Since reading Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, I have started thinking more the intersection of sexuality, gender, and privilege. For instance, Bechdel’s father used decorations and landscapes as a way to show the world how “normal” they were. Bechdel did not like for people do see her as rich, because that would imply that her family was unusual or different. She says, however, “In fact, we were unusual, though I wouldn’t appreciate exactly how unusual until much later. But we were not rich.” (5)
Bechdel’s father was trying to show the world he was privileged, although he was not. Bechdel’s father also had relationships with men, including the babysitter. Did his theory of covering up lies with the norm also apply to his love life? Did he only marry Bechdel’s mother because he could not be openly homosexual? Or did he want to show the world he was “normal” outwardly but still be “unusual” on the inside?
Pharr says, “In my life I have experienced the effects of homophobia, through rejections by friends, threats upon loss of employment, and threats upon my life.” (24). Bechdel’s father attempted to cover his world with the accepted norm. That way, no one could see how different he was. Do you think Bechdel was more comfortable coming out because she was a woman with white privilege and some monetary privilege? Perhaps the timing of her coming out were more convenient, too (she wasn’t serving in a war with macho men.) All in all, I have just been pondering the intersections of gender, privilege, and sexuality. Do some people have an easier time coming out to the world because of their intersection?
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