COMICS JOURNAL 22: Fun Home (Contradiction vs Recognition)
Book: Fun Home
Author: Alison Bechdel
Alison Bechdel used her father and her stories to compare and contrast two homosexual stories, one successful and one failed. She use graphics to illustrate her path of coming out. She accepted her real sexual orientation and confident, so she received support from her family and community. She even shared with readers her first sex experience with Joan.
On the contrary, Alison's father, Bruce, was in the closet because he felt ashamed of being gay. His wife knew his affairs with a few young men. After Alison announcing her sexual orientation, her mother told her about her father's sexual orientation. Two weeks after Alison comes out, her father was hit by a truck and died. Alison believed that her father committed suicide due to his inability to deal with his sexuality.
Bechdel did not appreciate that her father spending too much time on decorating the house and choosing girly wallpaper and furniture when she was young. However, after learning from her mother that her father was homosexual, and her father admitted that he wanted to be a girl, Bechdel finally understood why his father had such taste and behavior. Bechdel learned more about their fathers after illustrating their stories through graphic memoirs and learned to respect.
Through the stories, Bechdel reminded readers that having some contradiction with the society's norm is not the end of the world. They have a choice. Instead of following Alison's father, Alison encourage those who have similar situations follow her example to come out and recognize their own sexual orientation without hesitation.
Author: Alison Bechdel
Alison Bechdel used her father and her stories to compare and contrast two homosexual stories, one successful and one failed. She use graphics to illustrate her path of coming out. She accepted her real sexual orientation and confident, so she received support from her family and community. She even shared with readers her first sex experience with Joan.
On the contrary, Alison's father, Bruce, was in the closet because he felt ashamed of being gay. His wife knew his affairs with a few young men. After Alison announcing her sexual orientation, her mother told her about her father's sexual orientation. Two weeks after Alison comes out, her father was hit by a truck and died. Alison believed that her father committed suicide due to his inability to deal with his sexuality.
Bechdel did not appreciate that her father spending too much time on decorating the house and choosing girly wallpaper and furniture when she was young. However, after learning from her mother that her father was homosexual, and her father admitted that he wanted to be a girl, Bechdel finally understood why his father had such taste and behavior. Bechdel learned more about their fathers after illustrating their stories through graphic memoirs and learned to respect.
Through the stories, Bechdel reminded readers that having some contradiction with the society's norm is not the end of the world. They have a choice. Instead of following Alison's father, Alison encourage those who have similar situations follow her example to come out and recognize their own sexual orientation without hesitation.
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