How a 'Pornographic' Lesbian Graphic Novel Ignited a Culture War at Duke

[mountaineer]

Some blather from a HuffPost contributor.

How a 'Pornographic' Lesbian Graphic Novel Ignited a Culture War at Duke
Posted:  08/28/2015 2:45 pm EDT    Updated:  08/28/2015 2:59 pm EDT   
BY ELIEL CRUZ

A group of freshmen at Duke University is boycotting a critically acclaimed book assigned for summer reading because of its gay-themed content. The book in question is Alison Bechdel's illustrated memoir Fun Home--which has recently been made into a Tony Award-winning musical. The memoir follows Bechdel's relationship with her closeted gay father, who committed suicide after the then-19-year-old author came out to her parents as a lesbian. It's a tough story to read, no doubt, but it's a reality that many LGBT people face. The tender Bildungsroman features themes of acceptance, family, and heartache.

However, Fun Home also features Bechdel's budding sexuality and depicts her relationships with other women, and for a few Duke University freshmen--who have admittedly not read the book--it's too much for them to handle. "I feel as if I would have to compromise my personal Christian moral beliefs to read it," student Brian Grasso wrote on the Class of 2019 Facebook page, citing the book's "graphic visual depictions of sexuality." Fun Home features all of two lesbian sex scenes--neither of which could truthfully be labeled "pornographic." After all, one of the scenes depicts two women naked, chatting, and reading books.

Grasso and the rest of the freshmen boycotting Bechdel's memoir would know this if they first read the book before condemning it. If these freshmen hope to never engage things that'll challenge their sincerely held beliefs, they're in for a big surprise, as academia is exactly the place to be challenged and look outside your worldview. This is particularly important at a time when same-sex couples are being denied their basic, Supreme Court-approved rights, simply because it violates the beliefs of conservatives.

In an essay for Quartz, Amber Humphrey writes that these students are engaging in the "antithesis of education." "Education--especially higher education--obliges us to read, hear, and see things that we might not otherwise encounter," Humphrey writes. "Anyone committed to learning must therefore engage with people, perspectives, ideas, and experiences that may at first seem strange, confusing, or problematic. Learning means we attempt to understand--it doesn't mean we have to like everything we're exposed to."

Firmly staying inside their religious comfort zone will hinder these students' growth both academically and spiritually. Academic settings--like nondenominational Duke University--are communal in part to gain from the knowledge that comes from coexisting with and often being challenged by fellow peers. The conversations that take place in a community help students learn not only with each other but also from each other--in part, by being exposed to the diversity of human experience, whether in terms of religion, race, or sexual orientation.

This is particularly important for this generation. More people are out now than ever--not only in books and movies but also in everyday life. Recent Gallup statistics show that 3.8 percent of the population identifies as LGBT, meaning the chances of knowing someone who is out and proud are highly likely. If you know 26 people, statistics show you likely know at least one. On a campus of 14,850, there are at least 564 out Duke students.

The freshmen students refusing to read Fun Home--and be exposed to authentic LGBT experiences--are swimming against the tide of queer acceptance, with LGBT people gaining increased visibility politically, in the media, and on the Internet in recent years. In GLAAD's latest Studio Responsibility Index report, LGBT visibility in media is at an all-time high--17.5 percent of studio films in 2014 had at least one LGBT character.

While queer people's lives include the same-sex intimacy that rattled the Duke students, our stories are about more than just sex (not that there's anything wrong with sex). Through the queer experience, we see an overarching theme of learning to accept ourselves despite adversity. LGBT narratives include the unique challenges queer youth face in coming of age: through school bullying and in higher rates of suicide. These experiences might be particular to our community--but they're also universal. In reading the stories of queer people, students might find some of their own lives and struggles reflected.

This bubble of ignorance that conservatives live in when they treat LGBT stories as "other" isn't just bad for academics, however--it's also dangerous to our country's ongoing struggle for equality. ...

And so it goes.  The Rev. Franklin Graham commented on Facebook:

Thank God for the Duke University students who had the guts to stand up to the school’s administration and refuse to read the assigned gay- and lesbian-themed book “Fun Home.” This group of incoming freshmen said they felt they would “have to compromise their personal Christian moral beliefs to read it.” The images in the book were called pornographic. Isn’t it a shame that universities all across the country are allowing the LGBT community to push their propaganda on America’s young people! Parents, this should greatly alarm you—and I hope you will make your voice heard. I pray that more students will take a stand like this and refuse to read such immoral and inappropriate material. Let these bold students know how proud you are of them in the comments below [at Huff Post].