But I M A Cheerleader Analysis

The film, But I’m a Cheerleader, is about how parents send their homosexual teenagers to a rehabilitative camp called True Directions to have them converted into heterosexuals. The film specifically focuses on Megan, who is a cheerleader, whose friends and family suspect her of being a lesbian which ends up in her being sent to True Directions to be “fixed”. In the film, there are two multicultural issues which engulf and define the film which would be the issues of gender and sexuality. Gender and sexuality have a tendency to overlap and in this film they do so through the concepts of gender identity, gender roles, heteronormativity, and sexual orientation.
First, we must understand the concepts in which through gender and sexuality will overlap. …show more content…
Specifically, “Step 2: Rediscovering Your Gender Identity,” plays on how society has constructed gender and the roles with which we stereotypically associate to be identified as a man or a woman. When it comes to gender identity, some of the lesbians in the film were more butch while others were more feminine. In Step 2, they try to reconstruct the lesbians into more feminine women and also teach them roles which are typically associated with being a woman. They teach the lesbians how to dress, do their makeup, how to be ladylike, clean a household, and change a baby’s diaper. Now when it comes to the gays, some of the males were more feminine while others fit into the realm of masculinity. In Step 2, they try to reconstruct the gays into masculine men and teach them roles which are considered to be associated with being a man. They teach the gays how to chop firewood, how to play football, even how to spit, and mechanics when it comes to a situation such as repairing a car. Andre would most likely identify these gender roles in American society as being based off of stereotypes rather than so much as inherent or natural gender differences. The reasoning behind why she would most likely identify these roles as stereotypes is because they are commonly held by the majority, anti-intellectual, and at odds with evidence. Specifically, as to why the fact of the roles being at odds with evidence is stated is due to the obvious, apparent nature that men and women can take on similar roles and in fact perform roles better than the other might be able to. As Andre states, “A stereotype is usually a belief that members of a group will behave in certain ways – it’s an expectation that something observable will happen” (Andre). These gender roles assume that men and women will behave and act in certain ways which are different from each other. This is due to the fact that for