Boys on the Side
In the film Boys on the Side, the characters present everything very “matter-of-factly�. From the beginning, they are who they are and they don’t feel the need to justify anything. I think this is the main way the movie skirts the issues of homophobia and racism, while flirting with the idea of lesbian love and interracial friendship. For example, Whoopi’s character is the epitome of a strong black woman, and Robin embodies sort of a nerdy, white girl stereotype. Although these stereotypes are so emphasized, the film seems to present them in a way so that they “fit together� and the opposing features work out somehow. When watching the film, the viewer never feels the need to question the identities of the characters because they are presented so strongly from the very beginning. These strong binaries oppose each other, but in a way that also allows them to exist without problems. The film shows us that the lesbian love is accepted through the acceptance of the characters’ friends. It also addresses interracial friendships by sort of mocking the stereotypes of the two main characters. It emphasizes their differences and exaggerates the opposing features of the two binaries. In this way, the film presents them to us in a way that says “this is who we are. Deal with it�.