Gay Love Saves The Day - Tumblr Posts
I see so much Will in Eddie, it’s crazy. I’ve always though Eddie was a future Will who didn’t have the supportive family and close childhood friend group. He’s loud, opinionated, and unapologetically himself. He doesn’t let anyone walk all over him and encourages others to embrace themselves, too.
His famous line, “Don’t try to be heroes, not today. There is no shame in running” correlates perfectly with the idea of gender nonconformity. “Heroes” and “assassins” are typically portrayed as men/masculine, while “victims” are seen as female/feminine. Eddie saying “there’s no shame in running” equivocates to him saying, “there’s no shame in being feminine, you don’t have to ‘fight like a man’ to be brave.” Knowing when to surrender or leave a situation is brave, too. Just like when Eddie escaped his toxic father and went to live with Wayne. Eddie doesn’t conform to society’s rules about how he should present/behave/express himself, and he wants nothing more than for others to join him too—to find freedom in nonconformity.
So then why does he attack the bats? This is a tricky question to answer, but I think it boils down to one thing: Eddie wants to feel like a man. Think about it, Eddie idolizes Steve. He watched Steve fight off the demobats, rip one apart with his bare hands, and dive head-first into Lover’s Lake. In Eddie’s mind, Steve is a “real man.” What else does Steve have that Eddie (in his mind) doesn’t? Dustin’s undying devotion and approval. Steve is brave, strong, and protective. He would set the world on fire for Dustin if it meant keeping him safe. Eddie is incredibly jealous of their bond, which we see in the forest scene, and believes if he can make himself more like Steve (more of a man), maybe he can win over Dustin, too.
There is also the matter of Chrissy. Eddie was the last person to see Chrissy alive, he should have saved her, right? Instead, he ran away and hid in the woods for a week (I’m not saying Eddie was wrong for doing this, I’m analyzing his motivation and though process). He ran away “like a girl.” He had a very “feminine” reaction, falling to the ground and screaming rather than fighting to wake her. He feels incredibly guilty for this reaction and vows to avenge her death on whatever mean necessary. When he’s climbing the rope for the last time IN THE VERY PLACE CHRISSY DIED, he realizes he’s doing it again, he’s running away, “acting like a girl.” So he stops himself, despite Dustin’s heartbreaking cries to stop, and fight for his friends “like a man.”
And what happens because of this choice? He is eaten alive by bats and dies. Yikes. What does this say about masculinity and the “hero” complex? Maybe “running away” and getting yourself and your partner to safety is equally as brave as fighting. Knowing when to be “feminine” and step away from a situation rather than escalate it and ruin it for everyone is brave—especially for someone like Eddie.
Now, what does this mean for Will? Well, we know Will so excellent at hiding, both in the real world and the Upside Down and has many feminine qualities that make him the target of severe homophobia. He probably doesn’t think of himself as much of a “man,” which is heartbreaking. The S1E1 moment with the gun, when he lowers it, defines his character and foreshadows his future success. Will is not afraid to be himself, to be someone his father would not approve of, because it is his nonconformity, his apparent femininity that saved his life. His gayness, his artistic talent, his gentleness, ARE NOT WEAKNESSES, THEY ARE HIS STRENGTH.
Will is strong not because he is tough and violent, but because he is gentle and kind, attributes typically ascribed to women. He is the exact opposite of his father, and that is his salvation. Will Byers will prove once and for all, that gay men (typically viewed as weak, “sissy,” or fragile) are some of the strongest men alive. They see the world around them and how much it hates them, yet they still choose to live authentically, one of the bravest acts a human can do. I wish Will could have met Eddie, could have seen someone so unapologetically themselves, and found strength and solace in that bond, but he will have to find it himself.
Does that mean Will won’t fight given the chance, absolutely not. That boy wants to rip Vecna apart piece by piece. Why? Because Vecna made him feel ashamed of his femininity. He made Will want to hide himself from the world and try to fit in the “masculine mold” the world told him to fill. So what does killing Vecna mean for Will? It means tearing down that toxic voice in the back of his head telling him he’s unworthy, unlovable, and disgusting for having these feelings, loving Mike, and choosing to live as his authentic self. Vecna represents Mental Illness, the inner-self critic, and intrusive thoughts. Will using his powers (his gayness) to obliterate this virus (word that’s been used to describe the Upside Down) is groundbreaking. Will’s gayness, his softness, and his femininity are not the reason he’s going to die, they’re the reason he’s going to survive. Vecna will die from the power of gayness and self-love, and I think that’s pretty damn heroic.
