Is Billy Elliot gay.

Jonathan Lenz

Is Billy Elliot gay

In ‘Billy Elliot’ there is undoubtedly a strong homosexual subtext but does this necessarily mean the protagonist himself is gay? . Director Stephen Daldry openly deals with homosexuality and intentionally creates doubt surrounding Billy’s sexuality thus fuelling debate and discussion. Through out the film Daldry presents us with numerous episodes, which suggest homosexuality but which are all open to interpretation, for example is Billy’s rejection of Debbie in the bedroom scene a sign of his homosexuality or just due to the shyness and insecurity of youth? . In my opinion, Daldry, at the end of the film is encouraging us on what we have seen, to form our own opinions to whether Billy is gay or not, there is simply no wrong or right answer.

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There are various incidents in the film to suggest that Billy is indeed homosexual. The fact that he participates in bally means that in they eyes of his father and undoubtedly others, he is a ‘poof’. Billy's father stereotypically equates male ballet dancers with homosexuality and assumes that, as Billy doesn’t like football or boxing that the only plausible outcome is that his son is gay. For Billy’s father it isn’t necessarily his sons dancing that he finds hard to come to terms with but more the fact that a macho figure like himself is harbouring a homosexual son. However it could be argued that Billy's dancing is really a metaphor for all sorts of things, i.e. his passion and zeal for life rather than his homosexuality, as he points out himself ‘Just because I like ballet doesn't mean I'm a poof, you know’

Billy’s rejection of Debbie in the bedroom episode could be used as evidence to suggest he is gay. He remains silent when asked ‘ Do you fancy me’ and later when asked if he would like to see an intimate part of Debbie’s anatomy, simply replies ‘ No, that’s ok’. However is this merely due to Billy’s inexperience with girls and thus his insecurity and shyness? . Those advocating that Billy is gay would argue that his cold and affirmative ‘ No, that’s ok’ shows that he has no interest in the female sex. They would also argue that as Billy has been without a female role model for most of his life, due to his mother’s death, he has become dependant on male figures and this could potentially spill into his more intimate relationships. Billy’s affirmation that ‘ I’m not a poof’ could also be met with some degree of scepticism. Is Billy just repeating the prejudice of his family thus covering up his real sexuality? . Those supporting the idea of Billy being gay would also look to his relationship with Michael. Michael is attracted to Billy and aggressively comes onto him, which Billy questions but more importantly does not reject. He later dances with his cross-dressing gay friend, and the audience is left to wonder what the point is. Once again is Billy just caught up in the excitement of the moment or does this prove there is a genuine intimacy between the two? .

In my opinion I don't think Billy knows what he thinks about his own sexuality. It is important to remember that he is he is only eleven years old and it is surely to early for him to be assessing his own sexuality. Therefore in order to construe whether or not Billy is gay it is merely due to the individual’s interpretation of the film. We are left with two particular views of Billy at the end of the film; a shy homosexual who is able to express his homosexuality through his bally and his intimate relationship with Michael, or a straight boy who uses bally to express his identity, and who would rather move with grace and strength as an object of beauty than with grace and strength as a force of destruction.