Problematizing Normative Narratives of Coming Out and Coming of Age in Young Adult Literature: An Analysis of Sáenz's Aristotle and Dante

• In Event: Ethics and Eros: Theoretical Considerations of LGBTQ Young Adult Literature

Abstract

Objective:
The coming-of-age narrative has been a primary trope in contemporary realistic YAL since the 1970s (Cart & Jenkins, 2006). Within LGBTQ YAL, the moment of “coming-out” often serves as a pivotal rite of passage that signifies coming-of-age. In this presentation we trouble the pairing of these common narratives as they work to depict and construct the experiences of youth.

Perspective:/Methods:
We draw on Critical Youth Studies (CYS) to critique coming-of-age as a concept that assumes that youth are incomplete and only become complete adults by resolving predictable social and emotional crises. We layer Queer Theory with CYS to consider how coming-out – when tethered to a coming-of-age narrative – is particularly problematic because it assumes that becoming a complete person requires unambiguously resolving one’s sexual identity, leaving little room for bisexual, transgender, or questioning sexual and gender identities. Further, we argue that when coupled with coming-of-age, coming-out is reduced to a singular moment, rather than (or in addition to) a life-long process.

Data Sources:
We illustrate our thesis through an examination of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Saenz, 2012), arguing that although this novel challenges many myths about experiences of LGBTQ youth (Crisp, 2009), it reifies the notion that LGBTQ youth cannot be happy or complete until they come of age by coming out of the closet.

Conclusion/Significance:
We conclude by arguing that YAL that allows for more nuanced, ambiguous, and developmentally unconstrained narratives of gender and/or sexual identity is needed in order for YAL to fully explore the experiences of youth.

Authors

• Amanda Haertling Thein, University of Iowa

• Kate E Kedley, University of Iowa