Queering John Wayne

Was he ‘masculine’—or acting?

What do people mean by the word “masculine” — and why is John Wayne is so often associated with this trait? The Hollywood actor wasn’t even named ‘John Wayne’.

He was Marion Morrison, called ‘Duke’. He was a chess-player, a dancer, a bit femme in his bearing. He was an actor who played a part of a cowboy largely created by John Ford, a closeted gay director from Maine.

He’s known as an icon of “masculinity.”

Many seem not to know it was an illusion, mere moviemaking. We can follow a young ‘Duke’ who grew up in Southern California—an athlete, playing football, surfing.

Is he ultra-masculine?

His looks can change very unexpectedly.

This seems to be a man who sank into the roles he played, a shape-shifting being, a chameleon. An actor.