In society, there comes a time where it is acceptable for boys and girls to start to pair up with one another as “complementary and cooperating factions” (Eckert and McConnel-Ginet 15). This pairing up has been termed as the Heterosexual Market. Participation in this market has been overly romanticized and is reinforced by societal norms. In the second edition of the book Language and Gender, the authors Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnel-Ginet propose to their audience the idea that being paired up has a societal value attached to it. The authors write that it “is the rapidity of ‘trades’ on the market that establishes a system of societal value” (Eckert and McConnel-Ginet 16). Participation brings attention to the paired couple, and in some cases, it can create a hierarchy. For example, this is where the titles Queen Bee and King come from in a high school setting. However, it is not just the student body or market bystanders who reinforce the deemed importance and relevance of the Heterosexual Market, but also institutions. Prom is a great example of this. Prom is typically “sponsored” by institutions of learning and promotes the hierarchy of the Heterosexual Market. Students are pushed to compete with one another directly or indirectly to be selected for their respective titles. Then, eventually, the student population selects and pairs their “King and Queen”, whether they ran together or not. Another institution that acts as a reinforcer is the media : more specifically, books like The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is the first book in a trilogy written by Suzanne Collins. Through this book, and the main character, Katniss, Collins comments on the sense of importance and strategic manipulation that society uses in regards to the Heterosexual Market, by uniquely positioning Katniss to start off as a resentful bystander to the Heterosexual Market.
At the beginning of the book, the readers come to soon realize that Katniss’ focus is solely on the survival of her family: her sister Prim and her mother. This intense push for survival causes Katniss to look at things from a mostly prey vs predator perspective. This causes her to look closely at people to determine if they are a “predator” that she needs to be cautious of or “prey” that she can use to sustain her or ignore. Katniss becomes the “father” and “mother” of the family due to an accident which kills her father. Consequently, her mother becomes unresponsive to the world due to the effects of her “complementary” faction being taken from her. The Heterosexual Market has scarred Katniss’ mother which forces Katniss to hunt in a nearby forest, make sacrifices to protect her family from starvation, and she has to “mother” her little sister Prim. The extreme and straining nature of these roles causes Katniss to believe that her mother is weak. Katniss explains that “some gnarled place inside me hated her for her weakness, for her neglect, for the months she had put us through. Prim forgave her, but I had taken a step back from my mother…” (Collins 53). Katniss disregards anything that is not a step towards survival, and due to her trauma caused by the effects of the Heterosexual Market on her family, she has no motivation to be seen as “desirable” to potential partners. However, her resentful nature towards the market only becomes more apparent as the book continues.
Peeta, a secondary character in the book, is very aware of the Heterosexual Market and actively participates in it. Peeta desires Katniss and wants to do what it takes to promote her survival. However, before the Games, he tries to show Katniss his interest. Peeta states that Katniss “has no idea. The effect she can have” (Collins 91). Due to her lack of awareness of the market and her prey vs predator perspective on life, Katniss responds to this comment internally with confusion and defensiveness. Katniss asks herself “What effect do I have? That I’m weak and needy? Is he suggesting that I got good deals because people pitied me?” (Collins 91). Peeta was commenting on her desirability in the market. However, Katniss does not internalize his comment this way. She believes that this is an attack which she must defend herself from. However, this is not the only layer to her prey vs predator mentality. Katniss also possesses a fight or flight response to the Heterosexual Market. Later on, Peeta announces to the Capitol, on live TV, that he has a crush on Katniss. Peeta’s intentions are not only to make her look more desirable and “likeable” to the Capitol so that she may get sponsors and gifts for survival during the game, but he also has a very apparent infatuation with Katniss. However, at this point, Katniss does not understand that the Heterosexual Market can be as useful as a bow and arrow in the literal fight for survival that is to come. Once Katniss sees Peeta, she responds in the fight mode and promptly attacks him. Collins writes that “Peeta has only just stepped from his car when I slam my palms into his chest….The urn tips and shatters into hundreds of tiny pieces. Peeta lands in the shards, and blood immediately flows from his hands” (Collins 134). Katniss then yells that “‘He made me look weak!’” (Collins 135). Haymitch, Katniss and Peeta’s guide for survival, explains to Katniss that Peeta has essentially raised her value in “the market that establishes a system of societal value” (Eckert and McConnel-Ginet 16). It is at this point where Katniss not only recongnizes the Heterosexual Market as relevant but she also recongnizes it as something she can use as a weapon.
