The Wires Masculine Queens

In The Wire, there is much interplay of power and of sexuality, of

people using some combination of the two as a means to an end, to exert
influence among one another. On display in the show are traditional
representations of both masculinity and femininity, but there are arguably
just as many as subversive representations of both the former and the latter.
This paper aims to examine one of those subversions, the idea of what will
be referred to herein as the masculine queen. The phrase on the surface
appears to be a sort of an oxymoron, something that seems unlikely or
perhaps even impossible. This paper will attempt to tease out the idea of the
masculine queen in two different characters, Stringer Bell and Omar Little.
Both characters have the power that a queen might, but Omars power is
more strikingunexpected, evenbecause of the way he subverts the
traditional meaning of queen, and ultimately because his power reigns
supreme over Stringers when he executes Bell with his trusty shotgun. Such
behavior would not generally be considered befitting of a queen, and thats
why Omars power, especially in consideration of his sexuality, serves such
an important function. In The Wire, the masculine queen is able to exert
significant influence over those surrounding him, and he is able to enjoy a
degree of power that those around him can only dream about. The masculine
queen obtains this power by exerting traditional displays of masculinity
despite his sexuality. The masculine queen is a transcendental idea, one that
constricts Stringer yet simultaneously frees Omar from the ridicule that

would generally accompany a gay man referred to as a queen. What will be

addressed herein is a central question: what exactly does it mean to be a
masculine queen in The Wire?
Queen is a traditional derogatory name for gay men, and it has
always had the connotation of diva or princess, a negative slur that has
been associated with both males and females. But when this slur is directed
towards a gay male, it immediately takes on a unique sexual connotation,
most likely due to the fact that a man as a queen is completely contradictory
to thousands of years of human history. It is for that reason that it takes on a
derogatory connotation when directed at men. It implies that they are gay; it
calls into question their masculinity, considers them outsiders instead of
true men. Since queen is a term that associates gay men with traditionally
feminine characteristics, especially those with a penchant for the dramatic,
one might hypothetically direct this insult at the well-spoken, openly gay
Omar Little. But as will be discussed, that slur could earn you a shotgun blast
to the face. No one in the show would insult Stringer Bell by calling him a
queen, and in fact, when DAngelo first discusses Stringer as the queen in his
chess analogy, he does so with an easily detectable sense of awe and
respect. Stringer is not a queen; he is the queen. When considering the
preceding modifiers of the term queen, it becomes apparent that whereas
a queen is a misogynistic attempt to emasculate an effeminate or gay
man, the queen conveys the power that comes with royalty. Stringer Bell,
then, for his four seasons on the show, is the queen of The Wire.

Stringer Bell, the first of our two masculine queens and the only
character on The Wire to be called a queen outright, is a powerful leader who
works behind the scenes to ensure the ongoing financial success of the
Barksdale organization. Early in the show, in the infamous chess scene,
DAngelo is teaching Bodie and Wallace how to use a chessboard to actually
play chess instead of just checkers. About the queen he says, She's smart
and she's fierce. She moves any way she wants, as far as she wants. And she
is the go-get-shit-done piece. Wallace, making analogies about the pieces,
says the queen is like Stringer. The audience is not taken aback, and
probably does not consider that Stringer shouldnt be a queen because he is
a male. Instead, enough is already known about Stringer to understand the
analogy. He is the kingsAvonsright hand man. He is by far the most goget-shit-done player in the Barksdale organization, the one who makes
tactical decisions and helps run the entire business behind the scenes. Here,
the comparison of Stringer to a queen conveys his movement behind the
scenes, his strategic mind and the power that he holds as the number two
man in a major criminal organization. Calling Stringer a queen is completely
devoid of sexual connotation, as DAngelo says, the queen aint no bitch.
She got all the moves. This line tells the audience two things; in general, if
someone refers to a man as a queen, it is derogatory. It is usually meant to
be entirely emasculating, thus DAngelos need to explain away that
particular connotation to Wallace and Bodie. To extend the analogy of Queen
Stringer, the queen in the game of chess is less concerned with protecting

the king as the game progresses. Instead, she becomes more valuable as an
offensive piece as the pawns, rooks, and bishops begin to fall. She uses her
power to move from a defensive position into an offensive one, disregarding
the kings safety and perhaps becoming more concerned with winning the
game. Stringer doesnt exactly step up to take any sort of fall when Avon
goes to jail, and in the time leading up to his death, becomes more and more
confident in flaunting his wealth as a business developer. His attempt to
grasp for more power serves as his ultimate downfall.
Stringer is a masculine queen because his masculinity is outright and
unquestioned, and he is well respected amongst all of his peers and those in
the Barksdale organization. In fact, hes quite bigoted against homosexuality.
He makes it a point to bring up Omars sexuality when telling Avon about
him, telling him [Bird] said he all a faggot. This immediately convinces
Avon to double the bounty on Omars head. Stringer comes off as a typical
masculine character, despite the lack of time he spends on screen around
any women. The audience sees him as a businessman, as a miser counting
his money upstairs at a strip club, and as someone who is willing to lie,
cheat, and murder his way to the top of the game. Even though it might
seem odd to refer to Stringer as a queen, it is immediately clear why this
designation makes sense. It has nothing to do with sexuality; it has
everything to do with power. Early on, the idea of the masculine queen is
set up in the subconscious minds of the audience. Stringer might be an
untraditional queen, but he is certainly a traditional male. But the character

