Language games: the gendered politics of the speech act in Ben Lerner's <i>The Topeka School</i>

R.W. Connell argues that masculinity is not a unitary phenomenon; rather, masculinities emerge out of situationally specific choices drawn from ‘cultural repertoire’ so-called masculine behaviour result in particular ‘configuration practice’. Ben Lerner's novel The Topeka School (2019) calls attention to this process by focussing on the coding speech-acts as context mid-nineties, small-town Kansas; moreover, he contextualises these cultural precursors political rise alt-right, leading Trump's presidency. In School, then, are simply gendered but shown have significant ramifications. paper I argue while Lerner dissects genealogy construction masculinity, also presents alternative models subvert what Hélène Cixous libidinal and economy, explicitly links each figure mother. thus suggests gender-inclusive speaking-back against dominant masculinist order, with mother acting key locus dissent, resistance, change – suggests, too, would call necessary reconfiguration practice.