Teaching the Literature of Lesbian and Gay Experience: An Assimilationist View

The increased visibility of lesbian and gay texts can be considered analogous to and preparatory to the increasing visibility of lesbian and gay people. Students who read about and discuss homosexuality may produce writings which reflect resistance to subject matter but also sensitivity to the relationships which the works studied described. Both the selection and arrangement of texts construct a reality which students experience and contemplate. As such, teachers must ask themselves what kind of world they are creating. To construct a reality which represents the diversity of the culture, instructors must include representations of gay and lesbian life. The choice of texts will influence the nature of student responses to lesbians and gay men. An assimilationist approach (which suggests that homosexuals are "just like" the reader) will only highlight the ordinariness (hetereosexualness) of the homosexual, while the goal should be to celebrate the diversity of the differing lifestyle. (SG)