Masculinity In The Big Lebowski

With its phallic musical dream sequences, belligerent characters, and Gulf War backdrop, The Big Lebowski is saturated with masculinity overtones. In stark contrast to this theme of masculinity, the Dude is one of the least manly characters in the film. His aversion to violence, partiality for feminine cocktails, and lack of job and ambitions all go against what most of us would consider characteristic of a man. Despite all of his failures at traditional manhood, the Stranger, the iconic man of western film, asserts that the Dude is “the man for his time and place.” In “Logjammin’ and Gutterballs: Masculinities in The Big Lebowski,” Dennis Allen interprets the Stranger’s assertion and the entire theme of masculinity in the film as a critique of “a variety of more or less culturally acceptable definitions of the masculine” (388). Although Allen’s analysis of the masculine theme in The Big Lebowski is correct, he misinterprets the role of the Dude within this theme. Allen believes the Dude, like the other characters of the film, represents a slacker masculinity that has become popular in today’s culture. While there is evidence to support Allen’s claim, this interpretation of the Dude does not address the flawed masculinity presented through the other characters of the film. I contend that the Dude is “the man for his time n’ place”

because he challenges traditional male stereotypes and the very idea of gender.
To begin to understand the role of the Dude as the ideal man of the film, we must first ask, as the Big Lebowski famously does, “What makes a man?” With the exception of the Dude, the film provides us with a number of characters that embody different aspects of manhood. Each of these definitions of masculinity proves to be comically flawed and unsuccessful. In this sense, The Big Lebowski can be thought of as a “queer film” that “present characters whose sexual identity challenges the dominant social belief” (Redmon).
The most obvious aspect of masculinity presented in the film is the stereotypical tough guy definition of manhood presented through the character of Walter Sojack. In Walter we see a hyper-masculine character that constantly relies on violence and aggression as solutions to his problems. His form of masculinity is dominating and overpowering to the point that he emasculates meeker characters like Donnie. In many regards Walter seems to quite literally be “the man for his time n’ place.” Walter and his aggressive war mentality seem well suited for the Gulf War crisis that backdrops the entire film. Walter even uses the line “this aggression will not stand,” a direct quote from George H.W. Bush, when convincing the Dude to get retribution for his rug.
Despite his hyper masculine nature, Walter does not display aggression indiscriminately. Rather, because of his desire for order and regulation, Walter seems to operate on a set of rules that, if broken, demand aggressive retribution. He is seen operating in this manner when he threatens to shoot Smokey over an insignificant bowling dispute, justifying his actions by asking, “Am I the only one who gives a shit about the rules?” In this regard, Walter is a slave to his rules of masculinity and manhood. He does not choose to pick fights because he is willing to take a stand for what he believes in. Rather, he is obliged to pick fights because his identity as a male demands him to do so. This characterization of Walter reveals a flaw in his variety of manhood. Walter and others like him do not subscribe to a particular variety of manhood because they believe in the ideas embodied by it. They chose to subscribe because they find it easier to cling to an established and structured form of masculinity than to craft a new unregulated and untested form. It is because of this fundamental flaw in his definition of masculinity that the Stranger did not choose Walter as his ideal for a man.
In addition to the hyper masculinity presented through Walter, the film presents a “nineteenth century masculine ideal based on actions and accomplishments” through the character of the Big Lebowski (Allen 388). Lebowski, in his suit and tie, represents a capitalist ideal of masculinity. Lebowski portrays a strong willed and argumentative individual who judges the worth of a man on his achievements, judging the Dude to be nothing more than “a bum.” Although Lebowski labels himself to great man, we see multiple debilitating flaws in his definition of manhood. His disdain for lower classes and blatant racism has no place in modern society and is a clear fault in his definition of manhood. Because of his exaggerated emphasis on achievement and accomplishments, there seems to be something fraudulent about Lebowski and his manhood. While most people live and die struggling and working toward a high societal standard, Lebowski falsifies his own identity in order to reach this standard.
The critical flaw in Lebowski’s definition of manhood is the enslavement to an image of masculinity. Everything that Lebowski does is in service to what he, as a capitalist, believes a man should present himself as. He marries a young and beautiful trophy wife to compensates for his societal status as a cripple. He takes part in numerous charitable organizations because he believes a true man flaunts his power and wealth. When Lebowski is finally revealed as a fraud, we see the truth behind his charade. We find out that his stories of accomplishment were all fabrications, and that he is nothing more than an insecure shell of a man confined to a wheelchair. Lebowski is further emasculated when we find out his money belonged to his deceased wife, and he, like Bunny, does nothing but loaf around spending it. Behind the wall of accolades and awards and the façade of wealth, Lebowski is nothing more than a hollow and valueless individual.
The least obvious definition of manhood presented in The Big Lebowski comes from Maude. Although it seems stranger to examine Maude’s character from a masculine perspective, the decision is logical considering her actions and behaviorisms are more aligned with those of men than of women. Despite her claims of being a feminist, Maude follows a distinctly male power structure and displays a distinctly male pattern of sexual interaction. She surrounds herself with incredibly effeminate men in an effort to emphasize her own masculinity. In her relationship with her father, Maude financially dominates the Big Lebowski. She controls all of his wealth and holds all of the power, leaving him “a reasonable allowance” primarily out of pity. In her sexual encounter with the Dude, Maude not only instigates the act, a role reversal of a stereotypical sexual encounter, but also manipulates the Dude to unknowingly conceive a child.
Although Maude represents one of the most unconventional definitions of masculinity in the film, she, like the Big Lebowski and Walter, is not the ideal man for her time. The critical flaw in Maude’s variant of masculinity is her egotistical desire for power and independence. This characterization of Maude is evident in her seduction of the Dude and her desire to have her own child. Maude’s desire to raise a child independently is so strong that she turns to an unemployed stranger who she knows will have no interest in the child. Moreover, the way she deceives the Dude into giving her a child shows how little value Maude places on his life. Her treatment of the Dude as a disposable commodity is deplorable and parallels the way Jackie Treehorn, a pornographer, treats women. In the tradition of a “queer film,” Maude seeks to redefine her identity as a woman by challenging “the dominant social belief” (Redmon). Despite her efforts to transcend the gender divide, ultimately she does nothing more than trade one gender role in for another.
Throughout The Big Lebowski, we are presented with a number of characters that embody culturally acceptable definitions of masculinity. Walter, who embodies a typical tough guy character, is subservient to a set of rules that dictate what a man must do in every situation. The Big Lebowski, the embodiment of capitalistic achievement masculinity, is similarly subservient to an image of what a man must present himself as. Finally, Maude, who displays a queer form of masculinity, is consumed by her desire to dominate and control. These characters are all fundamentally flawed in their masculinity and are victims to their male identities.
In stark contrast to these forms of popular masculinity is the character of the Dude. The Dude is a self-professed pacifist and avoids confrontation whenever possible. He has no jobs or aspirations, claiming to do nothing but “bowl, drive around” and have “occasional acid flashbacks.” Although the Dude does not display traditional masculine characteristics, his emphasis on “a pair of testicles” making a man indicates that he does not represent a queer form of female either. By ruling out both masculinity and femininity we are left to conclude that the Dude is a representation of a unique gender that does not conform to the traditional gender identities portrayed in the film.
Because the Dude embodies such a radical concept of masculinity, he faces a form of “modernist alienation” from the rest of the masculine characters in the film (Singer). In his interactions with Walter we see that the Dude never actually has a true conversation with him. Rather, everything that the Dude says to Walter is translated into a form that Walter, and his code of masculine conduct can comprehend. This is made evident near the beginning of the film when the Dude tells Walter about the “carpet pissers.” Walter contemplates on what the Dude says, not because he sympathizes with the Dude, but rather, because he needs to evaluate the type of reaction it deserves. This disconnect culminates in Dude asking, “What the fuck are you talking about?”
In a similar fashion, the Dude’s interaction with the Big Lebowski is also rendered futile.

