Even to this day, shame about one’s sexual orientation remains a prominent topic. Whether one identified themselves as gay, lesbian, and transgender, society viewed them and their actions as a sin, a crime, and a disease, which only increased the amount of shame–a painful feeling of distress or humiliation caused by the consciousness of wrong or fooling behavior–they saw within themselves. Then changes began to occur as a group of gays, lesbians, and transgender people confronted police in an event known as the Stonewall Riots or the Stonewall Uprising, which became a turning point for gay liberation. Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home is a 1980s, family tragicomic-graphic memoir that addresses this perspective turning point through the use of the labyrinth
Authors always have a message they wish to instill upon readers. That is, of course, the purpose of writing: to eloquently devise a message that can be easily interpreted by the public so that they can develop a better understanding of something that an author represents. The success of an author, then, in creating a powerful message, manifests itself in whether or not those who read the message decide to take action on the issue presented by the author. The success of Brent Staples in “Black Men and Public Space,” and Andrew Sullivan in “What is a Homosexual?” in conveying their messages come from the ways that the authors utilize various rhetorical devices and tone, elements which help to solidify the purpose of their essays.
What drives people to undertake a mission? Most of the time, people have some type of experience in their life that marked them in some way, so they want to make good decisions when it comes to protecting their families and friends ,mostly everyone wants to keep the people they care about safe, like Farah Ahmedi that lost her brothers and father ,and to keep herself and her mother safe, she had to reach freedom, or like Bilbo Baggins ,he took the choice of going on an unexpected journey for his friends, and Walt Masters ,he was able to risk his life so he didn't disappoint his dad. All these characters were doing the right thing to don't let their families or friends down. FARAH AHMEDI
If being queer is but one part that constitutes the self then it is possible for something to be queer that is not a person or individual. Under these rules, it could be that Antigione’s religious views are what are truly queer. Her religious views exist in exact opposition to the dominant discourses around her. As I stated in my article Critically Queer, “The hyperbolic conformity to the command can reveal the hyperbolic status of the norm itself, indeed, can become the cultural sign by which that cultural imperative might become legible.”
Despite the claim that the world has made progress towards gender equality, women are expected to depict feminine characteristics and mannerisms deemed suitable by society. Sandra Cisneros challenges these societal expectations in her poem “Loose Woman” by embracing the negative connotations of a masculine woman. Cisneros faces the pressures of conforming to the American and Latin American status quo of being a woman. Because Cisneros chooses to defy many womanly ideals, she is labeled with “undesirable” identities heavily influenced by religious beliefs. These religious views impact the social expectations of a woman’s sexual orientation as well as her social behavior.
Wolfenden found that in 1955 30% of those prosecuted were imprisoned. The irony of imprisoning homosexual men in institutions which were all-male seemed lost on the system. (‘Gay’ in the 1950s) With knowing the severity of homosexuality during the 50’s , it brings clarity as to why problems came about when creating the film version of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. When deciding to make the play into a film, one main change had to be made due to restrictions of homosexual references in films.
The queer historical past has been characterized positively, with aspects such as identification, desire, longing, and love highlighted (31). In contrast, Heather Love seeks to focus on the negative aspects that characterize the relationship of queer history amid the past and present, in her work, “Emotional Rescue: The demands of Queer History,” the first chapter in her book, “Feeling Backward: Loss and the Politics of Queer History” (31-32). According to Love, some queer critics have failed to include the harsher accounts when studying queer cross-historical relations. The negative aspects of the past that queer figures can relate to makes it relevant. In her article, Love critiques various works to identify the negative aspects present within the queer history.
In the 1920s, homosexuals were widely accepted. The author of a popular play about homosexuality, Mae West, was an early advocate of gay rights. In the 1930s, the public didn’t want to deal with homosexuality in the actors, so they forced them to retire or keep their sexuality private. Homosexuals would not be accepted again until the 1960s. In the 1930s, life was harsh for homosexuals.
In her novel Oranges Are not the Only Fruit, Jeanette Winterson describes the conflictual relationship between a profoundly religious adoptive mother and her lesbian daughter, Jeanette. The writer’s decision to give the main character her own name reflects the autobiographical content of the novel, since the story is based on the author’s own life. The first part of the chapter examines how the whole story can be interpreted as a fairy tale, and how the mother’s role profoundly changes according to her attitude towards the heroine-narrator. Secondly, the final reconciliation between the two female characters is analysed. Finally, the reasons for the adoptive mother’s rejection of Jeanette’s lesbian nature are discussed.
The wife rejects the label ‘lesbians’ ﴾by definition ‘women having sexual relations’﴿ not for the sake of her own heterosexuality, but simply in regard of her husband’s personal identification. Faced with the ‘terrible lies’ ﴾Kay 277﴿ and cruel scrutiny of the media, Millie views herself as ‘the only one who can remember [Joss] the way he wanted to be remembered’ ﴾Kay 40﴿, constantly seeking solace from fond memories only she has control over. Colman Moody’s perception of his father’s identity is another puzzle solved accordingly to the story’s progress. Initially ashamed and ‘so embarrassed [he] could emigrate’ ﴾Kay 48﴿, Colman displayed a rather rude and sulky attitude whenever digging into his early years alongside Joss.
In most countries worldwide, gay marriage is illegal, forcing homosexuals to remain hidden out of a sense of shame and fear. Many religions, including Judaism and Islam, forbid homosexual acts and behaviour. This is worrying for society as one may not be accepted by one’s own religion, as well as being rejected by society. Furthermore, homosexuality is constantly slated over social media, providing a negative aura surrounding the subject. All these factors influence the fear and shame of an individual.
This novel follows the life of a recent college graduate, Marian MacAlpin, through her career and emotional maturation in a somewhat unnatural, if not threatening world. The queer concept of this world is branded by a spectrum of moral viewpoints of gender politics that manifest themselves and surround Marian. The political and cultural values and practices of a male dominated and sex driven society depicted in the novel are so strong that they seem to devour Marian physically and emotionally. She rebels against this cannibalistic, patriarchal society through a comestible mode and the end, reclaims her identity crisis by restoring her relationship with
She calls her daughter a “slut” and wants her to see she is not a boy. She tells her, “on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming; don’t sing benna in Sunday school; you mustn’t speak to wharf-rat boys...” (180). She must keep her reputation up. She thinks her daughter already knows too much about sexuality and that she is being disobedient by singing the benna in Sunday school.
Homosexuality was once considered sacred in ancient Rome, albeit being treated poorly since the middle ages. Like this, homosexuality has been suppressed for a long time and thenceforth, the public opinion towards it has been on a downward road until recent years when LGBT groups started stepping up front and coming out along with the increasing controversy towards their rights. The subject of homosexuality has always been polemical. Every once in a while a news article would come up saying something like "Manny Pacquiao provokes storm by calling gay people ‘worse than animals’" or "Sam Smith Talks Coming Out As Gay".
There are elements of realism intricately woven within the fabric of the novel. Its depiction of sexuality is a positive portrayal of lesbian love, both sexual and non-sexual love. While Celie compares male sex organs to frogs, Sofia is tired of Harpo’s mechanical lovemaking. On the other hand, Celie’s act of lovemaking with Shug is devoid of any guilt and is liberating. Further, it is a powerful ‘womanist’ text showing productive and strong bonds between women characters and their work culture which together combat the elephantine patriarchal exploitation.
