The lines that I really focused one were from “Father in my room looking for more sissy clothes to burn” down to “column of smoke mistaken for Old Testament God.”(12) I think these lines are about religion’s role in homophobia and hatred as well as familial relationships. The fathers actions (searching, burning, believing the son is a whore) show a pretty intense attempt to enforce gender norms. The destroying of clothing is deeper than just the clothing, it seems he is trying to erase his son. The signs of religion (Sodom, Locusts, Old Testament God) try to justify the fathers hatred through his religion. As someone with a background in religion, I am aware that these are biblical symbols for punishment (aka divine wrath). By connecting the fathers cruelty to religious symbols, the poem seems to disagree with how religion is used as a cover up for prejudice. Now the corset is a huge part of this poem and I am really focusing on the line “Corset still on, nothing else, I’m at the window;… (12)”. The corset is restrictive (tight, bruising) but also empowering (his self identity). It carries physical pain but also defiance. The line “corset still on”(12) is so powerful because it shows endurance. I connected this poem to other poems by Danez Smith because their poems often talk about family, homophobia and religion. Also not to get WAYYY too deep but the bible. All in all, I think the poem suggests queer survival IS an act of resistance.
I loved how in your post you said, “the destroying of clothing is deeper than just the clothing, it seems he is trying to erase his son.” I agree with this statement. When I originally read this poem, I thought that the father’s actions were immature. Burning the son’s “female” clothes won’t stop him from being gay, it will only strain their relationship. It reminds me of section 14 in “History, According to Boy” because the father once again uses aggression in order to target his son and ends up villainizing himself.
I love your analysis of this, specifically in the upper half, when you talked about religion and how religion is used as a means of harming homosexual culture. I thought exactly the same as “by connecting the father’s cruelty to religious symbols, the poem seems to disagree with how religion is used as a cover-up for prejudice,” and I loved reading this! I think the common theme of religion showing up in so many LGBTQ+ stories is something so fascinating and raw (obviously terrible, but fascinating).
I really liked how you interpreted the corset being tight and bruising but empowering and the role that religious trauma plays in the poem. After everything, the corset staying on is definitely a reference to queer erasure, and how no matter how much abuse queer people suffer they will never stop being queer. It’s the only poem that specifically references religion, but I think it connects to “Boy at Edge of Woods”, in which he talks about a burning home, which I interpreted to be hell.
The act of burning and the mention of queer love in the same poem is quite prevalent through his other works. In the “Boy at the edge of the woods,” he has the same format and themes of burning, family, gay, and feeling tight. I completely agree with your interpretation of the the whalebone corset story, and I do find it intriguing that you find the poem to suggest that queer survival is an act of defiance and resistance. I could not agree more. The theme throughout the poems series, is that the father is not okay with queerness and has made that clear to his son through acts of violence as punishment. The son is defying is father’s will by not “stopping” being queer and trying to survive his father’s wrathful eye and fist.