Now that Katniss has recognized the Heterosexual Market as a weapon, once the Games starts, Katniss uses it strategically which is reflected in her slightly altered focus and carefully though out actions. Katniss is not only fighting for her life, but she fights to make herself seem desirable to make her survival easier. Katniss strategically looks for ways to make herself look polite, witty and “likeable”. Katniss states “Now I smile. “How’s everything with you? I call down cheerfully. This takes them aback, but I know the crowd will love it” (Collins 181). Katniss is smiling and being polite to the Careers, a group of slightly privileged tributes who want to kill her, but Katniss wants the Capitol to be entertained. Later on, Katniss layers her performance with romance. Collins writes “ Impulsively, I lean forward and kiss him, stopping his words. This is probably overdue anyway since he’s right, we are supposed to be madly in love” (Collins 260). Katniss initiates her first kiss and is rewarded shortly after with food. Katniss then kisses Peeta about a dozen more times to keep the pretense that they are a couple in love and therefore they should survive together. However, in both the book and movie, due to her lack of experience, she does not come from this extensive performance with the Heterosexual Market unscathed. She ends up conflicted and asks herself how much was just a performance and how much of her actions were based on emotional attachment. However, Katniss is not the only one who is affected by her performance.
Peeta is also affected by Katniss’ use of the Herterosexual Market, but the impact is different because of his unique tie with the separation vs. relationship theory. Carol Gilligan, the author of In a Different Voice, writes that “since masculinity is defined through separation while femininity is defined through attachment, male gender identity is threatened by intimacy while female gender is threatened by separation” (Gilligan 8). Giligan explains that typically, once boys reach a certain age, they branch away from their mother and in certain circumstances, and they are pushed to do things outside the home while girls stay with their mother and start learning and performing inside chores. This separation that boys typically experience is a catalyst for the development of individuality which is why males tend to have a “more empathic individuation and a more defensive firming of experienced ego boundaries” (Gilligan 8). Giligan states that women “emerge from this period with a basis for ‘empathy’ built into their primary definition of self in a way that boys do not” (Gilligan 8). In summary, girls tend to choose relationships while boys choose separation.
Much like the book, the movie portrays Peeta as an active participant of the Heterosexual Market. However, Peeta seems to have a different experience with the theory of separation vs. relationship. Peeta’s actions seem to mostly stem from the desire for a relationship with Katniss, which leads to wanting to promote her survival. Immediately, after being selected for the Games Peeta quickly accepts defeat and moves on to helping Katniss and not himself. Peeta states “‘It doesn’t matter, Katniss,” he says. I’ve never been a contender in these Games anyway”’ (Collins 149). Peeta’s very identity seems to be deeply intertwined with Katniss and the desire for a relationship with her. According to Gillian, this is not typically the way that boys and men regard relationships. Like Katniss, Peeta has an interesting relationship with his mother. In the movie, it is implied that Peeta may have a slightly violent relationship with his mother. In some of the movie flashbacks, Peeta’s mother is seen yelling at Peeta and even violently pushes him out of the store (0:22:37). In summary, in the film, Peeta’s mom is not portrayed in a warm and fuzzy light which suggests that their seemingly “loveless” relationship may be the cause of Peeta’s desire for a loving relationship and more specifically a relationship with Katniss. Peeta seems to lack the “definition of self” that boys typically possess and therefore is an oddity to society like Katniss. However, it is their societal differences which helps them survive.
Peeta’s relationship vs separation perspective and more specifically, his feelings for Katniss are much like the feelings that Romeo and Juliet have for one another. He would rather die than live in separation. Therefore, he is willing to make the biggest sacrifice for her. Katniss’ lack of experience with the Heterosexual Market has caused her perspective of Peeta to change as her performance went on. In the end, she no longer looks at Peeta as competition, but she develops an attachment to him. Her attachment caused by the Heterosexual Market, paired with her stubborn perspective on debt causes Katniss to realize that she would not be able to live with herself if she chose her physical survival. Allowing Peeta to take his life would cause his life debt to weigh on her, and there would be little way to compensate for that debt. Therefore, Katniss chooses the survival of her mind and suggests that they both eat the deadly Nightlock berries. In the end, the impression of the Heterosexual Market and Peeta’s attachment to their relationship is what allows Katniss and Peeta to survive. Collins uses their survival to show that the ongoing performance of the Heterosexual Market and relationships can be a double-edged sword, and while it can be used for societal gain it can also have a scarring effect.
Works Cited
Eckert, Penelope, and Sally McConnell-Ginet. Language and Gender. 2nd ed., Cambridge University
Press, 2013.
Collins, S. (2009). The Hunger Games. London: Scholastic.
Gilligan, C. (2003). In a different voice psychological theory and women’s development. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard Univ. Press.
Ross, G. (Director). (2012). The Hunger games [Motion picture]. United States of America: Lions Gate
Entertainment, Inc.
