It seemed each genre had its own set of rules and methods for how sexuality and gender were displayed and the limitations they possessed. Each genre had its own way of blurring the lines of sexuality and gender. Shakespeare wrote a variety of genres from romance to tragedy to history to comedy. The method he used to deconstruct sexuality and gender depended on the genre of the specific play. Regardless, whether this is true or not we shall never know, however, we do know that he deconstructed the norm of gender and sexuality within his plays. Many scholars question Shakespeare’s sexuality and whether or not he had homoerotic tendencies based on some of his sonnets which are believed to have been written about men. He could be viewed as a feminist in today’s standards because of his attempt to deconstruct the unwritten rules about gender and sexuality in society. Shakespeare sought to defeat these norms, he sought to show that sexuality and gender are ambiguous and mutable. It was not seen as sexist at this time, it was the way it was.Ī Woman’s place was within doors, her business domestic…Women…themselves accepted this divorce between the private (feminine) and public (masculine) sphere and, despite the recent precedents of Mary Queen of Scots, Mary Tudor and Elizabeth, they shared the age’s distaste…for the notion of women’s involvement in politics. A major difference is that today there are feminist movements out to abolish gender inequality whereas during the 16th century when Shakespeare was writing in his prime, women were fully aware of their role in society and generally shared the same viewpoint as the men did. Looking at both Richard III and As You Like It as major examples, this paper will show the different ways sexuality and gender are used to manipulate characters, alter the action of the play and deconstruct the social norm of gender and sexuality and how they vary depending on the genre of the play.ĭuring the time when William Shakespeare was alive and writing, there were social norms about gender and sexuality that existed similarly as they do today.

Masculine men can play effeminate female roles (which they did on stage) and effeminate women can play masculine male roles. By blurring the lines between sexuality and gender in his plays, Shakespeare deconstructs these norms to display their ambiguity. Women belonged in the home, they were ruled by men and by their emotions and therefore were thought to often make bad decisions. Men were masculine, they were not ruled by emotion, they were strong and hard working. There was a hierarchy of sexes and each had their own role in society. During the time of Shakespeare, there was a social construct of gender and sexuality norms just as there are today. Depending on the genre of the play, sexuality and gender are used as either a tool of manipulation, a form of propaganda or sometimes both. Sexuality and gender are prominent themes in Shakespeare’s plays.

Theme of shakespeare in love