Only four months earlier, I had made an announcement to my parents. I am a lesbian….Then a phone call in which dealt a staggering blow. Your father has had affairs with other men. I’d been upstaged, demoted from protagonist in my own drama to comic relief in my parents tragedy. (58). “
This statement comes from the main character in Fun Home, the daughter, who is trying to find herself and accept who she is. This sentiment is important in life, because we are able to see in the text, and in our own lives, these efforts being made to reveal ourselves to others, and having a challenging time doing so. Everyone experiences this moment at some point, regardless of your age, gender, identity etc. The graphic novel portrays this character as struggling, and then liberated in discovering her sexual identity and herself.
In life, we all have moments where it comes time to reveal something personal and private, or to make a significant decision, but then some moment blocks you from doing so. This moment is when you discover that you are stronger than you think, and can handle staying quiet for the time being, or being louder than anyone in the room, depending on what you are sharing entails. This isn’t a tangible concept that we face, but it is a mentality that we go through, to become who we are.
The reason I thought this would make a good comparison to something that each one of faces in our daily lives is because it was a secret yet to be revealed. In our lives we all have secrets that no one, or a small few know about. These type of secrets tend to change some part of who you are, for better or for worse. I was reminded about our journal entry we had to write for the previous class, and how some of us were talking about significant moments we didn’t realize were significant until we reflected on them. However, for characters like the daughter in Fun Home, her secret does change her, but in the change, she seems to be happier to announce to the world that she is a lesbian, that she has finally figured herself out for her own sake. This is why I think her self discovery relates to our every day lives, regardless of your sexual orientation, age, gender, or whatever category in which you place yourself.
This just makes me think about that TED talk about us all having our own closets to come out of. I really agree that everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, etc. have difficulties and “hard truths” to say at some point in their lives. Can you relate this to another text we have read in class? Perhaps in M. Butterfly, when Gallimard has to confront his relationship with another man. In Cereus Blooms at Night, when Mala has to face the fact that she has been sexually abused, or Tyler exploring his sexuality and desires through the dress. These themes run rampant throughout so many of the texts we have explored – make connections!!