Queer acceptance in “Boy in a Whalebone Corset”

For my first blog post, I focused on the poem titled “Boy in a Whalebone corset.” The poem details a scene in which the boy’s father is burning the boy’s “feminine” belongings as the boy watches from the window, recovering from the physically and mentally violent attack. One aspect of the poem that especially stood out to me was the repetition of the phrase “Corset still on” (12). Despite the devasting and frankly disturbing scene that is being described, I try to find a more hopeful meaning within this line. I interpret this line as even in the aftermath of this horrific and traumatic event in the name of “Old Testament God” (12) as said by Jones, the corset remains on as a symbol representing the boy’s unchanged feelings and truth. The father’s actions have not made the boy “less queer” or “less feminine”, as the boy’s queerness and sense of identity remains.

I think of the poem as a memory or reflection of the boy’s past trauma of this event that took place at the hands of his own father and in the name of religion. He is reflecting on this event in order to accept who he is. By using insults likely said by his father such as “w****” and using descriptive words for the “sissy clothes” (“Something pink in his fist, negligee, lace, fishnet, w****”), and of course the phrase “corset still on”, the boy is reclaiming his power of words and actions used to demean him and accepting himself as who he is. This is why I like to think of the line “corset still on” and the poem overall as hopeful, as it means that the boy is reflecting on this event because he has survived. His queerness, or in this case his corset, remains on.