculine ideal and thus must be considered in
the redefinition of the stereotype. In Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of Masculine
Domination, he writes, “Manliness, virility, in its ethical aspect... remains
indissociable, tacitly at least, from physical virility, in particular through the
attestations of sexual potency—deflowering the bride, abundant male offspring,
etc.—which are expected of a ‘real’ man” (12). Three aspects associated with
this category are female sexual satisfaction, freedom in choosing/seducing
sexual partners, and male sexual performance. While the typical marriage
threatens the freedom of this category, the polygamous union poses an
interesting set of problems and possibilities to the categorization of sexual
virility as a measure of masculinity; areas of particular importance in Big Love
are sexual inadequacy and wifely dissatisfaction.
Within the category of sexual virility, female sexual satisfaction plays a key
role because, with a marital ratio of three women to one man, Bill is constantly
forced to leave two of his wives sexually dissatisfied at any one time, creating a
tug of war for his affections and, ultimately, three sexually frustrated wives.
Unfortunately, the cyclic nature of the arrangement (Bill never spends two