Gender Stereotypes In David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly

In the play M. Butterfly, David Henry Hwang portrays examples of how the practice of Orientalism and race and gender stereotypes in western culture functioned in the relationship between Gallimard and Song and he subverts these stereotypes towards the end of the play. It is apparent that Hwang is showing us how Song played up to the exploited image of Oriental women as demure and submissive and used Gallimard’s exotic and imperialistic view of the East to trick Gallimard for Song’s own needs. The scene where Toulon is asking Gallimard for advice about what to tell the Americans is a perfect example Orientalism. Toulon comes to Gallimard because he is the one with an “Oriental” mistress and he thinks he would have better insight into the eastern way of thinking. This shows Orientalism is already at play. Toulon already assumes that Orientals think and react differently from themselves, the westerners. Gallimard further pushes the envelope by insisting to Toulon that the Orientals are “just like us” and
From Gallimard’s position, he has inadvertently made Song subordinate to him while we know that Song has actually tricked Gallimard into this position and actually has the upper hand Because Gallimard, true to his western, “Orientalized” way of thinking, already had stereotypes about Oriental women and Song was able to manipulate “herself” to fit into that mold and essentially had Gallimard construct his sense of manhood from their relationship. In the dichotomy set up by Orientalism, the West is strong because the East is weak. In the dichotomy set up by Gallimard and Song's relationship, he is strong and manly because she is submissive and feminine. Song says late in the play that the perfect woman can only be created by a man. Consequently, by Song taking on the persona of a woman, Gallimard had the notion that he had "the perfect