"Queer Design" - Eaklor's Queer America Chapters 4/5

The Beats Generation

The Beats Generation was a group of mostly young men and some women who wrote prose and poetry. Sexual freedom was a big part of their lives and works. Some writers were gay or bisexual, published works that were controversial, and had relationships with other Beat Poets. For example, Allen Ginsberg published Howl (1956), controversial for its references to drugs and sex, both heterosexual and homosexual. He was gay and involved with Peter Orlosky, William S. Burroughs, and Neal Cassady. Similarly, another writer, Jack Kerouac wrote On the Road (1957), which was also controversial for references to drugs and sex. He was involved with both women and men. Though controversial, these works provide validation and representation in literature and bring awareness to an ongoing issue. Since heterosexuality was considered the norm, there weren’t as many works written about homosexual relationships. Controversy surrounding these works brought attention to the inequality that queer individuals faced.

Historian John D’Emilio

In 1983, Historian John D’Emilio published Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities: The Making of a Homosexual Minority in the United States, 1940-1970. In this book, he pointed out the minority status of homosexuals. A minority was a group considered to have less power than the majority as a result of institutionalized discrimination based on a shared trait, such as race, religion, or sexuality. Especially after the Holocaust, people realized that discrimination and other forms of unjust treatment against a vulnerable group were not tolerable. D’Emilio pointed out two things I found interesting: When equality and equal opportunities are denied under the law, these jumpstart movements for civil rights, and a thriving subculture may even undermine a civil rights movement. Since oppression creates unity among the oppressed, the desire for equality and representation leads to these groups speaking out, but those who are “privileged,” as D’Emilio states, may not be part of the community as they do not see a need for change, or they might fear losing what they have.

Social Classes

In the female queer community, women were separated by social classes and thus shared different cultures. While middle and upper-class lesbians and bisexual women preferred private homes and resisted the division of masculine and feminine, working-class women organized public and private gatherings around the division. Queer slang was used to refer to individuals: “Butch” for masculine women, “femme” for feminine women, and “bluff” or “kiki” is used to refer to the middle and upper-class women who did not have clear “roles”. This separation is interesting- in a minority community that should be supporting one another, there is discrimination and even judgment- working-class women went as far as ridiculing the upper-class women for copying heterosexual roles, which can be invalidating to an individual’s identity.