“yet they don’t cite Genesis that says marriage is between a man and one or more women.”
I prefer to let most of the terrible exegesis I have read in this and other threads go, but that is so ridiculous I have to comment. What in the world are you talking about? I don’t know how much clearer Genesis 2:24 could be about God’s intention.
“If they had denied her the right to speak, if they had forced the school to change its mind, that would be one thing”
That is what they were seeking, students and faculty. I don’t understand your point?
“Pizzagirl, the book Loukydad mentions was written by a homophobic woman raised by a lesbian mother, who blames her problems on her mother’s sexual orientation, and – of course! – tries to universalize her own experiences by arguing that there are negative effects in general from being raised by gay/lesbian parents. Contrary to every single study/survey that’s ever been done. Somehow I doubt that you’d want to spend your time reading that kind of thing”
Hypocrisy on full display. It is completely ok to remain “ignorant” in regards to this book, because it is written from the wrong perspective. Without even reading it (the mortal sin according to this thread), we can judge the author is homophobic? I thought we couldn’t even comment on a book we hadn’t read?
I haven’t opened this thread since I said my piece in post 1 or 2. Of course some people would make this an issue.
The course that I helped revamp this fall requires Fun Home and has for a while. Not recommends- REQUIRES. It is not a required course, of course, but no one has said a peep and it’s always been well-received. It was one of the few books I left on the syllabus.
I can’t believe 26 pages of discussion has come out of this OPTIONAL book.
When the author of a book appears on TV to explain why she’s opposed to same-sex marriage and parenting, I don’t need to read her book to know that she’s a homophobe. And no, I don’t need to read homophobic authors to learn the “other side”: like every other LGBT person, I’ve been exposed, over and over and over again, on a near-daily basis, to that “side,” for my entire life. No false equivalences, please.
My daughter’s required summer reading for incoming 9th graders was 2 books, one a 540 page traditional novel, the other The Arrival a wordless book. The school’s instructions were:
I’ll be interested to hear my D’s perspective on this. Perhaps one of the points of asking students to read Fun Home was to get them to consider the form of the novel and what makes a work literature or art-much like the discussion we’ve been having here.
In a course about contemporary political debate in the U.S., the book could be relevant. But I don’t think it claims to be a work of literature that would have a place on a university-wide list.
Whether or not Fun House is great literature, the author is very well read and uses great literature to interpret her experiences. That adds quite a dimension to the story. imo.
A discussion of the book might involve discussions of all the literary allusions, and that involves a discussion of quite a few “great books”. How many of the first years reading this book have read Ulysses? or Proust? Collette?
I wonder how many pick up those books after reading the graphic novel?
Dear people being shocked that this is a graphic novel: Asked and answered. See the lengthy (and at times hopelessly boring) discussion of this fact upthread, and please only drag us through all that again if you have something new to bring to the conversation. (Hint: Doing so would involve more than just implying it’s not college-level-worthy, or bringing up comic books, or anything else along those lines.)
“Pizzagirl, the book Loukydad mentions was written by a homophobic woman raised by a lesbian mother, who blames her problems on her mother’s sexual orientation, and – of course! – tries to universalize her own experiences by arguing that there are negative effects in general from being raised by gay/lesbian parents. Contrary to every single study/survey that’s ever been done. Somehow I doubt that you’d want to spend your time reading that kind of thing”
@loukydad “Hypocrisy on full display. It is completely ok to remain “ignorant” in regards to this book, because it is written from the wrong perspective. Without even reading it (the mortal sin according to this thread), we can judge the author is homophobic? I thought we couldn’t even comment on a book we hadn’t read?”
I understand how this seems like hypocrisy to you, but it is actually not. Try think of it this way.
It would be hypocrisy if they would not read a book blaming homosexuality for all of their parents problems, but would want to read a similar book where the author blames heterosexuality for all of her parents shortcomings. I don’t think that is the situation here at all. Most posters here would be equally skeptical of these claims.
You would not think that the opposite of a book about the life experiences of a heterosexual man was a book about how heterosexuality causes all of the worlds problems would you?
I hope that helps you understand the difference. If not please ask questions.
For those arguing (can’t remember who, and I’m too lazy to search upthread) that there is “another side to the debate,” namely that same-sex marriage should not be permitted and that same-sex parenting is bad for kids, would you also argue that there is another side to the “debate” about inter-racial marriage or about children raised by opposite-race or inter-racial parents?
@brantly, I was thinking the same thing. The other point to be made is that Fun Home is not pro-anything, unless it’s pro-honesty. Alison Bechdel is not debating, she’s presenting the story of her emergent sexuality and her life with her closeted gay father. Her history is complicated, her father’s more so. I don’t want to spoil the book for those who are planning to read it, but this is not a rainbows-and-unicorns story.
There is often a tendency for those who are “uncomfortable” with homosexuality (to use a loaded word) to say that it is being “crammed (cramped?) down their throat” by its very mentioning. That is, some famous male mentions his husband, and that is “in your face” when obviously men have been mentioning their wives for as long as rocks have been around. In a similar way, Bechdel is not “celebrating” or “pushing” homosexuality. She is simply telling HER story.
Much2learn, can you explain how with such a filter, one could say or claim anything that is critical of homosexuality as a behavior or lifestyle? From a moral perspective or otherwise?
Unless I am misunderstanding you, the reality is that you really can’t.
Is there any scenario in your view where the story of Jakii Edwards can be told and given as much consideration as the story of Allison Bechdel?
I have never read the Edwards book and I have no idea if it is any good or not. I choose it as object lesson to prove a point.
In other exciting news, loukydad has now finished reading Fun Home in its entirety.
This raises an interesting question: when does the “other side” become so marginalized that there no longer needs to be an acknowledgement that it exists? Certainly nobody feels that they have to honor arguments in favor of slavery. On the other hand, how many of us would feel comfortable with claims that, say, there is no “other side” to the arguments in favor of vegetarianism?
The change in views on gay rights shows how fast this can change. Are we so confident that views can’t change in the opposite direction?
Re: vegetarianism, I think that truly the vegetarians do “win” the day on a factual basis (I say this as a meat eater). They do have lots of good reasons on their side. Never the less, I don’t think “pro-meat” eaters are saying “Vegetarians MUST eat meat”. They are rather saying “I prefer to keep eating meat”.
I’m perfectly ok with anyone saying “I personally believe marriage is only between one many and one woman”. I’m not ok with “I will enforce my belief of that that on you”.
Sure, it will be important to confront that possibility going forward. Just like we have to deal with women’s rights to control their reproduction all over again.
However, as the parent of an adult gay child, I just need a little breather, to enjoy this feeling my child won’t be legally discriminated against (or at least as badly) in the immediate future.
I am extremely grateful to those who remain engaged in the “discussion” and beyond-what-words-can-express grateful to those like Bechdel whose bravery in living open lives have brought us to this place
And it seems to me, less than perfect parenting isn’t tied to orientation. At all.