In response to a little prompting from manhattangirl on another thread, I start this thread I asked ... Was Jack Gay?
This is a question that's intrigued me for a long while. Frankly, I'm an Ennis girl, but Jack is just about as complicated . It has been touched upon breifly in other threads, I had it in mind back when I started a thread called " How Did Jack and Ennis Really See Each Other? Much has been made of Ennis's sexuality , a hotly debated thread dedicated to it , but what about Jack?
imo, the gaze in which he held Ennis totally captive with in FNIT, says "yeah Ennis... I am". So, how did Jack honestsly see himself sexually? Here's my take:
He, like Ennis married a woman too and had a son. But outside of that , it was the company of men he obviously preferred. Ennis, a male, being his number 1 preference of course , he was in love with him, but there were other males, Randall, the rodeo clown, and male hustlers, in Mexico, when he could have very well paid for the company of women....Jack's father alluded to Jack coming back and *building a cabin *which meant that Jack ,was at one point, may have been planning on living at LF with one of these two men. Never spoke of a woman on the mountain during campfire talks, where most 19 yr old guys can't wait to relay their....ahem... latest "conquests"... to their freinds. Instead he spoke of father's failures, his mother and her religion, rodeoing...etc. He was different.
And ladies, be honest now, if you could put yourself in Ennis's place in those opening scenes .would'nt you feel a *comon* coming on? I mean the way he practically preened himself across that truck and the stare? ...Jesus! so open and daring. then secretly looking at Ennis through the sideview window while he shaved. It was down right sultry. I think he was saying from the beginning .." this is who I am". Am I wrong ? Was there a physical attraction there from the start.? Could Jack look at Ennis and say to himself " damn, he's hot " just like a woman would? Or is it different for men? These things are no means the sum of Jack as a whole, but personally I think he was gay. did'nt have the issues Ennis had with it. Some say that Ennis was only capable of falling in love with Jack , actually I go back and forth on it and it's definitly open for speculation,, but could the same be said about Jack?
Both of their sexualities were ultimatlely tested by marriages to Alma and Lureen. They both now had something to compare their unique love to. After only 4 yrs, he'd had enough of the Newsomes , felt he did'nt belong in that place. and he sure seemed to be more of a novice with Lureen in the back seat of that car than he with Ennis in FNIT,.
With whom did Jack feel that he was most happiest? It's obvious, Both marriages to women failed because these two men already fell in love and could'nt deny each other. They went into marriage , lived it ,and came out on the other side of it running straight back into each other's arms like sanctuary , where it felt safe, comforting and free and at peace. and still..in love. Was he Gay? whatever, it was real. I know, it's alot to digest, alotta questions...but ...well?
