| �The Use of Gay and Lesbian Characters in School Literature and Young Adult Novels� 04.04.01 Why do people read? We read for entertainment, to escape, and to acquire knowledge. We read for �the shock of recognition, the sudden, amazing realization that one is not alone, that there are others like me out there, (Cart, 1997, 40).� This literature review set out to explore how visible literature containing gay or lesbian characters is in schools. I also took a look at how this literature affects youth and how the lack of exposure to gay or lesbian characters affects youth. In the 1940�s and the 1950�s literature that included gay or lesbian characters portrayed these characters as being shady, odd, or dangerous to society (Jenkins, 1998, 307). Between 1967 and 1969 a new type of book for young adults came out. These books were classified as contemporary realism or problem novels. New realism books for young adults were characterized by plots that portrayed real problems which did not always have happy endings (Jenkins, 1998, 299). John Donovan�s �I�ll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip� (1969) was the first young adult novel to specifically address homosexuality (Jenkins, 1993, 43). From 1969 to 1984 (16 years), 31 young adult books were published that included gay or lesbian characters (Jenkins, 1998, 301). From 1985 to 1992 (8 years), 30 young adult books were published that included gay or lesbian characters, and from 1993 to 1997 (5 years), 38 young adult books were published that included gay or lesbian characters (Jenkins, 1998, 301). According to a 1994 Louis Harris poll there are an estimated 2 million gay or lesbian youth in the United States (Cart, 1997, 40). When you consider this estimate and that 30% of teenagers who commit suicide do so out of anxiety due to issues concerning homosexuality it can be concluded that this is still a small number of novels available (Cart, 1997, 40). It is good that the number of these novels being published is increasing each year. Are youth being exposed to these novels in school? Alyson Publications specializes in gay and lesbian fiction and non-fiction and they have two of the most rejected or censured books in the 1990�s, �Daddy�s Roommate� and �Heather Has Two Mommies� (Cart, 1997, 40). Both of these books have children living with same-sex parents (Cart, 1997, 40). Nancy St. Clair teaches a college course at a small midwestern college located in Iowa, entitled �Women�s Literature/Woman�s lives�, in which she exposes her students to lesbian literature (Clair, 1995, 38). Her students repeatedly tell her that they did not know that these types of books existed and that they were thankful that she had exposed them to these books (Clair, 1995, 38). The literature that I have reviewed shows that only a small amount of teachers expose their students to literature with gay and lesbian characters and that most youth are not exposed to this type of literature and that they may not even know it exists. How important is it to expose students to literature that contains gay or lesbian characters? For gay and lesbian youth it is very important. Alyson Publications says that gay and lesbian teens have far to few �safe� places to get answers to questions important to them and that books are an important �safe� place (Cart, 1997, 40). Gay and lesbian youth face the possibility that if they tell their families that they are gay or lesbian their families could totally reject them and leave them without any form of support. The fear of rejection and �the social stigma surrounding homosexual behavior discourages gay and lesbian teens from discussing the confusion and turmoil about their emerging identities (Norton & Vare, 1998, 327). �Reading a book is safer for a gay teenager than talking to a person because there�s no risk of rejection from a book (Cart, 1997, 40).� It is also important to expose straight youth to gay or lesbian characters because most student �homophobia (fear and hatred of homosexuals) stems from their ignorance or lack of knowledge and understanding of homosexuality and institutionalized heterosexism (Otto, 1995, 493).� The U.S. Department of Justice has data that shows that �Gays are the most frequent victims of hate crimes in the United States�, and these crimes result from homophobia (Norton & Vare, 1998, 329). Exposing straight youth to gay and lesbian characters could educate them about homosexuality and promote tolerance. Exposure to gay or lesbian characters in literature can benefit straight, gay, and lesbian youth. It is the characters in stories that make reading meaningful (Van Horn, 1997, 342). When we read we compare our lives to the lives of the characters, we hear other people talking to us, and we merge our personal experience with the text (Van Horn, 1997, 343-345). It is important for youth to be exposed to literature that includes gay and lesbian characters. For gay, lesbian, or questioning youth, gay and lesbian characters provide a �safe� source of information that can help them to answer questions relevant to their lives, show them that they are not alone, and provide them with comfort and hope. For straight youth, gay and lesbian characters can teach them tolerance and reduce homophobia. References: Cart, Michael. (1997). Honoring Their Stories, Too: Literature for Gay and Lesbian Teens. Alan Review, 25, No. 1, 40-45. Clair, Nancy St. (1995). Outside Looking In: Representations of Gay and Lesbian Experiences in the Young Adult Novel. Alan Review, 23, No. 1, 38-43. Greenbaum, Vicky. (1994). Literature Out of the Closet: Bringing Gay and Lesbian Texts and Subtexts Out in High School English. English Journal, 83, No. 5, 71-74. Jenkins, Christine. (1993). Young Adult Novels with Gay/Lesbian Characters and Themes 1969-1992: Historical reading of Content, gender, and Narrative Distance. Journal of Youth Services in Libraries, 7, No. 1, 43-55. Jenkins, Christine. (1998). From Queer to Gay and Back Again: Young Adult Novels with Gay/Lesbian/Queer Content, 1969-1997. Library Quarterly, 68, No. 3, 298-334. Norton, Terry L., & Vare, Jonatha W. (1998). Understanding Gay and Lesbian Youth: Sticks, Stones, and Silence. Clearing House, 71, No. 6, 327-331. Otto, Wayne. (1995). The Gay Nineties. Journal of Reading, 38, No. 6, 492-495. Robinson, Kristin E. (1994). Addressing the needs of Gay and lesbian Student�s: The School Counselor�s Role. The School Counselor, 41, No. 5, 326-332. Van Horn, Leigh. (1997). The characters within us: Readers connect with characters to create meaning and understanding, Journal of Adolescent & Adult literacy, 40, No. 5, 342-347. |
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