From Ishmael to Joey and Ross: Whither American Manhood?

An Article from Arcade By Gregory Jusdanis

Two American classics, two notorious scenes, two different ends. So what happened to American masculinity in the decades between Moby Dick and “Friends?”

Let’s start with that episode from “Friends” entitled “The One with the Nap Partners.”

Joey and Ross wake up from their blissful slumber to realize that Ross is snuggling with Joey, his hand on his buddy’s chest. They recoil in horror. “We fell asleep, that is all,” Ross shouts. Joey rushes out of the apartment, reaching out to shake his friend’s hand. “No touch,” Ross cries out.

Meeting afterwards, Ross complains of their “weird” experience but Joey confesses that it was the best nap he had ever had. When pushed, Ross agrees. So the “best” nap of their lives has been with each other, with another man.

In a later scene Joey says with a wink that he is going upstairs to take a nap, to be followed by Ross. The episode ends with Ross lying in Joey’s arms again, both very content and peaceful. “It was a great nap,” they mumble to each other in half-sleep. But as the camera pans out, we see the rest of the gang staring at them, baffled and displeased. Joey jumps up, hollering, “Dude, what the hell are you doing?” It is all over. The chorus passes judgment without saying a word.

Let’s compare this incident with a similar one in Moby Dick. Ishmael wakes up one morning in a hotel in the whaling town of New Bedford to discover an “affectionate arm” around him. He and the stranger, whose name is Queequeg, are sleeping “socially,” having become “bosom buddies.” As he gradually opens his eyes he realizes that “you had almost thought I had been his wife.” Try as Ishmael might, he can’t unlock Queequeg’s “bridegroom clasp,” hugging him so “tightly.” The following evening Ishmael waits impatiently for Queegueg’s embrace. Continue reading →