After reading this blog, I have to admit there were terms that I have never heard of before and had to research to understand. I never heard of LGBT in literature, but now understand it means lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders. I agree that Halloween is a good evening for people to feel free about their sexual choices because a costume lets someone have the freedom to be someone without being judged in the same manner as they would on a regular day. Their identity is hidden behind a costume.
Today, I think less people feel like they would need Halloween to come out of the closet. Lesbians and gays or "queers" as they were called in this blog are more accepted in today's society, so their relationships are found more often in both children and adult literature. I cannot think of a specific story that I read as a kid that actually was about a lesbian or gay relationship, but I would think science fiction, fantasy and maybe even comic books would be genres with more LGBT (see I am using the new term) because there is more freedom and creativity in the plots.
I have seen some articles that questioned whether or not Batman and Robin were gay. There were some comments made that I think were stereotyping them because they had tights on, but I just thought of the fact that they were in costumes, which is just like what was mentioned in this blog about Halloween. So, they were in costumes too!
I am also a "Harry Potter" fan and had not given much thought to Dumbledore being gay and a teacher. Unfortunately, there have been many gay teachers in the media that have had inappropriate relationships with their students, so it makes gay teachers look bad. I know of a gay foreign language teacher at my high school, and we all thought he was a great guy, and there were no issues. So, I think it is the media that makes homosexual teachers look bad.
Lastly, I think that today's television shows have really been open to gay relationships. I love the show "Two and A Half Men" and Alan's wife divorced him because she thought she was a lesbian. Judith then decides she isn't, and gets married again, but it was talked about on the show. Also, on "Grey's Anatomy" Callie has had relationships with women and talks about being a lesbian. She is now in a relationship with Arizona. Talk hosts like Ellen Degeneres and Rosie O'Donnell not only make a ton of money, but they are honest and open about being lesbians.
In today's world, Halloween is not necessary for people to be open about their sexuality. In fact, it would not be unusual to see a lesbian or gay couple trick-or-treating together or maybe even taking their child out to trick-or-treat.
This is a really interesting response. I agree that sci fi, fantasy, and comic books are probably genres where alternative sexualities can be explored more freely because from the outset they define their territory as the non-normative.
ReplyDeleteIn your last paragraph you say that there is more openness to unheterosexual relationships today, that "it would not be unusual to see a lesbian or gay couple ... taking their child out to trick-or-treat." I wonder if, as gay and lesbian identities become accepted, there are other sexual identities that remain or become stigmatized (for example bisexuality)?
One more point--I just want to make sure you know when I use the word "queer" I don't mean it in the insulting sense in which it has been used but rather in the way it's been reappropriated as a positive/liberating identity by LGBT groups and in the academic field of "queer theory" (Wikipedia gives a good summary of what that's about http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queer_theory).
Good points!
I do like this blog because it’s creative and I agree with the writer’s opinions.
ReplyDeleteAs the modern world develops, internet is available to more and more people. Compared with the old days, nowadays, people have more chance and freedom to express themselves. Maybe in reality, there’re some boundaries for homosexual person. But I think internet is a good stage for them to express themselves. As the writer mentioned in the article, queers don’t need to hide behind the costumes any more.
I always think media has become more and more powerful in recent years. It can make a thing look good and also make it look bad. Sometimes I feel that media is kind of monsters. They rarely remain neutral. Instead, they take side and express their own thoughts without regarding their impact on the readers. So I think that’s not a good thing for readers. We should have our independent thoughts and judgments about the event.