Fun Home in Context: A Historical, Social, and Cultural View and Influence on the LGBTQI+ Community
Post by Jaymee F
Historical Context
Bechdel publishes her memoir in 2006, although most of the memories shared occur between 1960 – Bechdel’s birth year – and 1980 – the year of Bruce’s passing (Cooke, 2017 November). The 2006 memoir came at a time of social acceptance, a time when audiences were hungry for this kind of honesty. Regardless, even today, society has further to go in terms of absolute acceptance of those identifying as LGBTQI+.
Self-portrait of Bechdel (Cooke, 2017)
Fun Home was well received by readers in 2006 because, finally, an author was talking about issues that needed to be talked about, and from her own perspective. Though Canada legalized gay marriage in 2005, California was the first U.S. state to legalize gay marriage, in 2008 (Koltun, 2017). Finally, in 2015, “…gay marriage became nationally recognized as lawful in the United States” (Koltun).
Al says, “I feel like timing was a huge part of [Fun Home’s] success; if it had appeared a few years earlier, I don’t think it would have gotten the purchase it did within the culture. I don’t think people were ready to read that story before” (qtd. in Cooke, 2017). She continues to speak of her inspiration, Howard Cruse, the founder of Gay Comix in the late 70s. She adds, “[Cruse] devoted years of his life to [Gay Comix], but it didn’t cross over. People weren’t ready to identify with a gay hero. That changed in the next decade” (Cooke).
A contributing factor to Bruce choosing to keep his sexuality secret has to do with America’s view on homosexuality at the time. Bruce was born in 1936 (Bruce Allen Bechdel, 2006) – a decade before America even talked about homosexuality, let alone a time where homosexuals were viewed as equals. As Koltun explains, “Homosexuality in the United States wasn’t formally studied or academically discussed until the 1948 publication of Alfred Kinsey’s Sexual Behavior in the Human Male…”. In 1969, following the violence of the Stonewall Riots, the Gay Liberation Movement surfaced as a fight towards equal rights (Koltun, 2017). Al views her father’s death in 1980 to be a possible blessing, however, in Fun Home she writes, “If he’d lived into those early years of AIDS, I tell myself, I might very well have lost him anyway, and in a more painful, protracted fashion…I might have lost my mother too” (Bechdel, 2006, p. 195).
Social Context
As Berger puts it, socialization is a “process by which people learn to become members of society” (qtd. in Cumming, Module 5.3). Socialization factors including family, school, and environment; these factors work together to influence our outlook on everything (Cumming).
There is no doubt Bruce’s upbringing influenced his inability to accept his homosexuality. Al claims that if Bruce had gotten out of Beech Creek, things would have ended up differently for her father. Beech Creek is a small, close-minded town in Pennsylvania, a state which wouldn’t legalize gay marriage until 2014 (The freedom, n.d., para. 1).
Fun Home showcases a prominent gay culture at Al’s college, fighting for equality and becoming a member of the feminist movement. Al becomes an advocate during these movements in her early adulthood. She is able to surround herself with people just like her. For Al this proved ‘I am not alone’, and she was able to embrace her sexuality, using art to fuel her fight. For Bruce, he had been raised to be ashamed of homosexuality and to suppress his feelings, forcing him to act on his desires in secret most likely encouraging his tragic ending.
Cultural, LGBTQI+, and Feminist Context
Fun Home first received its success in North America, climbing its way to the New York Times list of Best Sellers (Cooke, 2017 November). Today, Fun Home is translated in various languages including Chinese, German, and Czech (StuckinVermont, 2008, December) and is accessible all over the globe through print, PDF, or productions of the hit musical.
Why was it successful?
Fun Home acted as an advocate for the LGBTQI+ community because it shares a tragic but common ending that people can relate to. Al Bechdel is viewed as a pioneer for her work because she wanted to represent her community which wasn’t mainstream at the time (YoungVicLondon, 2018, July). By 2006, a political movement was occurring. The continuous fight for equal rights and the legalization of gay marriage in the States was coming to a head!
Bechdel explains, “Political is personal. Personal is political. I didn’t really become a political person until I realized I was a lesbian. I was just this oblivious, middle class, white kid who didn’t understand the structures of power or repression or anything” (StuckinVermont, 2008). Bechdel knew she had to fight for everything her father couldn’t.
She says, “My very existence became politicized for me and that’s what enabled me to see all of these things. It wasn’t just me, it was a whole cultural movement that was also doing those things that I was a part of” (StuckinVermont).
