Stereotypes In David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly

The women of Asia are oftentimes objectified because of exoticism and fetishes about the stereotypical Asian woman – submissive, accommodating, passive, meek, and agreeable. In reality, several Asian cultures treasure their women because they believe that the female species is the only source of life. Hence, the women of Asia are respected and valued, catered to by the men and given only the best treatment and offerings. The play M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang includes inaccurate representations of the Asian and Western cultures, mostly those concerning the stereotypical Asian woman and the Westerners with whom they interact in order to depict the often-warped relationship of the East and the West. In particular, Hwang describes the relationship of two characters, Song Liling – a Chinese actor pretending to be a woman – and Rene Gallimard – a French diplomat imprisoned for treason – to reveal the false perceptions the East and the West have of each other. Hwang elucidates the interaction between the East and the West through his degradation of masculine tendencies, ironic use of stereotypes, and implication of “rape mentality.”
In M. Butterfly, Hwang’s exemplification of masculine predispositions demonstrates how the Easterners view male Westerners. He supposes
Rape is the act of sex without verbal consent from one of the parties involved – it has been an issue which still has not been resolved in today’s society, let alone in the 19th century. The common misconception of rapists is that they assume that the victim wants to be dominated or raped – because of the way that they dress, act, or speak – when they don’t. Women dress for themselves, not for the prying eyes of the men around them – they want to be able to look into a mirror and say that they are beautiful, and not get catcalled on the streets. When Song