#i say this while writing a fic where hawkeye's jokes fuck him over lol but like he feels comfortable making them for a reason

[marley-manson]

I think it’s easy to underestimate just how much you can get away with as a joke when it comes to bi Hawkeye headcanons. Like, imo he’s not actually blatantly bisexual, as much as he comes across that way in 2022. Most people who know him aren’t going to assume he’s anything but straight.

Both speaking from my own experience and also based on my media consumption and anecdotal evidence and the gay history I’ve delved into I feel like I can confidently say that Hawkeye didn’t come across as anything but straight to 99% of straight viewers and probably most lgbt people in the 70s, and he’d be even less likely to be assumed bi in the 50s since gay jokes were in vogue even back then, fewer people knew bisexuality was even a thing, and the default image of “deviant” ppl in the typical straight mind was unpleasant and generally unlikeable to a stronger degree than in the 70s, so the popular funny dude was unlikely to be assumed to be one of them by anyone not already in the know.

If anything Hawkeye’s pacifism and communist sympathizing is the smoking gun that might lead people to jump to the fucks men conclusion with mild nudging, a la Flagg lol, and realistically defending George probably should’ve raised some eyebrows, but the gay jokes themselves aren’t really an issue imo.

Plus I can cite at least one mid century history book with anecdotes about how common gay jokes were in all-male environments especially, and how most army units had at least one funny campy jokester who everyone loved with 0 suspicion. It’s the awkward effeminate dudes who got hassled - humour and charisma (and at least in the army, competence) makes all the difference, and Hawkeye has it in spades. Plus while he’s not a pinnacle of masculinity, he’s not exactly a queen either lol, there’s nothing intrinsic to his demeanour that really singles him out as effeminate unless he’s trying to be.

I don’t think Hawkeye actually has much to worry about wrt the jokes, both because of the sitcom reality of the show, but also realistically. I have 0 issue imagining him acting similarly in his home town, or uni, or while working in a Boston hospital, and being just as popular. And within the reality of the show we see plenty of others making them too outside the main cast, esp in the early seasons when it was a common source of humour - What’s-his-name played by Alan Alda’s dad in The Consultant has a few, Stosh makes a pretty eyebrow raising comment to Hawkeye, Tommy obviously, Sam, etc.

Like I think it makes perfect sense to read Hawkeye as bi of course and I refuse to see him as anything else, but there’s a reason it’s a headcanon and he was written as a straight dude, and I find it pretty implausible that he’s eg a full on open secret wherever he goes, or that he’s endangering himself out of naivete, or anything like that.

I see him as very aware of how far he can safely go, maybe occasionally stepping over that line anyway out of defiance lol, and generally enjoying the jokes because they’re a way for him to be honest without attracting suspicion, a way to signal to guys who might be interested, and quite likely something he learned while growing up specifically to keep himself safe and turn something that could be dangerous into something that people find likeable and entertaining, thanks to a lot of charisma and good comic timing.

[marley-manson]

What are your thoughts on the homophobic Trapper headcanon? It shows up in a lot of fics, but I don't understand it at all. Like, Trapper was in George! He is on screen not homophobic!

Thanks for the ask!

Generally my thoughts are pretty negative lol.

In theory I get it to an extent in fic - like in a fic focused solely on Hawkeye/Trapper it can be a way to add tension and strife, and some people are into repression as a vehicle for drama, and if you're gonna pick one guy of these two to be repressed and full of internalized homophobia it’s not gonna be Hawkeye lol.

And if it’s a fic where he’s the evil ex and BJ’s the knight in shining armour then like, I still get it, it’s not hard to understand why people are into that, but lol it’s definitely not my thing at all. I often enjoy dark takes on characters, but I’m bored when it’s just done to make my fave perfect in comparison, and I prefer those dark takes to feel like an extension of canon, which homophobic Trapper is very much not.