Alison Bechdel acknowledges, “My father was gay and I was, and we both grew up in the same little Pennsylvania town and he killed himself and I became a lesbian cartoonist” (StuckinVermont, 2008). Mr. Bechdel was a closeted homosexual who chose a tragic path and Al remains an open lesbian and advocates for the LGBTQI+ and Feminist communities.
1981 in NYC:
Bechdel attends her first pride event. She attests, “You know, that itself is a transformative experience when you are no longer just this one freak in the corner, but you’re just like everyone else around you” (YoungVicLondon). Bechdel proves, it is okay to be you, and you are not alone.
Bechdel Test:
What is it? After a conversation with a friend, Al resulted:
1- A film worth seeing must have at least 2 women in it.
2- Those 2 women must talk to each other.
3- They must talk to each other about something other than a man.
“There were hardly any movies that fit that criteria.” – A. Bechdel
As a result, in 1985, Bechdel, already in the early stages of writing her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, added this criterion into a conversation between characters in one of her comics (YoungVicLondon).
Bechdel reveals, “But then, years later after the Internet began, younger feminists somehow found[Dykes to Watch Out For] and felt that it somehow expressed ideas they’d been having themselves about film making…” (YoungVicLondon).
For further YoungVicLondon Pride 2018 inspiration and an interview with Bechdel – click here:
Post Fun Home:
Fun Home allowed for Bechdel’s recognition and put her on the map. After Fun Home’s publication, the New York Times included it on their list of bestsellers, later came the musical, and Bechdel has since made featured appearances on television including The Simpsons – even walking down the street, Bechdel is often recognized (Cooke, 2017 November). Bechdel admits in a discussion of income pre-success, “If Fun Home had not caught on, I would have had to stop [drawing] and do something else” (Cooke).
Fun Musical Fact:
After Fun Home transitioned to Broadway musical, it was acknowledged that this was the first time in history a musical had given voice to a leading lesbian character (Wochit Entertainment). Go Bechdel Go!
References
Bechdel, A. Fun Home. (2006). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. Boston, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Bruce Allen Bechdel. (2006, June 29). Retrieved from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14773553/bruce-allen-bechdel
Bruce Allen Bechdel. (2006, June 29). Retrieved from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14773553/bruce-allen-bechdel
Cooke, R. (2017, November 5). Fun Home creator Alison Bechdel on turning a tragic childhood into a hit musical. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/nov/05/alison-bechdel-interview-cartoonist-fun-home
Cumming, S. (2019). Principles of Sociology Module 5 Socialization. Lecture retrieved from https://slate.sheridancollege.ca
Koltun, Moe. (2017). Fun Home study guide. LitCharts. Retrieved from https://www.litcharts.com/lit/fun-home
StuckinVermont. (2008, December 17). Alison Bechdel [SIV 109] [Video file]. Retrieved fromhttps://youtu.be/nWBFYTmpC54
The freedom to marry in Pennsylvania. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.freedomtomarry.org/states/pennsylvania
Wochit Entertainment. (2015, March 23). Musical ‘Fun Home’ gives voice to first lesbian lead character [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df6isCUFkVE
YoungVicLondon. (2018, July 6). Pride 2018: In conversation with Alison Bechdel [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1_r8F2ubCo&feature=youtu.be
Hello Jaymee,
ReplyDeleteI love your post! I found it very interesting that Alison Bechdel attributes a lot of the success of Fun Home, to timing; she was fortunate enough to release her graphic memoir at a time when the American public, generally speaking, was finally open to receiving her lesbian coming-of-age story. We must imagine how different this time is compared to the society of Alison’s childhood and, certainly, the childhood of her father Bruce. He was the product of a repressed generation that considered homosexuality as deviant and morally reprehensible. It is interesting to note, though, that some more conservative communities tried to ban her book in 2006, including the town of Marshall, Missouri.
As you eloquently state, “There is no doubt Bruce’s upbringing influenced his inability to accept his homosexuality. Al claims that if Bruce had gotten out of Beech Creek, things would have ended up differently for her father.” I found it quite fascinating that gay marriage wasn’t legal in Beech Creek until 2014. It puts the level of conservatism in that community into perspective.
This video talk about how the Supreme Court came to the decision of legalizing gay marriage right after the decision was made.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9AOXWc8TU4
Cheers,
Sarah H