Gaffney, Tom Between the Swish and the Swagger: Gay Male Identity as Presented by Christopher Isherwood, Larry Kramer, and Michael Cunningham. 2014. Radford University, Thesis. Radford University Scholars' Repository.
 |
PDF
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives. Download (1MB) |
Abstract
In considering the development of a gay identity in America, it is remarkable to consider the drastic change to which that identity has both endured and adapted in only the last half-century. When considering the historical events that have most influenced gay men and their portrayal and performance as sexual minorities, the Stonewall Riots of 1969 and the AIDS Crisis of 1981 are the two catalysts that have most spurred the evolution of how gay men perform their homosexuality. In attempting to better understand how American gay men have evolved in such a performance, I have closely analyzed Christopher Isherwood’s A Single Man, Larry Kramer’s Faggots, and Michael Cunningham’s Flesh & Blood, in order to identify how the gay identity has been historically constructed in America. Specifically, I argue that, in just a few decades, gay men have evolved very quickly in how they construct their identities around their sexual orientation, from being ostracized because of it, to taking on the label of Gay or Queer.
| Item Type: | Thesis |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | P Language and Literature > PS American literature |
| Divisions: | Radford University > College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences > Department of English |
| Date Deposited: | 04 May 2014 22:58 |
| Last Modified: | 20 Apr 2023 17:42 |
| URI: | http://wagner.radford.edu/id/eprint/152 |
Administrative Actions
 |
View Item |
