Arrested Development and Philosophy_ They've Made a Huge Mistake - Kristopher G. Phillips [53]
10. Polysemy is a term that identifies one word with multiple meanings. Consider when Buster knocks on Lucille 2’s door to find her making a stew with Carl Weathers. Lucille 2 to Buster: “Hey, Buster. Gee, I thought you had class.” Buster to Lucille 2: “I thought you had class.” The term class refers the first time to attending a university course and the second time to a type of elevated personal character.
11. Homophony refers to two different words that have the same pronunciation but differ in meaning. My favorite example: “The Seaward” and the “C-Word.” But an equally funny one: “Lucille” and “loose seal.”
12. Special thanks to Molly, who thinks that the opportunity to write on Arrested Development and philosophy is at least as exciting as being the president of a “Don’t Buy” company. It’s really happening, isn’t it?
Chapter 10
TO BIAS TOBIAS
Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Arrested Development
Darci Doll
How to Solve a Problem Like Tobias
At first Tobias Fünke might simply seem clueless and socially awkward. As we learn more about him, however, his peculiarities center on questions about his gender and sexual identity. Many times throughout Arrested Development Tobias’s sexual orientation gets called into question. Despite a variety of suggestions and implications, the answers to the questions about Tobias’s sexuality are not revealed, and as a result we find ourselves analyzing his behavior in the hopes of seeing the man inside Tobias Fünke.
While figuring out just what Tobias’s deal is might be important, what we can learn about gender from him is even more important. As we question Tobias’s gender and sexuality, our own preconceptions come to light. These revelations help identify social presumptions, stereotypes, and biases about gender. In light of this, Tobias presents more than just a puzzle to be solved. He also presents a lesson to be learned.
A Gender Enigma
Of the many questions raised about Tobias, perhaps the most obvious is whether he’s gay or straight. From the beginning of the series Tobias’s sexuality is called into question. At the end of the first episode, Tobias exclaims, “What an adventure! Gang, I thought the homosexuals were pirates . . . I was waiting for the universe to provide a path . . .” Lindsay interrupts with, “You’re gay.” To which Tobias responds, “No, no . . . Lindsay how many times must we have this. . . .” Tobias’ sexual orientation has been, and will be, an issue for quite a while.
Throughout the series we see Tobias in compromising situations and locations (how could we forget Tobias’s favorite nightclub, The Queen Mary?). Then there’s Tobias’s penchant for unfortunate double entendres, such as this one from “Ready, Aim, Marry Me”: “Unfortunately, I seem to have prematurely shot my wad on what was supposed to be a dry run, and now I’m left with something of a mess on my hands.” We’re perplexed by Tobias in general, and about his sexual orientation in particular. A primary cause of our confusion is that Tobias possesses and acts upon both feminine and masculine traits. Such a combination tends to raise questions about gender and sexual orientation. In the case of Tobias, we can say he’s an enigma because he has an ambiguous gender.
Since Simone de Beauvoir’s groundbreaking 1949 work The Second Sex, philosophers have drawn a distinction between sex and gender. Discussion about sex tends to involve biology—one’s reproductive, chromosomal, and hormonal traits. Gender, on the other hand, involves behaviors and the attitudes we have toward them.1 As the saying goes, sex is between the legs; gender is between the ears. Typically, the feminine gender is associated with traits such