Doing the Full Monty with Dirk and Jane: Using the Phallus to Validate Marginalized Masculinities

Through three current mainstream films. The Full Monty, Boogie Nights, and G. I. Jane, this paper explores how men who are marginalized by the dominant culture because of their social identities, such as race, class, sexual orientation, or age, may reclaim a more powerful identity by publicly displaying the “ultimate insignia of masculinity,” the penis. Additionally, the article also demonstrates how women may also appropriate the phallus to elevate their social status. Ultimately, it is through the public presentation of the phallus that those on the margins may move toward the center.