Let's (Not) Talk About Sex, Baby: an Analysis of Queer Topics and Contestations in Children's Literature
Open Access
Author:
Klutch, Maeve Elizabeth
Area of Honors:
English
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Christopher Dean Castiglia, Thesis Supervisor Lisa Ruth Sternlieb, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
queer theory children's literature homosexuality gender heteronormative homonormative
Abstract:
Arguably one of the queerest genres of literature today, children’s literature (both of the modern and traditional variety) explores many themes that are often deemed inappropriate for children by heteronormative standards: sex, sexuality, and gender bending. This paper will examine the specific genre of queer children’s literature and its dualistic reception in American society today. Highlighting three influential and controversial queer children’s texts— My Princess Boy by Cheryl Kilodavis, And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, and King & King by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland— this paper will compare and contrast traditional notions of childhood and modern cultural practices. Through the examination of queer children’s texts and adult reactions to children’s narratives that go outside of normative social values, this paper will investigate the contradictions between queer children’s literature and the heteronormative theme of “protecting the children” and “protecting the family” from queer culture.
