Literature out of the Closet: Bringing Gay and Lesbian Texts and Subtexts out in High

School English
Author(s): Vicky Greenbaum
Source: The English Journal , Sep., 1994, Vol. 83, No. 5 (Sep., 1994), pp. 71-74
Published by: National Council of Teachers of English

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/820418

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 Literature Out of the Closet:
Bringing Gay and Lesbian
Texts and Subtexts Out in
High School English
Vicky Greenbaum

a, a stu t at th high more recent literature full of gay and lesbian

ere I' teac de- voices.
cide comr a n in Emily Dickinson's letters to the Rev.
fr the -chool cam- Wadsworth and Mr. Higginson are often
eet old a about mentioned in English classes; her loving let-What
Sp s. In one day, ters to Susan Gilbert Dickinson are not.
e tu o describe Shakespeare's brilliant use of language (in-
happens when
literature is
in eir love: using cluding bawdy double-entendres) rates a
ct other gram- stripped
mention; his love-sonnets to several British of all
atical 'were to describe
noblemen do not. When teaching Tennesseegay and
their ide an, girls were to de-
Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, the play's
lesbian
scribe their ideal man. Shula told her cam-
strengths are mentioned, along with thesubtexts?
pus meeting audience how she strong
sat, brow
female in
characterization in the personWhat
a knot, afraid that students might be asked
of Maggie; the agony of Brick's self-inflicted
to read their descriptions out
homophobia
loud. She happens
is not. As a brilliant black when
those subtexts
novel, Aliceim-
didn't want to give in to the assignment's Walker's Color Purple is men-
plicit heterosexism, but writing tioned about a
with increasing are
frequency; the les-
woman would have meant a surprise revela-which thrives at the novel'sacknowledged
bian relationship
tion about herself to the class.center
Finally,
is not. she
Too often, current teaching ofand explored?
literature inref-
decided to write the assignment without American classrooms tends to
erence to gender. When Shula assume stood thatup lesbian
in and gay content is not
front of the campus meeting, she there,said, "I'm and gay students don't ex-
that lesbian
tired of everyone assuming that
ist, that I'm
lesbian and gay experience is invis-
straight." ible. Due to conventions of morality, due to
Unfortunately, in less hospitable sur- homophobia, the pervading assumption re-
roundings, where people are penalized for mains which upset my lesbian student:
not being straight, gays and lesbians have every text, and everyone, is assumed
often wished, for their own safety, to be as- straight.
sumed heterosexual. While I, as an openly Correcting this error is a matter of con-
lesbian faculty member, teach that being scious awareness. Teachers need to know
open about your sexuality is a right instead that because exclusion and fear create pain
of a privilege, I also explain the long history and distance, it's important that gay and les-
of hiddenness which is most obvious in the bian voices be heard. Qualms about shock,
literature taught in English classes. What disruption and decorousness may recede in
students need now, I think, is a balanced the face of this realization: invisibility and
view of literature: gay and lesbian students silence hurt gay and lesbian people.
need to know that voices like theirs are ac-
TEACHING GAY SUBTEXTS IN
tive, and straight-identified students need to LITERATURE
see that there are many ways to be sexual in As this realization dawned for me, I be-
the world.
gan cautiously to teach gay subtexts in litera-
This means that all students should be
ture in my public-school English classrooms
made aware of homoerotic subtexts in litera-
eight years ago. As a closeted lesbian teacher,
ture of the past, as well as being aware of
I felt the risks most keenly.

