Linky

[bcholmes]

Seen on jodawi's journal:

Much African American fiction in the twentieth century includes a common pivotal element in the growth of black characters: the first time one stands up to white indignity; refuses to touch one’s hat; objects to being called "boy"; and of course most famously, doesn’t give up one’s bus seat. For gay people, the equivalent experience, reproduced over and over again in fiction and reality, is the time when one finds dignity and courage by leaving one’s family, moving hundreds or thousands of miles, and finally finding a replacement family in the gay neighborhoods of New York, Chicago, or San Francisco. And, very often, never seeing or speaking to that birth family again.

An excellent piece.

Comments

[lovecraftienne.livejournal.com]

This reminds me of a complaint I heard from a friend on the lesbian-moms e-mail list, when she said that children heroes in books always are orphans, or are in some way separated from their parents, to which I responded by pointing out that, as an author, if I want the kids' story to be interesting, I need them to not have easy answers to things - hence, I need to find some way to restrict access to that great Deus Ex Machina, The Parentals.

I think that in a broader sense novels generally are more interesting when the characters are taken away from their element somewhat, put into a new place or time or situation, one which requires them to stretch and grow to meet their new challenges.

And I guess the point I'm trying to make is, while these elements may be fairly common in queer coming-of-age books anymore, they really tend to be common in fiction generally, because they're as much fictive devices as they are integral story bits - accomplishing other things than simply relating the story.

Dunno if that made any sense, but it's a topic to which I've given some thought, in trying to produce good writing myself. Interesting point.