(also idt I’ve ever seen homophobic Trapper in a fic where he wsn’t fucking Hawkeye lol, but if it ever was just an incidental element to a fic where they have a platonic friendship I’d definitely raise an eyebrow and go ‘why the fuck’)

And yeah like, while I can say I get it in theory, I still don’t like it, and it’s still objectively bad characterization and analysis. It’s blatantly ooc and goes against the spirit of Hawkeye and Trapper as anti-establishment rebels. As far as I can tell from what I’ve seen people say, the textual basis is one jokey exchange where Trapper pretends to be offended about guys lusting after him in Requiem for a Lightweight lol, plus maybe a few no homo-esque lines which Hawkeye also has a handful of, and if you’re prioritizing that over George plus about a hundred proud gay/effeminate jokes, you’ve clearly got an agenda here lbr. And maybe that agenda is innocuous, eg more fic drama, but yeah it definitely feels like a very biased take.

And now I want to rant a little about the “in practice” side of things, because in practice, based on headcanons and meta I’ve seen posted on tumblr, and characterization and writing choices I’ve seen in fic, the Trapper is homophobic and repressed (and defensive of his masculinity and prone to violence) headcanon is very often based on him growing up (presumably) working class. And this isn’t me assuming people’s motives, I’ve seen people directly say this multiple times lol, and I’ve seen fic that makes the direct connection, as well as fic that’s less direct, but painfully obvious in exaggerating his lower class Boston accent in dialogue and characterizing him like a stereotypical working class wifebeater.

Never mind Trapper textually and openly being a gay ally at the very least, never mind Trapper proudly declaring himself a pervert when Frank calls Klinger one, never mind Trapper freely talking about how unmasculine he is (out of shape, spent his football days on the bench) or taking the feminine role in bits with Hawkeye without blinking, never mind Hawkeye calling Trapper open and honest and supportive, never mind both Hawkeye and BJ throwing around homophobic insults while idt Trapper ever has as far as I recall (and if he has I guarantee Hawkeye does it more), never mind Hawkeye being textually more impulsively violent than him, nah, Trapper has a Boston accent so he must be repressed and/or homophobic and/or scared of not being manly enough and/or prone to violent outbursts.

It’s a bad take. In general I feel that any take that prioritizes real life preconceptions of types of people over what the text is telling us is bad, but in this case it’s extra bad because it’s based on pure stereotyping. I’m not saying that’s the reasoning 100% of the time, but I’ve seen it enough to want to rant about it.

Anyway my take on Trapper is that he’s bi, he knows it, he’s just as fine with it as Hawkeye is, and he once met Hawkeye in the men’s room at a gay bar in Boston as a reference to the book’s football game backstory first meeting.

[marley-manson]

I love all your MASH posts! Do you have any thoughts to share on the varying ways the characters relate to queerness?

Thank you so much <3

You bet I do! I hope what you’re looking for here is a bunch of sexuality and gender related headcanons, because that’s what I’ve got.

None of these are hard and fast when it comes to like, writing fic or whatever, and there’s obviously room for a ton of different interpretations which is cool, but this is kind of like the default lens I watch the show through lol. Also I prioritize the show’s vibe over strict notions of historical accuracy wrt homophobia, but at the same time based on a couple books I’ve read it’s not necessarily historically inaccurate for a military unit to have a bunch of barely closeted people and for no one to really care lol, from what I’ve read it really varied depending on the unit and COs. It got dicier in the 50s as opposed to the early 40s with some official policy changes and the lavender scare, but probably still not impossible, at least according to anecdotal evidence.

Also obviously since this is based on mountains of gay jokes it’s not going to completely fit every moment in every episode, but ykw, the implications are still a lot more consistent than you’d probably expect lol.

So anyway. This got long so it’s under a cut.

Hawkeye:

Bi, has known it for a long time, and is perfectly secure and comfortable with it. I like to think he favours men a little over women, like a kinsey 4.5. No real reason, but it’s my headcanon so there.

Was somewhat into the gay scene back in the states, has had lots of anonymous sex and short term flings and maybe couple longer term male partners.

Carlye knows he's bi though he was probably monogamous while he was with her (I say this because their first scene together reads so strongly to me like he's trying to imply he's with BJ now to save face after learning she's married lmao).