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 Therefore, I developed some ground called it. His new collegiate boyfriend was
rules for myself: the first man with whom he'd talked about
books and gay culture.
always mention all the subtexts, not just
homoerotic ones (be aware of racism, sex-
One day, a new light bulb ignited over
ism, cultural differences too) so that stu- Steven's head; in the five remaining minutes
dents can begin noticing subtexts on their of lunch period that day, he explained his
own; idea. Our latest reading project was The Se-
cret Sharer by Joseph Conrad, and the class
if possible, wait until trust is established be-
fore working with difficult matters; was to have completed the novella for
homework. "I think Secret Sharer is about
always be prepared for what might come
up. being gay," Steven confided. "That's a good
thesis," I agreed, and then we discussed
The results were positive, in class after
Conrad's description of doubleness, secrecy,
class, year after year. Entire classes began to
the men leaning together over a bed, the
notice the often ignored (or tiptoed-around)
sense of longing, imbued with silence and
moments such as when Holden goes to Mr.
concealment, of two men together.
Antonelli's house in Catcher in the Rye, or the
Over the next few lunchtimes, I met
possibility, in Glass Menagerie, that Tom Steven for mini-seminars on subtext and
might be gay. Though I did feel that inner
metaphor as he compiled evidence from the
tension, arising from my closeted discom-
text in support of his idea. The need to keep
fort, whenever homosexuality came out in a homoeroticism hidden and subtextual in his
text, I noticed that my students' increasing
own life lent flavor to his analysis of the liter-
comfort level eased my own inner strain. In-
ary subtext as an undercurrent, a hint of
deed, by the time I'd switched coasts and
meaning not spelled out in the story. When
venues, becoming a (still closeted) teacher
students were discussing their writing as-
on split English/Music assignment in an East
signment for the novella, Steven managed to
Coast prep school, the discomfort was re-
bring up this idea in class. He felt the need to
duced to a small hardness in my midriff. Af-
Emily ask the question in homophobic disguise:
Dickinson's ter all, by January my ninth-grade English
"Is this about faggots?" I was able to frame a
students were discovering homoerotic sub-
letters to the dignified reply, despite the irony: the first
texts inJulius Caesar on their own.
Rev. homophobic statement heard in class that
A chance encounter with Steven, a
year emanated from the mouth of this clos-
Wadsworth member of the first senior English class I
eted teen. However, his paper on subtle ho-
ever taught, gave me my first glimpse of how
and Mr. moeroticism merited an A, and as we
important this kind of understanding was
Higginson are adjourned for summer vacation, Steven re-
for gay students. One weekend in April, I
often quested a list of literature with gay subtexts.
attended a dance for gays and lesbians at the
mentioned in His excitement taught me that his invisible
nearby university and saw Steven with a col-
hunger might lurk everywhere, and it was
English lege-aged male friend. At first he avoided me
time for me to think of strategies for feeding
classes; her but, later in the evening, he appeared at my
students something new and needed.
loving letters elbow. "Hi, Ms. Greenbaum," he smiled
A few colleagues have reacted dismis-
to Susan sheepishly After introducing our partners,
sively to what they call "fishing for extrane-
Gilbert we briefly talked. He was clearly elated to be
ous debris" in literature. My response: what
talking to me about being gay. At the end of
Dickinson are the narrow eye views as "debris" is in fact
the dance he said merrily, "See you in class!"
not. central to many human lives. I challenge
and from then on, when I approached the
these colleagues to broaden their vision to
classroom bungalow each day after lunch, include others beside themselves, beside the
Steven was there waiting.
He needed to talk about the fear of dis-
common Everyman which exclusively
dominated literary vision and practice for far
covery, especially from his parents. He'd
too long. We can see the world as a bigger
been sneaking down to the local gay bar for
place now. We, as readers and teachers, can
two years, meeting guys, making up stories
know that the fear of displacement comes
to hide from parental scrutiny Most of all, he
from the fallacy of one center; instead, why
was ready to learn more about the thought-
not view life as a palette, or spectrum, of
ful side of being gay-"the mental side," he
options? We can see that texts are written by

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authors, and that subtexts exist everywhere. difficult) experience or discovery about
This kind of vision is coming out even more them. Then we read the stories, and stu-
as more gay and lesbian people come out in dents are ready to see how homosexual peo-
schools. ple can and do fit in with family
TEACHING GAY AND LESBIAN
dynamics-which are often deeply complex
LITERATURE in and of themselves. This reading works
best inI the context of a unit of reading and
When I was able to safely come out,
thinking about families of all kinds.
found myself able to teach gay and lesbian
literature as well. Midway through teaching
CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF
a summer literature class, I introduced The
Looking back, I think my most memo-
Color Purple as (among other things) a les-
rable teaching experiment happened when I
bian novel. My class read the novel, taught
made Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin
maps of who was at the center of theRoofbook, to summer-school students in San
discussed the absence of white people and
Francisco. These students enrolled in my in-
the scarcity of men. We used Purple as dependent
a way school literature class because
to examine how literature works in society.
they had failed their sophomore English
Students read from their response logs and in public high school, or because
classes
discussion ensued; I didn't have to lead very
they were recent immigrants who were
much at all. Students invented dialogues be- up on high school credits in order
catching
tween characters to explore feelings further:
Teachers
to graduate by the time they were eighteen. need
one exercise had students writing andBy
acting
the fifth week of our eight-week session,
to know that
out a dialogue between Celie and her the"fa-
students enjoyed my class, were used to
ther" (who she later discovers is a stepfa- because
writing daily, and felt at home in our discus-
ther). Students explored their feelings about
sions. We read Cat aloud: we took turns exclusion and
lesbianism, from "eeew" to acceptance.playing the parts because Francisco's severefear create
My open lesbianism caused students to prevented him from reading longer
dyslexia pain and
be gentler in expressing their homophobia
works at home, and Yifang's English was still distance, it's
than they might've been had I been seen as
dependent on the translating services of his
straight; one boy wrote, "it must be hard for neighbor Wu. After three days we important
classroom
you to hear people say 'Eeew' about you, so
were done, and I asked for the usual fivethat gay and
I'm sorry that was my first reaction." I en- as homework. Students knew to
questions
lesbian voices
couraged them to explore the roots bringofin questions to which they did not
be heard.
"eeew," to see where such reactions come
know the answers, interpretive as well as
from, to see if they wanted to keep reacting
factual questions.
that way. "Not if it hurts someone," a Tony,
girl from a severe boys-only Catholic
replied. Because the students saw me school, aasked: why is Brick making a big
as
person they didn't want to hurt, and because
deal about the handshake with his dead
Celie was a character with whom they were Tanisha, who'd missed most of
friend?
fully sympathetic, they were able tospring
think semester when she and her mom left
openly about lesbian sexuality in writing
her abusive stepfather to live in a women's
and in life.
shelter, had an answer. Tanisha thought it
Another successful classroom experi- was because he killed himself as a result, and
ence involves a group of short stories: "So's
Brick thinks he mistook himself for gay.
Yo Mama" from Julie Blackwomon's collec-
Francisco, whose listening skills were sharp
tion in Voyages Out 2, "When You Grow to
because reading gives him trouble, gave a
Adultery" from Family Dancing by David different answer, quoting Big Daddy when
Leavitt, and "A Birthday Remembered" by he says that love is love and nothing to be
Ann Allen Shockley in Between Mothers and ashamed of. "So maybe he was gay?" I asked.
Daughters. Students write and talk about Some students didn't like this, thinking it's
what it might be like to have a lesbian mom
perverted, weird, "eeew." I stirred the pot a
(in the Blackwomon story) and to have les- little, mentioning for the first time that I am
bian and gay relatives or to be a homosexual a lesbian. This created a sidebar of discus-
relative (the Shockley and Leavitt pieces). sion, lasting perhaps twenty minutes before
We begin with stories of relatives belonging I steered us back to the text (fortunately
to students, writing about a memorable (or

