Queer Theory Texts - A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams (1947)

This is another American play where the guys act like manly men. They drink and smoke and play cards. They fight and then feel bad about drinking. And then they smoke and play some more cards.

The women in this work are equally stereotypical. They like to have babies, act like damsels in distress, and play dress up.

So, let's think about this. In any given performance of A Streetcar Named Desire, we have actors playing characters who are acting out in order to cover up secrets. Wowza. This play is a gold mine for a queer theorist.

For example: How does Butler's idea of gender as a costume play out in the relationship between Stanley and Blanche?

And then there's the fact that Tennessee Williams was a closeted homosexual. So the dude's own closetedness can be read into the speeches of Blanche, Stella, and maybe even Stanley. How does Blanche's language in the beginning of the play cover up the secret she is hiding? What do Blanche's speech acts of a silence look like?