Friday, March 27, 2015
Gender Reactions in Fun Home
When Alison comes out to her parents, I found it pretty obvious why her dad takes it better than her mother. Granted, her dad being gay would give more grounds to sympathize with her than most parents. However, I feel that gender role plays a huge role in Alison's parents separate reactions to her letter. Even if Bruce were heterosexual he would likely have a similar reaction. Alison will always be his little girl and her sexuality would not change their relationship. Helen on the other hand, does not just brush it off nearly as easy. Being the same sex, a mother daughter relationship is going to change drastically. Helen is now, especially during the seventies/eighties, going to miss out on huge moments in her daughters life. I'm sure Helen feels she is going to miss out on these sacred experiences, like shopping, her wedding, and even grandchildren. Helen is at first in denial when she decides to reply to Alison, explicating her doubts "I imagine that, if in the long run, your choice turns out to be a serious one, I could live with it, but I truly hope this does not happen" (77). Helen seems to be hoping that this is just a phase and she is going to come to her senses. It seems that Helen will accept this in the future, if she must, but their relationship will be affected by Alison's sexuality forever. A father and son going through the same thing would likely affect the father son relationship more than the mother and son's relationship. As human-beings we tend to expect the same interests and life experiences of the same sex, to relate to one another.
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It is definitely clear that Alison's father is more understanding because of his own sexuality. You bring up a good point in saying that we "tend to expect the same interests and life experiences of the same sex;" however, I can't help but to think that Alison's mother reacts this way because she knows about Alison's father, and I'm not sure Alison's father would be as understanding if he were heterosexual. That's something left for us to ponder.
ReplyDeleteI agree with some of your post. Personally, I thought that Alison's mother had seen the hardships that Bruce has went through as a gay individual and is therefore worried about Alison's future. On the other hand, I believe Bruce is happy to have someone to connect with about sexuatliy. Also, he seems pleased that Alison knows who she is and is not afraid to show it.
ReplyDeleteAs Paige pointed out I feel Alison's mother's reaction is more to do with her feelings towards her husband. Regardless of how Alison may have felt about homosexuality beforehand slowly realizing over the years that her husband was a homosexual and having extramarital affairs likely created a sort of resentment towards Bruce and his homosexuality. I feel that these feelings are what she is reflecting onto Alison's own homosexuality. I also do not agree that Bruce would have reacted the same way had he been heterosexual because not everyone is that accepting. I have known many gay women who have been disowned by both parents. I do not think it was ultimately gender that factored in to their responses.
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