English Journal 73
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 these summer sessions lasted three hours comes up in discussion all the time: love, sex
each morning). and family dynamics tend to be literary sub-
By the time we got to writing, students ject-matter, worthy of taking a thesis on,
had thoroughly discussed sexuality in termswriting a story about, or discussing in class.
of the play, in terms of a real person (me), inWhy not banish fear and broaden the spec-
terms of people they've known and seen ontrum? Students, gay and straight, will benefit
the street. We had also discussed Maggie's from inclusiveness of all kinds; self-accep-
strength, Brick's alcoholism, how families in tance, acceptance of others, and a literary
the South differ from, or resemble, our own intelligence cognizant of the many texts
families, and how the dramatic structure of
lurking in humankind, are fostered through
Students, gay the play works. We wrote; students could inclusive teaching.
and straight, choose between a personal essay (using "I"),
Note
will benefit and an interpretive thesis (whose formal
from structure I taught them earlier). I wrote
An extensive analysis of hidden aspects of Dickinson's
inclusiveness along with them. After a half hour, we didsexuality occurs in Adrienne Rich's "Vesuvius at
Home: The Power of Emily Dickinson," in On Lies,
some critiquing in small groups, then took
of all kinds. Secrets, and Silence: Selected Prose 1966-1978
the rest home to complete and polish toward (1979, New York: WW Norton).
a final draft.
The next day, we read the drafts aloud Works Cited

and discussed some ideas. Yifang asked why
a writer would choose a difficult and taboo
subject like this one, and is it just an Ameri-
can thing? No one had an answer; after a few
moments I responded mentioning Japanese
Blackwomon, Julie, and Nona Caspers. 1990.
Voyages Out 2: Lesbian Short Fiction. Seattle:
Seal Press.
Koppelman, Susan, ed. 1985. Between Mothers
and Daughters. New York: The Feminist
Press of CUNY.

author Yukio Mishima's gay novel, Confes- Leavitt, David. 1984. Family Dancing. New York:
Knopf.
sions of a Mask, and Andre Gide's novels
Mishima, Yukio (translated by Meredith Weath-
about French gay subculture. I also men-
erby). 1985. Confessions of a Mask. New
tioned that Williams was gay. Tony won- York: New Directions Publishing Co.
dered why teachers didn't tell him this when
Vicky Greenbaum teaches English and violin at
teaching The Glass Menagerie last year, and Northfield Mt. Hermon School in Northfield, Massa-
we discussed why authors' lives might or chusetts, where she also conducts the school's sym-
might not be important for readers to know phony orchestra.

about. Jennifer (one of two white people in

the class and one of two females as well)
pointed out that heterosexuality gets talked
about all the time, as with Maggie and Brick's
marriage, so we may as well speak of other
kinds as well. Finally, Marco (a recent,
straight immigrant from Brazil who man-
aged to convince homophobic Tony that not
all gay guys want to "hit on" him the mo-
ment they see him) asked if today's writing
could be a story about what Williams was
thinking when he wrote this play. After some
discussion, the whole class accepted this,
and the writing began.
The American Library Association
(ALA) announces its annual Banned
Books Week (September 14 through
October 1), a yearly celebration of in-
tellectual freedom.;This year marks
the thirteenth Banned Books Week,
and ALA has available a resource
guide which includes an annotated
bibliography of challenged and
banned books from 387 B. C. to the
present and tips for dealing with con-
cerns aboutilibrary resources. For
more information, write: ALA, 50
East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611-
2795.

EXPLORING TEXTS AND SUBTEXTS

When talking these experiences over

with heterosexual colleagues, I tend to re-
mark that it's easier for them, as heterosexu-
als, to present and explore these texts and
subtexts than for a closeted gay teacher or
even for an "out" lesbian for whom the is-
sues are personal. Also, heterosexuality

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