In Y tu mamá también we are presented with a new perspective of the road trip genre. It is one that centres on the relationship between two young straight men and an older woman. There is a careful mix of power dynamics with sexual tension. We see our two young men named Tenoch and Julio vie for the attention of the older woman Luisa; however, in doing so the relationship of the young men becomes challenged by truths of infidelity and sexual prowess. They both engage in a relationship with Luisa which is what brings these uncomfortable truths to the forefront and ultimately results in them all engaging in a threesome.
Throughout the movie we see acts of homosociality that is as defined by Davis in “I love you hombre” as a “class-inflected, typically nonsexual bond between men” (Davis, 109) between Julio and Tenoch. However, I intend to focus on the explicitly sexual acts in order to better understand what can make this film a queer road trip. The first sexual act is that of the boys masturbating near each other at a private sports club. This scene takes place around 21:18 minutes into the film and we see the boys talk about people they find attractive in a way that they both push each other closer to the finish line.
This sexual act they take part in blurs the line between heteronormative and homosexual behaviour. It is not implicitly homosexual; however, they are in effect helping each other reach a point of completion. This could represent a nonsexual bond between men where they are not directly engaging with each other but allowing their masculinity to dictate a power dynamic where whoever says the most attractive women has an implied domination over the other. Furthermore, this sexual act takes place at a private sports club that Tenoch has the right to use privately on Monday’s as his father donates significant money to it. Therefore, we have an immediate power imbalance between the two as Tenoch is upper class whereas Julio is middle class. We have then witnessed the concept of homosociality as defined by Davis.
After, Tenoch engages in sexual relations with Luisa he then meets Julio by the pool of the motel that they are staying at. They both dive into the pool naked and although not explicitly sexual this sort of behaviour would be considered rather out of place from a western lens where nudity is still rather taboo. This action therefore is arguably rather queer as it stands outside of the cultural norm through which we view the movie. Moreover, further down the line when sexual tension runs high within the group we see Tenoch try to see Juilo have intercourse with Luisa at around 1 hour 5 minutes. It brings into question the fluidity of Tenoch’s sexuality as he is interested in seeing first if Julio does have intercourse with Luisa but also to see her reaction to it.
Another section of the movie that blurs the lines between Tenoch’s and Julio’s sexuality is when they mention at 1 hour 29 minutes that they are cum brothers. This can be perceived through a heteronormative joke that they have both had sexual relations with each others girlfriends. However, this is foreshadowing the fact that they will in fact be cum brothers when they have a threesome with Luisa and during it they kiss. This is the pinnacle of the queer themes presented in Y tu mamá también where both men have accepted that their masculine peacocking and the sexual tension provided throughout have culminated in them engaging in queer sexual activities. In doing so they have both come to the end of their friendship as later we see in the film but they have also come full circle in their hyper masculine relationship by crossing a line in their friendship from having intercourse together.
The dynamics of power are finally set in stone at the end of the movie during the bar scene. This happens when Luisa starts playing a song on the jukebox and proceeds to stare directly into the camera whilst dancing. This makes the audience somewhat uncomfortable as we are pulled out of the film but it highlights her role as the antagonist to Tenoch’s and Julio’s inevitable sexual encounter together. The song itself is a love ballad by Marco Antonio Solis and thus implies to a spanish speaking audience that a love-making scene is about to ensue. This power imbalance; however, is one where Luisa has all of the power and Julio and Tenoch both have no agency in what is about to happen. She is very much taking advantage of their sexual desire for her and using it to create an environment where they lose “macho-ness”.
In addition, we can read this scene in a way that suggests that the fate of all the members has been sealed. This is their final excursion of freedom and will dictate how they act going forth in life. We see that Luisa chooses to stay and subsequently pass away at a seaside town showing that she has rejected the higher-class and its associated infidelity. Whilst the boys have moved on from their supposedly childish ‘charolastra’ lifestyle into their predetermined paths. In all of the characters’ paths we, the audience, can feel nothing but sympathy for each character. It took the turbulence of a road trip to expose the fallacies of the lifestyles each led. However, in this character growth, the boys have lost their innocence and their bond which is rather unfortunate.
In conclusion, Y tu mamá también shows the journey of young boys becoming men. They struggle with sexual tension created due to power imbalances but ultimately end up engaging in sexual activities alongside each other. This sexual behaviour they engage in takes away their previously childish ways in what can be described as pre-determined by Luisa at the bar. This power dynamic allows Luisa to exploit the desires of the boys and we also see how they reason with their queer identities when they move onto the next stage of their life. Furthermore, we see them move from one place to another thus satisfying our question of is this film a queer road trip movie.
Bibliography
Davis, Nick. “I Love You, Hombre: Y tu mamá también as Border-Crossing Bromance.” (2014), 109-138.
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