The song “Heroes” by David Bowie coming back over and over with regards to Will is so perfectly executed it makes me want to scream. Bowie was known for being queer, gender-bending, and being unapologetically himself. He didn’t let others tell him to present, he did whatever he wanted. If people didn’t like it, that’s fine. The idea of the Party being “Heroes” is not about them stepping up and performing some egregious masculine act to eradicate the Upside Down. It’s about them embracing themselves for who they are inside and harnessing that power to vanquish the negativity of the outside world. It’s not about guns, flamethrowers, and Molotov cocktails, it’s about the fireballs that bubble up inside until you can’t take it anymore and come roaring out through your fingers. It’s about using what’s already inside of you to fight.
Glinda tells Dorothy at the end of the Wizard of Oz that she never actually needed the Ruby Slippers, she had the power inside of her. Why didn’t she tell Dorothy in the beginning (when it would have been extremely convenient)? Because Dorothy wasn’t ready. She didn’t understand the power she held and needed the guidance of her friends and their strength. Only then was she able to find the strength and courage within herself. Could Will have benefited from knowing about his powers in Season 1, yes definitely. But would he have understood them? Would he have known how to control them? Could he have hurt someone? Also yes. Will needed time to grow, develop, and understand the seriousness of his powers. Will has a gift and, while it may take him a while to fully understand and come to terms with this gift, it will be the thing that sets him free. He will harness the power within himself and use it to banish the Upside Down forever—with his Lime Green Fireballs (iykyk). He will be the Final Girl.
Will Byers Re: Gender Expression
This is a topic that I have I've included at least partially in other analyses regarding Will, although I don't think I've actually made it into it's own post despite maybe answering an ask about it. I may have engaged with this conversation lightly, although I've felt compelled recently to try and make a whole post about it.
What is Will's gender expression within the universe of the show, and how does it operate in the narrative?
Gender Expression in the 80's vs. Now
Ideas about gender were different in the 80's than it is in the 2020's. If we plucked Will out of the show and compared him to other boys now, would he be considered gender non-conforming?
Even if Stranger Things takes place in the eighties, is also still a show that is being written now by people who are working with a more modern idea of gender, as opposed to being actually made in the eighties by people who may share the same ideologies of the time. Eighties films are a lot more rigid in ideas of gender, and a lot more lax when pulling out "fag" as a joke whenever a male character showed any sign of sensitivity.
So if the creators want a character that does not conform to the gender norms of the time period then this would have to be supported by the text. Thankfully, this idea of gender non-conformity is one of the earliest characterizations of Will in the show with the Hopper-Joyce police station scene.
Will's non-conformity to his gender is highlighted with a point of contrast from Hopper. When he goes missing, Hopper tries to calm Joyce by using his own experiences and other boys his age as an example.
But that doesn't work, because in Joyce's own words, "He's not like you, he's not like most." and the rest of the conversation suggests that this is related to his perceived queerness. He's sensitive, he likes art (not mentioned in this dialogue, but important to his character) and he wears clothes that other kids don't like. Since Will isn't actually present for most of the season, this dialogue is important for his characterization.
We do see a little bit of his character in the opening. It's fleeting, but it's still there. When Will races home to escape the demogorgon, we see him pet Chester upon arrival. Will's life is in danger, but he takes the time to greet his dog— a small, but important bit of character work. After failing to outrun the monster and contact the police, as a last resort, Will runs into the shed where he hastily loads a rifle, and holds up the phallic, destructive weapon in front of him.
As the monster closes in, he freezes and lowers the weapon, choosing not to go the violent route.
Language and ideology surrounding gender and sexuality change overtime, and in the age of social media, this change happens even more rapidly. Would Will label himself as gender non-conforming, or any other related labels? Of course the idea of gender roles and identity did exist in the eighties, but would Will have access to that knowledge and vocabulary, especially within a small conservative town in Indiana with not much internet access? But that's not really the point. It's not about whether or not Will Byers would identify as gnc by today's standards, the question is "Is Will Byers considered gnc within the setting of the show" in which the text states this.
Is Will's choice to non-conform a conscious one? Well, whenever Will's gender expression is contested, or the more masculine option is present, Will continues to be himself. Lonnie took Will to baseball games to get him to like more "manly" things, but Will sticks to what he loves. When all of his friends got him Star Wars toys for his birthday, all he wanted to do was make art instead.
Production and Noah's Casting
The Montauk pitch deck gives us a look into the creators intentions with Will, including that he doesn't fall into the 80's idea of normalcy. Not everything in the pitch deck made it into the show, such as Mike's birth mark or Joyce being a "tough, long island mom" but this initial characterization does make its way into the show and is supported by the evidence I provided above.
Considering that Will is not on screen for much for season one, he needs to create a strong impression with the audience right off the bat, and a lot of that has to come from the actors appearance. How he was cast, as is the case with any character, is vital to communicating this characterization.
