Masculinity Southern style is portrayed foremost in Mitchell’s GWTW by two main characters, Rhett and Scarlett. Scarlett? One might say—femininity incarnate, masculine? YES, because masculinity, especially south of the Mason-Dixon Line, was explicitly seen residing in one who acted as the protector, and Scarlett, though after the war, was just that. But she is an unwitting protector. She works in the hospital helping wounded soldiers, takes care of Melanie when she’s going to have her baby, all because she is forced by circumstance to do it. And after the most grueling part of Melanie’s ordeal and the “Yankees” are approaching, she goes to find a man (Rhett) after all the men have denied her rescue. Then, even Rhett, drenched in “complete masculinity” abandons her on her way to Tara. Scarlett is feminine in appearance but she takes on the male role in her actions or at least as much as she is able. You can almost hear her say, “Oh God that I were a man! I’d eat his heart in the market place.”

She uses those attribues that are perceived as “feminine;” beauty, charm, manipulation to get what she wants. And having men under her spell makes her a leader of men. She likes having the ability to make them do as she wishes. And if she is to be guilty by association or by opposites, it could be said that she acts directly against the feminine ideal: she is not maternal with Wade, she is not long suffering, and she does not lack desire. Her feminine foil would definitely be Melanie. When Rhett kisses her on the road to Tara after they get the hell out of Atlanta, she has the equivalent of a female “hard-on,” even the hair on the back of her neck stands up as he pushes his “hard thighs” (yeah right) against her body. She says she does not love Rhett, but she does desire him, just as he desires her. She can separate lust and love. In contrast, though Melanie clearly understands and loves Ashley, if he had kissed her the way Rhett kissed Scarlett, she would have huddled in a corner and said, “I’m in a happy place. I’m in a happy place.” Even Rhett names Scarlett’s masculine side. He is without question described as “completely masculine,” and represented as the most masculine man in GWTW, yet when he semi-confesses his love for Scarlett in Atlanta, he says that he likes/loves her because she is just like him. Hmmm…makes you wonder.

Another masculine representation is the “Daddy,” and Mitchell’s men are blatantly the grown-ups who have a heavy responsibility to take care of those weaker, those not as smart or clever, and those that are helpless. This grown-up persona begins at the Wilkes’ BBQ when all the “girls” get their “beauty sleep” or take naps before the big ball that night. They don’t want to trouble their pretty heads with all that complex political stuff—let the men, who know best take care of all that. Note that Scarlett is not on her mat on the floor in the big room waiting for juice and cookies later like her female counterparts. She does sink into “femininity” when she breaks down in front of Rhett and he calms and soothes her like a child. She even says that he smells like her father. (ewww!) That is wrong on so many levels.

Honor at all costs even when you don’t believe in the cause is a biggie with Mitchell men. Ashley and even Rhett (later on) fight in a war they don't believe in. “He thinks the war is all wrong but he’s willing to fight and die anyway, and that takes lots more courage than fighting for something you think is right.” Did I miss something here? Is a village in Georgia missing its idiot?

Riding, hunting, drinking, eating, and whoring all seem to be a regional pastime with the majority of Southern men. The Tarleton boys are “rough and ready” and manly men doing manly things. Even Rhett has occasional “parties” with Belle Watly, and though Prissy would not go into the bahr to get him, his being there has no suggestion of real shame. It’s just what men do—just don’t ask and don’t tell.

Another aspect which some men exhibit in the book which seems distinctly different than most of the women is a love of culture as shown through their interest in music, literature, and education. Ashley and Rhett like to drop literary and historical quotes here and there, allusions that Scarlett is completely oblivious to. They’ve been abroad, and they’ve read because a refined man of the South needs to know these things. But Mitchell does give exceptions. Melanie seems to be Ashley’s soul mate because she “gets” those things, and the Tarleton boys have no interest in an education outside of the woods or parties. Likewise, if Rhett were gay, he could easily take the stead of fashion advisor on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. He had a head for style. Mitchell likes to mix it up, dipping the men and women in and out of their rigid gender roles.

Though I think Mitchell allows for Rhett and Scarlett and the gang to have their moments of “out of gender” body experiences, I think as a whole, GWTW embraces stereotypical gender roles. In fact, the book (along with the movie) has done more than any singular popular event to perpetuate the cult of Southern masculinity and femininity. I wonder how many divorces, confused and frustrated sexualities, and gender expectation guilt can be attributed to Scarlett’s green eyes and Rhett’s Panama hat.