William Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night and the film Shakespeare in Love deal with the complexities of gender and sexuality. Even though the play Twelfth Night was published nearly four hundred years before Shakespeare in Love was released, Shakespeare’s play represents a more modern outlook on gender. Both materials involve cross-dressing, but cross-dressing is more of a feature in Shakespeare in Love, while Twelfth Night actually delves into the complexities of what it means to be either male or female. My belief is that one’s gender does not necessarily coincide with one’s biological sex. While transgendered people are still struggling to be accepted in today’s world, they have been experiencing much more acceptance than they have in the
…show more content…
One person’s gender and sexuality may remain constant over the years. However, one’s gender and sexuality may change multiple times throughout one’s life. Both gender and sexuality have the potential to change, which can cause some confusion. Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night depicts gender and sexuality with a more modern outtake than Shakespeare in Love does. Throughout the course of Twelfth Night, the characters are presented with complex situations that are much more complicated than the events depicted in Shakespeare in …show more content…
Cesario is supposed to be a man, but Olivia is incredibly intrigued by Cesario’s feminine qualities. She has fallen in love with a man that is actually a woman in disguuise. The situation is much more complex than what is depicted in Shakespeare in Love. Perhaps Olivia is strictly a heterosexual female, since she has no idea that Cesario is actually a woman. On the other hand, maybe the situation with Olivia and Cesario demonstrates that one’s sexuality is not as definitive as one would initially believe. The feelings that Olivia and Orsino have for Viola are never truly clear, which demonstrates that one’s gender and sexuality can be rather fluid. These two concepts of gender and sexuality do not necessarily remain constant over
One person’s gender and sexuality may remain constant over the years. However, one’s gender and sexuality may change multiple times throughout one’s life. Both gender and sexuality have the potential to change, which can cause some confusion. Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night depicts gender and sexuality with a more modern outtake than Shakespeare in Love does. Throughout the course of Twelfth Night, the characters are presented with complex situations that are much more complicated than the events depicted in Shakespeare in …show more content…
Cesario is supposed to be a man, but Olivia is incredibly intrigued by Cesario’s feminine qualities. She has fallen in love with a man that is actually a woman in disguuise. The situation is much more complex than what is depicted in Shakespeare in Love. Perhaps Olivia is strictly a heterosexual female, since she has no idea that Cesario is actually a woman. On the other hand, maybe the situation with Olivia and Cesario demonstrates that one’s sexuality is not as definitive as one would initially believe. The feelings that Olivia and Orsino have for Viola are never truly clear, which demonstrates that one’s gender and sexuality can be rather fluid. These two concepts of gender and sexuality do not necessarily remain constant over