Mike and I were continuing our conversation about Gay New York outside of class, and we were discussing the absence of lesbians throughout the novel. Now what I'm about to say is a rash generalization, but that doesn't mean there isn't some grain of truth in it. Gays at that time performed a feminine gender role to draw attention to their sexuality. In fact, that is how sexuality was understood. Generally, females were more energetic performers. They were dancers and singers and hostesses- they created spectacle for themselves. Men watched. So it made sense that we see gays appear in history if they were performing feminine roles. But perhaps we don't see lesbians because they took the role of the man, understated and observing the spectacle of women. Men had power, but not the eyes. So while the fairies were gallivanting around the balls, the lesbians could have been at more understated events, avoiding the ridicule of the public and fines from the police.
This may be a generalization, but it's a point to think about.
Enich,
ReplyDeleteI find it strange that lesbians are not talked about even though there seems to be a lot of possible interaction and similar culture between gay men and lesbians of that time period. I have a hard time believing that the lesbian population was so much more understated than gay males' but it's hard to know when the book doesn't elaborate on the lesbian community.
Liza
That GC does not include lesbians in his study does not mean that they did not exist only that he determined that they would not be the subject of his book. He gives some reasons for this: 1) his suspicion that their world was significantly different and 2) the value of a manageable, focused topic.
ReplyDeleteLDL
I think it would definitely be an interesting research project. I haven't taken a close look at the Yale Sexuality research institute, maybe there's a project there. Or maybe Amcon could make our own!
ReplyDeleteI feel like DeAne is right with this one-it's harder to manage a book with two very different topics. Plus, with the onset of WW1, male gay culture became more prominent because of the male experience in Europe and their first taste of metropolitan life.
ReplyDeleteAnd, it would be incredibly different because women wouldn't have had this...I'm reluctant to say opportunity whilst talking about war, but I think you get my point.
I feel like when we get to My Antonia, this will come up again, so it's good to think about.