On the slightly effeminate side but doesn't play it up much (I'm differentiating this from the onslaught of combatative jokes, I'm talking mannerisms and speech patterns), though he's happy to lean into queeny stereotypes a little to piss people off. Very nearly canonically a bottom lol, though I can see him occasionally switching, and very nearly canonically into tall, broad guys with a sense of humour, full lips, a nice ass, and a big dick based on the shoe size jokes.

I think his dad knows and is relatively cool about it too. I don't see it causing a lot of drama in his life, I think he's one of the lucky ones, which contributes to his relative lack of fear.

Though that said one headcanon I have is that some kind of close call with nearly getting caught or accused and discharged happened between season 7+8, which is why he tones it down so much in late Mash.

Hm what else... I just posted about this lol but after the war I can see him getting more politically engaged and casually joining the gay communist scene.

Trapper:

Also bi and knows it, more careful and discrete about it (back in the states) what with presumably being from a pretty catholic family and being married. My logic is if the jokes are Hawkeye's bi evidence, then Trapper with almost the same amount and as a totally game participant has the same evidence, but he does have a more conscious of consequences vibe to me.

I’m torn on whether Trapper was somewhat into the gay scene stateside, or if his experience was mainly just anonymous sex while cruising. I could see an argument for the latter being more realistic and plausible, BUT I’m kind of enamoured with the idea of Trapper being just as out, in the old school ‘part of a community’ sense, as Hawkeye. It could even be a fun nod to their original book backstory where they’d coincidentally met once at a football game - except they vaguely recognize each other from the Boston bar scene lol. Maybe they fucked in a bathroom stall once.

Either way I like to think he and Hawkeye started hooking up almost immediately, then became friends, then caught feelings, and Hawkeye was the first guy Trapper ever had romantic feelings for. It doesn't perfectly fit every moment - eg if you take their exchange at the end of George (what secrets do you have in your past?) as a gay reference, which I mean considering the context it's impossible not to, that implies Trapper doesn't officially know, but it ain't about the exacting details, it's about the Vibes.

Henry:

Mildly bi swinger. He's still cheating on his wife and vice versa because they're supposed to only fuck other people as a couple. Maybe doesn't really think of himself as bi bc it’s group sex, at least at first. I'm pretty sure someone was deliberately implying some of this lol, c'mon I saw Dear Dad 3, and he gets some of the most eyebrow raising gay jokes and moments.

(One of my favourite jokes: Henry makes a PA announcement about a meeting at 0700 hours. “Is that AD or BC?” "I don't know, I never could tell with Henry." Note that AC/DC was contemporary slang for bi.)

Also has a crush on Klinger, obviously.

Klinger:

Bi and nonbinary, initially repressed about both. Comes to terms with being bi partway through the show since he's clearly hooking up with Radar by season 4, so. I like to think he had sex with Trapper at some point in season 3 too, and idgaf about Laverne here. Maybe he figures it doesn’t count if it’s with dudes. Comes to terms with his gender much later, post-canon. Would probably consider himself a transvestite, historically speaking.

Like the way he still wears his pink housecoat, complete with a bow sometimes, even after dropping the section 8 attempts? The fur coat too? In one of the most recent episodes I rewatched, in season 10, he had a bra in his footlocker, and in a season 9 episode he had pink heels stashed in one of the file cabinets, uncommented on. Soon Lee wants to see him in a dress. It all fits.

I think after he gets back to the states he opens a dress shop, slowly and organically starts acquiring a discrete trans and drag queen clientele since he's very skilled at altering women's clothes to fit a masculine build, makes some friends, gets invited to some events, and starts fully embracing his femininity.

Margaret:

I kinda like the repressed lesbian take. Her attraction to men always feels so forced and performative, like she's trying so hard to fit a role. I can also see her as bi, but I vote lesbian. I think she fucked women in college, including Lorraine, and has told herself it was just an immature phase since. Also repressed butch. Someday she finally gets that crewcut.

Radar:

Repressed gay or bi with some internalized homophobia, but chills out about it eventually. I mean come on, that scene where he gets offended when changing in front of Hawkeye? His typical noooo stoooop reactions to the gay jokes in general? Klinger was his plausible deniability dude where he could be like 'it's not gay bc i think of him as a girl.' They break it off somewhere in season 5.

