Y Tu Mamá También and the Queer Twist
When I was in 10th Grade, before I knew I was bisexual, I had a male best friend. We would crack jokes at one another’s expense, talk about video games and movies, and laugh. Sometimes, while laughing, I had intrusive thoughts of kissing him. I learned years after he left town that he was bisexual too, and I wondered.
Y Tu Mamá También is my favorite movie. There are many reasons for this, but one of the aspects that I’ve always admired about it is its treatment of masculinity. In a sense, it is a deconstruction of masculinity — much in the same way as all the best Martin Scorsese movies are. The main plot of the film deals with Julio and Tenoch, two teenagers on a road trip attempting to conquer the affection of Luisa, an older woman. The film holds a twist, though: Julio and Tenoch also hold feelings for one another.
Julio and Tenoch’s feelings are complex. They beg their girlfriends not to cheat on them during their trip to Italy, but both make it their goal to cheat as much as possible while the girls are away. Julio and Tenoch show indifference for their girlfriends in front of one another but act respectfully in their girlfriends’ presence.
“I’m gonna miss her, but enough is enough, no? Bye,” says Tenoch.
However, when Julio and Tenoch reveal to one another that they have had sex with one another's girlfriends, they are infuriated. To them, this transgression represents an imbalance in their attempts at ownership of women. Both, to disqualify one another’s conquest of Luisa, prove they don’t even “own” the women they are in relationships with.
Being on a road trip with Luisa forces them to tolerate one another even after this mutual betrayal. They take turns driving, play soccer at the beach, and get drunk with Luisa together. While drunk, they joke about how their girlfriends had cheated on them with one another and how they were probably cheating on them in Italy as they spoke. The events of the day loosened their performance of masculinity and competition, rekindling their friendship momentarily, making toasts to their friendship, cracking jokes at one another’s expense, and dancing with Luisa together. When they go back to their room, Luisa performs oral sex on both of them at the same time. As Julio and Tenoch stare at one another while they are being pleasured, their faces move closer together, they rest their hands on their cheeks, and kiss.
The film hard cuts to the morning after. Julio and Tenoch wake up and see that they slept naked in the same bed. Tenoch gets up immediately and runs out of the room to throw up. This is the last mention of this interaction in the film. Julio and Tenoch go home and stop speaking to one another, meet for coffee once, and never see each other again.
Their masculinity performance anxiety — their fear of humiliation and vulnerability — drives them to reject their bisexuality. While a lot of the time, the “Queer twist” can be pandering or condescending, in this film, it reinforces the examination of teenage masculinity. Julio and Tenoch’s repression of their sexuality is part of what drives the film’s melancholy ending, besides many other important factors involving Luisa’s character. Julio and Tenoch are, at the same time, products and enforcers of their environment. Their fear of being rejected by one another is what leads them to reject one another, and in the same process, repress themselves.
The Queer twist in Y Tu Mamá También recontextualizes the entire film. When Julio and Tenoch bully one another over the length and shape of their penises, one must now consider where that trust and curiosity originate from. When they tell one another about their sexual encounters, one must consider what excites them about the story. And when they get angry at one another for their sexual encounters with Luisa, one must ask who they are really jealous of. These questions are not only for the audience but for the characters as well. This revelation is not a twist to them, but an awakening.
In this film, the Queer twist emulates the same type of revelation that queer people go through in real life. Realizing you are gay or bisexual makes you look back on some of your most intimate friendships and wonder what they really meant. This is how Y Tu Mamá También differentiates its use of the Queer twist from other films and television.
Another common form of the Queer twist is the gay homophobe trope, where the bully is revealed to have been repressing their own homosexuality. This form of the Queer twist blames its gay characters for homophobia. However, Y Tu Mamá También avoids this by making both of its queer characters have their revelation together. Their homophobia is minimal and based mostly on ignorance. The twist is ultimately tragic, though, as it changes little in their lives.
After their road trip, they soon stop talking. Months later, they meet up for coffee one last time. The narrator tells us they will never see one another again.
“Keep in touch, no?” asks Julio.
“Yeah,” says Tenoch.
Cover Photo by IFC Films. Edited by Madison Case.