that truly expands the scope of the masculine queen, the one who forges his
own way to power with his unique form of masculinity, is everybodys
favorite anti-hero Omar Little.
Omar is one of the most colorful yet difficult to understand characters in
The Wire, a character who is at once both a queen and uniquely masculine.
He is most certainly the more ambiguous masculine queen when compared
to Stringer. Omar has many traditionally masculine traits. He is dominant,
fear-inciting, ruthless, aggressive, violent, and perhaps most importantly,
respected and feared by other men. Earning the respect of other men is a
hallmark of masculinity, so it might seem strange that Omar is able to
accomplish this feat despite being a homosexual. Gay slurs are rarely thrown
in Omars direction. Stringer might have called Omar a faggot in a private
conversation with Avon and Wee-Bay, but would he have done the same to
Omars face? Doubtful, as it might have earned him a swift shotgun blast to
the face. Omars masculinity is defined by his alpha-male-like dominance. As
Halberstam says, Omars personality is reminiscent of what might be
considered dandy. He dresses meticulously, transitioning with ease from a
puffy down jacket to a black trench coat, from a dandy persona to a ghetto
shotgun-wielding Robin Hood. The ease with which he incites fear in West
Baltimore despite the usual connotations of being gay, of being a queen, is
a concrete example of transcending masculinity. With a shotgun in your face,
youre not thinking about Omars sexual preferences and youre certainly not
going to call him a queen. With his shotgun, Omar transitions from a queen

to the queen. It is for this reason that The Wire seems to consider power
the defining trait of masculinity. Omar is masculine because of the power he
retains and the respect he commands with a shotgun in his hands. Despite
his last name, Omar Little has a big presence as a major player in the game.
He is not any of the chess pieces, but in a metaphysical sense is perhaps
instead the player of this chess game, the prime mover.
It is interesting that although Omar is homosexual, he is still able to
achieve such a level of status and respect on the streets. Not only is he gay,
but he also seems to flaunt his sexuality in a way that makes him queen of
the neighborhood, queen of the game. Halberstam calls Omar both a
queen and a robin hood. It seems difficult, though, to reconcile these two
descriptions. Omar is royalty in his own right, with everyone in West
Baltimore afraid of him and ready to scamper a way at a moments notice
when they hear Omars coming! or hear him whistling Farmer in the Dell
as he walks down the middle of the street wearing a trench coat with a
shotgun slung over his shoulder. He rules the streets through a show of force,
a tactical move befit for neighborhood royalty. Omar is untraditionally
masculine because although he has many masculine traits, he is a
homosexual, and so on the surface it is difficult to understand how is
afforded a respect similar to some of his male peers. At the same time, Omar
is a traditional queen shown by the respect that he commands with his
power. Imagine if someone were to call Omar a queen. Earlier in this paper,
and when Wallace calls Stringer the queen, the average viewer wouldnt

even think to sexualize the term. The audience understands Stringer is a

queen because of his savvy and tactical ability. But as soon as we refer to
Omar as a queen, the term is sexualized. This just goes to show the curious
interplay and overt contradictions between traditional concepts of
masculinity and sexuality. Many of these traditional masculine constructs
verge on ludicrous, and The Wire time and again subverts those traditional
constructs, perhaps best exemplified when Queen Omar kills Queen Stringer
at the end of Season 4. Backed into a corner of his own real estate
development project by Omar and Brother Mouzone, Stringer knows hes
about to die, and at first he is terrified. At this point the last thing on his mind
is Omars sexuality. Hes most likely determining his chance of survival.
When pleas and bribes dont work, Stringer works those chances out to be
0%. He turns from pleading to his last words, Get on with it motherfu
before Omar riddles him with bullets. It is a showdown of powerful
characters. Only someone more ruthless, vengeful, and more powerful than
Stringer could bring him down in this fashion. Queen Omars rule reigns
supreme; he kills Queen Stringer and in the process adds to his already
notorious reputation. If masculinity is power and dominance, Omar proves
himself in the end to be even more masculine than Stringer Bell himself.
Whats left is to reconcile these variations of the masculine queen
within The Wire, including what sets these queens apart from one another.
Theres Stringer, the traditionally masculine queen, and Omar, the
untraditionally masculine queen. It has thus been argued that both Stringer

and Omar could certainly be referred to as masculine queens in their own

right. There is a point being made in just how similar these masculine queens
really are despite their visible differences. Both of these characters find
different ways to fit into their roles as masculine queens, each of them
defining and redefining the termOmar redefining masculinity in the process
in the way they operate on a day to day basis. They each earn the awe and
respect of the West Baltimore criminal underworld, but they are sexualized in
completely different ways. Perhaps the most significant aspect of Omars
sexuality is that it does not define him, nor does it limit him in his quest for
power in the game. As Halberstam says, Omars sexuality (and by
extension, Stringers) does not define him; it is merely a vector of his
character. The characters in The Wire, and persons in general, are not
quantifiable by a term such as queen, or even masculine queen.
Characters cannot be easily labeled in The Wire, a testament to the shows
success in realism. Life is not quantifiable into labels. What The Wire so
importantly teaches us, is that neither are people.