According to common conceptions of machismo, the ideology of masculinity is based on the stereotypical ideals that America has towards the idea of ​​virility. In the short story “Brokeback Mountain,” Proulx uses masculinity as a singular focal point within the text. This melancholy story of two young cowboys, emerging into a sexual and emotional connection that truly cannot exist. We often see cowboys as manly men saddling a horse or as lonely men herding sheep in a valley, but they have never been depicted otherwise. When we are introduced to Ennis and Jack, they are not at all far from the common cowboy stereotype. Proulx makes this evident when he states: "Ennis, bow-nosed and narrow-faced, was scruffy and somewhat cavernous-chested, balancing a small torso on long, strong legs, possessing a muscular, supple body made for horseback riding and fighting ” (3).This indicates that young Ennis and Jack are just like all other cowboys when young Jack and Ennis meet at Brokeback Mountain, their sexuality does not eliminate their masculinity sexuality Regardless of the acts with which these two men choose to consume themselves to act, their masculinity is evident throughout the text. Initially, instead of removing their masculinity, their sexual identity complicates their manhood ”, states Ennis, which makes it clear that these men are aware of their masculinity (7). Aware of the complexity of their relationship Ennis says: “if you can't fix it you have to put up with it”, meaning that he knew that the relationship between him and Jack was corrupt but didn't know how to stop it. The complicated situation between Ennis and Jack has been threatening social norms for... half the paper... "Brokeback Mountain" may challenge the social term we know as homosexuality, as it pertains to masculinity. Works Cited Brower, Sue. ""They'd Kill Us If They Knew: Transgression and the Western." Journal of Film and Video 62.4 (2010): 47-57. Web.Halperin, D.M. "How to Make the History of Male Homosexuality." GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies 6.1 (2000): 87-123. Web.Manalansan, M.F. "COLONIZING TIME AND SPACE: Race and Romance in Brokeback Mountain." 100. Web.Osterweil, Ara. “The Lonely Cowboys of Ang Lee.” Film Quarterly 60.3 (2007): 38-42. Web.Proulx, Annie , S. ""Where has gender gone?" Homosexual desire and the persistence of gender in gay male historiography." GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies 18.4 (2012): 453-79. Network.