Father Mulcahy:

Gay but a catholic priest, so off limits. Knows he's gay but doesn't act on it. Chill with all the gay vibes around the 4077 in accordance with his fairly live and let live attitude, regardless of whether that actually makes much sense for him as a Catholic. Whatever, there’s always exceptions to common rules and maybe he’s one of them.

Frank:

Repressed bi, but not all that repressed. Like he knows it, but denies it in his head in a way that doesn't even convince himself, like reciting a rote platitude. Internalized homophobia up to here. Would absolutely still date a guy if anyone likeable ever expressed genuine interest because he's that desperate for approval and easily malleable.

BJ:

I tend to favour the repressed gay or bi take. I see the reasoning, it makes sense to me, and it’s a fun way to watch the show. It fits what I percieve as his initial awkwardness with Hawkeye’s gay jokes in his first few seasons, including occasional no homo style defensiveness, or bringing up his own masculinity, etc. Also the way he doesn’t seem to notice that Hawkeye is blatantly hitting on him at the airport bar. The gay read in particular fits the way his fixation on his family is explicitly framed as a coping mechanism too.

I really enjoy thinking that BJ knows Hawkeye is into men and specifically into him by like, around season 7/8. Maybe not a sudden realizaton, but a sort of gradual understanding. It adds a certain je ne sais quoi to their late series interactions, and feels oddly appropriate.

I like to think he realizes he’s not straight in whichever way and is in love with Hawkeye about a year or two after going home lol, amid a crumbling marriage. But I don’t endgame ship them, so I think this revelation comes too late, Hawkeye has already moved on, and he goes back to San Francisco and either saves his marriage or finds himself a nice boyfriend.

Charles:

Gay, aware but possibly refuses to act on it due to internalized homophobia and ~respectability~, or if he does, he’s very discrete and careful. On the hunt for a suitable lavender marriage.

Potter:

He’s the token straight to me, sorry.

Random related thoughts:

I think Hawkeye and Trapper and Henry and Klinger fostered the carefree anything goes atmosphere of the 4077 just by being the way they are and being chill.

I like to think there was a gay poker night once a month. Zale accidentally crashed it in Pay Day. Klinger goes even though he doesn't consider himself anything but a straight man at first, but he's always down for a poker game and he points out that he fits in just fine.

Whenever new lgbt people arrive at the 4077 they go to either Hawkeye or Klinger first since they’re so loud, and early on Klinger might point them in Hawkeye’s direction, and Hawkeye tells them where the Seoul + Tokyo bars are and invites them to the poker game.

I think Hawkeye's subplot in Of Moose and Men was coded homophobia. Textually it was the officer being offended that Hawkeye is insubordinate, but come on, "I don't want that man touching me," followed by a sex joke about Hawkeye giving him a sedative in the ass? Followed by dude continually being disturbed by him? They really made "goof off" sound like a slur lol. Rally Round the Flagg Boys also had a milder version of this with communist substituted. Idk if it’s intentional in either case, but the vibes were there.

Margaret found out that Hawkeye’s bi at some point not long after they slept together. I could see him coming out to her during one of their heart to hearts, honestly, maybe even by accident. Maybe it helps her come to terms with her own sexuality too.

By season 4 Hawkeye and Klinger are both aware of each others’ sexualities and sort of bond over being the only 2 somewhat out guys left in the main cast. The way they start hanging out more, for a while Hawkeye’s gay jokes come out more in scenes with Klinger than in scenes with BJ, and just in general their mid-show interactions tend to have that ‘the two out cousins at the family reunion’ solidarity vibe.

I think Hawkeye thinks BJ is straight throughout the whole run of the show, but also knows BJ is sort of using him as a platonic wife replacement. Actually I think Hawkeye encouraged it early on while lowkey trying to seduce him, eventually had to be like ‘damn guess he’s straight after all,’ but by now it’s too late to reverse course and so he’s stuck pining in this weird pseudo romantic friendship.

Aaaand okay I have to stop at some point so I’m sure I have more but let’s call it good.