Queerness In Middlesex And Passing

‘Queer’ by definition means differing in some off way from what is usual or normal (Queer). Passing and Middlesex show the struggles of being queer and the journey to acceptance. The books use the queerness of the characters to show a timeline of evolution. The novels Middlesex and Passing show how a young man and middle-aged woman deal with being different than everyone around them. Cal Stephanides begins his life as a female with a rare chromosomal mutation. His situation goes unnoticed until he was a teenage in an accident with a tractor. His life suddenly changes and becomes very different than what is was. Cal had to overcome odds to find himself be comfortable with his own queerness. Similarly, in Passing, Irene Redfield’s life is interrupted

To start, the location of the novels contributes to how the characters can represent themselves. Detroit, Michigan was known for immigrants coming from all places, causing hostility. Harlem, New York was similar. Racism was an obvious problem, adding a unique sexuality would have been dangerous and put the characters at risk to even more harm. Though the environment didn’t help, Cal had more sexual experiences than Irene. Furthermore, the surroundings contributed to how they could express themselves. Irene did not even share with herself her true feelings. Cal knew he was different but could not say anything for fear of being judged or laughed at by hid friends and family. Additionally, the characters self-esteem affected how they saw their personal queerness. Cal’s self-worth improved significantly throughout his novel. He started out wanting to hide who he was, but then came to terms with it, and was no longer ashamed of himself. Sadly, Irene started out very confident in who she was, however, as her attraction and friendship with Clare grew, she became overly suspicious of friends. The characters experienced first-hand how setting, queerness portrayal, and self-esteem impact their personal outlook on being queer. The experiences the characters went through impacted how their sexualities can be perceived by not only other character, but also the reader. Middlesex and Passing show how differing off of what is normal or usual, is nothing to be ashamed