Homosocial relations in Sir Gawain and The Green Knight are displayed as homoerotic between Sir Gawain and Sir Bertilak. The potential for homosexual relations between the two men disrupt the heterosexual ideology in the poem. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is riven by fear of the homoerotic potential of homosocial relations due to Sir Gawain 's fragile masculinity, the breaking of heterosexual identity in the poem and the exchange of kisses between Sir Gawain and Sir Bertilak. Sir Gawain 's fragile masculinity can be seen throughout the bedroom scenes in which Lady Bertilak attempts to seduce him into making love to her. He rejects her due to his transition to femininity, but then he tries to redeem himself by giving her kisses which in itself
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Lady Bertilak continues to flirt with Sir Gawain and then gives a description of Sir Gawain 's masculinity: “For I wene wel, iwysse, Sir Wowen ye are, / That all the worlde worschipes whereso ye ride; / Your honour, your hendelayk is hendely praysed / With lordes, with ladyes, with all that lif bere” (1226-29). Lady Bertilak is speaking about what makes Sir Gawain who he is. It is these virtues of “honour” and “hendelayk” that make him this chivalric and masculine person. However, as the both of them continue to converse, Sir Gawain 's chivalric masculinity starts to becomes very fragile due to the words of Lady Bertilak. In the way of her words, she is attempting to redefine Sir Gawain 's masculinity that he seems to be losing (Kinney 52). Lady Bertilak says: “Now He that spedes uch a speche this disport yelde yow / Bot that ye be Gawan, ungayn gos hit in mynde” (1292-93). She tells him that he is not the real Sir Gawain because if he was he would have succumbed to her demands. She is questioning his masculinity as a man because he is putting her off (Dinshaw 213). Heng states that: “This is a moment where masculine command slips and misses” (Heng 501). Sir Gawain is faced with a situation where he has to prove his manhood, and he is struggling to do so against Lady Bertilak. Sir Gawain is stripped of his armour and his insignia in this part of the poem (Kinney 52). He has began to lose makes him this chivalric knight and he is struggling to reestablish himself as a masculine character who truly wants this
Lady Bertilak continues to flirt with Sir Gawain and then gives a description of Sir Gawain 's masculinity: “For I wene wel, iwysse, Sir Wowen ye are, / That all the worlde worschipes whereso ye ride; / Your honour, your hendelayk is hendely praysed / With lordes, with ladyes, with all that lif bere” (1226-29). Lady Bertilak is speaking about what makes Sir Gawain who he is. It is these virtues of “honour” and “hendelayk” that make him this chivalric and masculine person. However, as the both of them continue to converse, Sir Gawain 's chivalric masculinity starts to becomes very fragile due to the words of Lady Bertilak. In the way of her words, she is attempting to redefine Sir Gawain 's masculinity that he seems to be losing (Kinney 52). Lady Bertilak says: “Now He that spedes uch a speche this disport yelde yow / Bot that ye be Gawan, ungayn gos hit in mynde” (1292-93). She tells him that he is not the real Sir Gawain because if he was he would have succumbed to her demands. She is questioning his masculinity as a man because he is putting her off (Dinshaw 213). Heng states that: “This is a moment where masculine command slips and misses” (Heng 501). Sir Gawain is faced with a situation where he has to prove his manhood, and he is struggling to do so against Lady Bertilak. Sir Gawain is stripped of his armour and his insignia in this part of the poem (Kinney 52). He has began to lose makes him this chivalric knight and he is struggling to reestablish himself as a masculine character who truly wants this