When the Dude first meets Lebowski and asks for compensation for his rug, he is met with a slurry of insults and a lecture on the slacker, socialist nature of “bums.” Ultimately the Dude gives up on reasoning with Lebowski and says, “Fuck it.” Lebowski, unable to process the meaning of the Dude’s statement, interprets it as further confirmation of the Dude’s slacker nature and disdain for achievement. In truth, the statement shows that the Dude realizes the futility of reasoning with an individual so consumed by masculinity and so obviously

fraud.
Maude, in a manner analogous to her father, also judges the Dude as being nothing more than a bum. In her first scene, Maude speaks at the Dude in a very condensing fashion. Because of her egotistical masculinity, she judges the Dude’s way of life as being lesser than her own and proceeds dominate her conversation with him. Despite the Dude’s attempts to talk about his rug, Maude completely ignores him and talks on. Later on in the film the scene, following their sexual encounter, Maude continues her condescending judgment of the Dude. As the Dude lists off his life story Maude appears to be detached, as if the Dude and his lowly achievements are not worth her time.
From his various interactions throughout the film the Dude is, even more so than the other masculine characters of the film, “an outsider in the modern world” (Singer). While Walter, the Big Lebowski, and Maude all cling to flawed and outdated forms of traditional masculinity, the Dude represents a foreign, more contemporary concept of masculinity that blurs the lines of gender identity rather than reinforcing them. This is precisely why the Dude is “the man for his time n’ place.” Not because he is the “caretaker of values his society has abandoned”; but rather, because he is ahead of his time and pioneers what his age should strive for (Singer).
The Big Lebowski is riddled with references to a higher order critique of masculinity. These references not only cause us to ponder the question “what makes a man?” but also the nature of the Dude’s manhood in general. Through a careful analysis of the film, The Big Lebowski presents a number of different aspects of traditional masculinity only to show all of them as flawed. As a solution to the problem of masculinity, we are presented with the character of the Dude. The Dude’s lack of conformity with traditional gender roles is precisely what distinguishes him as the ideal man for his time. In this sense the Dude is a unique “hero” for the film. Unlike a typical hero that actively seeks to correct the world, the Dude serves as a hero by simply abiding.