In an interview with Teen Vogue, casting director Carmen Cuba said the following:
“Noah’s audition was really special because it really informed our need for finding someone who was young and innocent but who had a strong charisma that would keep the viewers interested in why these kids were so dedicated to finding him,"
It's not that Noah was necessarily a feminine kid (although I don't know him personally, so I can't say for sure what he was like at that age) but choosing a boy who was two years younger than his intended age, and much smaller than the rest of his co-stars, is definitely intentional.
As actors age and their bodies change in unexpected ways, especially under circumstances as unexpected as a global pandemic, there are still things that production can do to maintain this same characterization. Post-pandemic Noah was seen as "buff" by audience members (even though he isn't really that buff) but the ST costuming department did make the conscious decision to cover up the muscle on his upper arms.
This simple costuming decision is also much more ethical then forcing child actors to make drastic changes to their body, such as forcing Noah to lose weight in order to fulfill that small and scrawny look he had in earlier seasons. (I really don't like that they did have David Harbour do this, although David is at least a much older adult who consented to that dramatic shift in body weight)
Will Plays a Feminine Role in the Narrative
Will’s femininity doesn’t just extend to his characterization, but the role that Will plays in the story, especially in seasons one and two, is one that is often occupied by female characters, which I’ve talked about before. Many of the inspirations for Will’s character are women (Laura Palmer and Regan Macneil) and many of his contemporaries are women too. The character in the show who serves a similar function to Will but for the side plot is also female (Barb).
In the introduction to her book, Men, Women, and Chainsaws, author Carol J. Clover talks about the discrepancies between male and female roles within horror, and stories in general.
“In fact, of course, males and females are not evenly distributed over the categories. The functions of monster and hero are far more frequently represented by males and the function of victim far more garishly by females. The fact that female monsters and female heroes, when they do appear, are masculine in dress and behavior (and often even name), and that male victims are shown in feminine postures at the moment of their extremity, would seem to suggest that gender inheres in the function itself—that there is something about the victim function that wants manifestation in a female, and something about the monster and hero function that wants expression in a male.”
Will’s role as the victim may not be exclusive to men, as Will himself is an exception to this, but the role itself is a feminine one. This post isn’t about El, but since El is essentially the hero of the story, it may be no coincidence that she is styled as gender ambiguous. She wears her pink dress in the climax sure, but she tears off the blonde wig and her shaved head is exposed for the final confrontation with the demogorgon. The internal conflict that El finds herself in, between monster and hero, are two male roles.
A quick side note on El and her own gender expression, I believe that what the first season is getting at is that the forcing of El into this male role while also denying her of her femininity is a tragedy for her character, and the answer isn’t to take that masculine side away from her but to allow her to explore her feminine side to become whole. If this is the intention of the show, however, they haven’t quite reached that point yet.
Clover goes on to explain more about this narrative discrepancy:
"Jurij Lotman has suggested that there are really only two 'characters' (subject positions or functions) in myth: a mobile, heroic being who crosses boundaries and “penetrates” closed spaces, and an immobile being who personifies that damp, dark space and constitutes that which is to be overcome.”
The monster of the show is coded as male (even before we knew there was an actual male behind it) with its penetrating vines, and Will choosing to point the gun at the demogorgon in the beginning of the show was a masculine act. Will’s decision to lower the gun, and evade the monster through fleeing and hiding rather than attack, was a feminine one.
Of course what makes Will unique from his female contemporaries is the fact that he is a boy, which must be providing some kind of gender commentary, otherwise Will could have just been a girl. I do think the show is trying to say something positive with this. While people in town may suspect that his girlishness is the reason he was targeted in the first place, Will survives not in spite of this, but because of this. Will’s decision to run and hide, the feminine one, made him outlast the demogorgon much longer than he would have otherwise.
I have speculated before on Will’s future role in season five, which is admittedly the more masculine role of “hero.” One that takes inspiration from other male characters such as Frodo Baggins, Harry Potter, and even Jesus Christ himself. If Will is to “penetrate” the Upside Down by choosing to cross into it of his own will, this would be a masculine act. But this act of masculinity doesn’t have to come at the expense of his feminine role and characteristics. Will doesn’t have to overcome his feminine traits, being soft, sensitive, or into art, in order to come into his own. And on top of that, Will being the hero doesn’t have to erase his feminine role in the story. The victim-hero is another role in horror that female characters often take up, usually in the form of the final girl. If Will is the hero then there comes the question of “who is the victim?” and the answer doesn’t have to be a different character. Will is now the hero, and he’s still the victim. The person he is saving is himself.