Tenth Post

Implications about Gender in the film Fight Club.
In the film, the narrator's character has an alternate personality named Tyler. Tyler is in a very physical relationship with a desperate woman named Marla. The relationship between Marla and the narrator is one of both love and hate, on the outside he seems to loathe her, yet on the inside, he has deep feelings for the self destructive and promiscuous woman. The film portrays women in a very negative manner, with the main character saying things multiple times throughout the film that reflect his belief that women are weak, worthless, and unable to be strong, independent individuals. Despite the narrator's negative attitude towards Marla, he quickly rushes to her side when she calls him for help. This shows the narrator's character is more weak than he would like to admit. He even exhibits some very feminine qualities early on in the film such as an obsession with furniture shopping and his passivity/submissiveness towards his male boss. Subconsciously, the narrator knows he does not possess the masculine qualities that society expects of him and creates the alternate personality, Tyler. Tyler is the epitome of a man's man. He is cocky, confident, strong, brave, and does not care in the least about conforming to societal expectations. He is portrayed with both rugged appearances and antics and a complete disregard for authority. Tyler is everything the narrator wishes he could be, and even becomes jealous when Tyler steals Marla away from him for sexual purposes. The narrator and Tyler symbolize the feminine and masculine qualities that are both present inside of every human, whether male or female and whether one side is being repressed or not by the individual.