Codes, Silences, and Homophobia: Challenging Normative Assumptions about Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary LGBTQ Young Adult Literature

Autor/in	Wickens, Corrine M.
Titel	Codes, Silences, and Homophobia: Challenging Normative Assumptions about Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary LGBTQ Young Adult Literature
Quelle	In: Children's Literature in Education, 42 (2011) 2, S.148-164 (17 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0045-6713
DOI	10.1007/s10583-011-9129-0
Schlagwörter	Adolescent Literature; Young Adults; Homosexuality; Masculinity; Sexual Identity; Literary Devices; Children; Novels + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Adolescent; Adolescents; Literature; Jugend; Jugendalter; Jugendlicher; literatur; Young adult; Junger Erwachsener; Homosexualität; Männlichkeit; Geschlechtsidentität; Sexuelle Identität; Literaturarbeit; Child; Kind; Kinder; Novel; Roman
Abstract	Since the publication of the first young adult novel to deal with issues of sexual identity, John Donovan's ("1969") "I'll Get There, It Better Be Worth the Trip", over 200 novels have been published centered around gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) characters and conflicts (Cart and Jenkins, "2006", "The Heart has Its Reasons: Young Adult Literature with Gay/Lesbian/Queer Content", "1969-2004". Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press). In significant contrast to early texts, many authors in recent years have sought to promote inclusion of LGBTQ individuals and to present LGBTQ characters in a positive light. To do so, they frequently create antagonistic homophobic characters and situations that provide a sense of realism (Crisp, "2009", "Children's Literature in Education", "40", 333-348). In this paper, I present several representative examples from these novels that challenge homophobia, but ultimately leave it intact. Text excerpts are drawn from the numerous contemporary realistic LGBTQ-themed texts, published between the years 2000-2005, and marketed to young adults. I then contrast these texts with the novel "Boy Meets Boy" (Levithan, "2003"). Through the novel's blurred genres and inventive use of linguistic features, "Boy Meets Boy" is able to more effectively undermine heteronormative assumptions by presenting the unthinkable: children as sexual beings, hegemonic masculinity as in fact non-hegemonic and detrimental to success, and homosexuality as normalized and even ordinary. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10