Bear with me, I am attempting to get myself back into blogging regularly, and where else would I start but the beautiful, talented, wonderful character that is Peeta Mellark? Linda Holmes described Peeta as a ‘movie girlfriend’, and she’s not wrong.
Don’t get me wrong: In real life, we all know couples of all gender alignments who operate in this way and in lots of other ways, whether they’re male-female or two guys or two women or whatever; there’s absolutely nothing about baking, physical strength, or emotional accessibility that is inherently gendered in real life for real humans with any consistency. But the movies, or at least the big movies, are different. Going by the traditional Hollywood rules, make no mistake: Peeta is a Movie Girlfriend. (Article can be read here.)
So here is my own personal breakdown of 5 of my favourite Peeta Mellark quotes from the Hunger Games trilogy which prove to me that he defies gender norms and becomes a beacon of hope for young boys and feminists alike.
- And then he gives me a smile that just seems so genuinely sweet with just the right touch of shyness that unexpected warmth rushes through me.
What more can I say but that ‘sweet’ is not a word commonly associated with a typical male love interest in today’s media and most definitely not ‘shyness’. Katniss quite clearly reacts in a very physical way to this and displays that sweet, shy men can be attractive to women. - “Tomorrow’s a hunting day,” I say. “I won’t be much help with that,” Peeta says. “I’ve never hunted before.” “I’ll kill and you cook,” I say. “And you can always gather.”
This quote was written for this blog post, I swear. The typical man is a ‘hunter’ and the woman is a ‘gatherer’, but this quote completely turns that concept on it’s head quite blatantly and without a punchline. Great job Collins! - Peeta genuinely seems to enjoy this station, swirling a combination of mud and clay and berry juices around on his pale skin, weaving disguises from vines and leaves. The trainer who runs the camouflage station is full of enthusiasm at his work. “I do the cakes,” he admits to me.
Creativity and bakery are often not associated with being masculine, but here Peeta quite unabashedly displays his love of icing cakes, creating intricate patterns and how typically frivolous feminine hobbies can actually be useful and enjoyed by all, despite your gender. - On the night I feel that thing again, the hunger that overtook me on the beach, I know this would have happened anyway. That what I need to survive is not Gale’s fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that.
Katniss admits that what she needs from a male love interest isn’t power or strength, but simply hope and optimism. Peeta here is associated with ‘rebirth’ and ‘life’ – things which are typically feminine due to the associations with childbirth. Additionally Peeta is not depicted as being a saviour for Katniss – someone who could swoop in and save her from the darkness, but instead he provides the opportunity for Katniss to save herself and have a good life again. - “You’re still trying to protect me. Real or not real,” he whispers. “Real,” I answer. It seems to require more explanation. “Because that’s what you and I do. Protect each other.”
Katniss and Peeta save each other time and time again. Who needs the typical male saviour when you can be equals who protect each other?
Want to read more? Check out these articles!
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2013/12/12/the-hunger-games-gender-role-revolution/
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