Final Project: Multicultural Literature: LGBTQ

Introduction

In a world where thousands of books are published a year there are several groups of people who are underrepresented within our literature, especially in children’s and adolescent literature. For my final project I decided to focus on the LBGTQ community, specifying in the portrayal of gay teen characters. As I began my search for rich, quality books that have a gay main character I was quickly enlightened as to the lack of books that are available in this group. After extensive research, I was able to select several quality books that portrayed the gay character in a manner that attempted to avoid stereotypes discussed sexuality in a sensitive manner and had universal themes that are relatable to most readers. After I was able to pick out these books, the hardest part was finding them in a bookstore. I went to several bookstores and was unable to find any of my prospective book choices. This just goes to prove the point that not only is this group underrepresented in literature but when there is good literature about the LGBTQ community, it is rare to find it on the shelves. The three books I chose each have a different focus. One is a children’s picture book that tells a true story of a gay penguin couple, another book is about the struggles of self-denial and finally the last book focuses on a high school student dealing with the aftermath of coming out. Each book brings something new to the experiences of a gay character and provides readers a new base for understanding someone who may differ from them yet may also share many of the same experiences as they do. The three books I am recommending are Absolutely, Positively Not, And Tango Makes Three and Out of the Pocket.

Book Review 1: And Tango Makes Three

Richardson, Justin & Peter Parnell. And Tango Makes Three. New York, NY; Simon & Schuster, INC., 2005.

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell is a true story about two male penguins, Roy and Silo, who live in the Central Park Zoo. Unlike the other penguin pairs, Roy and Silo choose each other despite that they are both males. Since they cannot produce a child, they build a nest and nurture a small pebble to fill the void of being childless. When they are given an opportunity to hatch an egg, Roy and Silo defy standards to create a family of their own. And Tango Makes Three gives us the story of true love without regulations and reminds readers that a family is what you make it to be.

Richardson captures the perfect combination of human nature at its finest and undeniable love. This picture book not only has illustrations that enhance the text but the story itself is true. Richardson is able to touch on the sensitive subject of homosexuality but does it in a way that is understandable to any age by not making it the focus of the text. Through the use of this real life story, Richardson reminds readers that these penguins relationship was natural. Overall And Tango Makes Three is a great reminder that love is not determined by gender but it is defined by selflessness, commitment and love for each other. Roy and Silo are nature’s way of showing love in its purest form.

Book Review 2: Absolutely, Positively Not

LaRochelle, David. Absolutely, Positively Not. New York, NY; Arthur A. Levine Books, 2005.
If there’s one thing Stephen learns in high school, it’s that being a ladies man may entail more than he expected. Absolutely, Positively Not by David LaRochelle brings laughter to the journey through high school and personal acceptance. Sixteen year old Stephen loves to square dance with his mom and spend time with his best friend Rachel. When a new teacher arrives at his school his world gets turned upside down. Stephen’s daydreams have a new lead role featuring his teacher who just happens to be male. Sneaking a peak at an old library book, Stephen learns that in order turn away these thoughts he must make everything in his life more masculine. Through rubber band therapy, hanging with the manly clique and dating as many girls as possible Stephen explores a variety of experiences on his journey of self-denial. After realizing that all his efforts are not fixing his “problem”, he must face his fears, tell Rachel and begin to embrace who he truly is. To Stephens’s surprise, Rachel knew all along and is glad that he finally admitted it to her and himself. When Stephen realizes that maybe his sexuality has been obvious to more than just him it becomes his choice to deny his identity or accept it.

LaRochelle tells the story of a teenage boy learning to not only accept but also embrace his identity. Through Stephen’s fights with Rachel about starting a Gay/Straight Alliance at school, getting talked into bring a dog as a date to the school dance and meekness towards gay jokes at school, LaRochelle adds a combination of humor and sensitivity to a subject that tends to be over stereotyped. As readers follow Stephen through his journey of self-discovery they will be able to laugh with Stephen at his misunderstandings yet they will also be able to see that beyond the fluff of humor, Stephen does face real struggles in accepting his identity. No matter your sexuality, you will be able to relate to the awkward stages of adolescence, the crushes and the struggle in figuring out who you are .LaRochelle does an absolutely, positively great job covering a vast array of issues that are in some way relatable to all.

Book Review 3: Out of the Pocket

Konigsberg, Bill. Out of the Pocket. New York, NY: Penguin Group INC., 2008.

As if being a star high school quarterback doesn’t carry enough stress, Bobby Framingham has a whole other load of problems that begin to consume his life and put his future at stake. Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg tells the story of 17 year old Bobby, who is in the spotlight of his senior year. While Bobby’s teammates are talking about hooking up with girls, he is coming to the realization that he is gay. In a world where openly gay pro sports players are a needle in a haystack, Bobby chooses to only confide in a select few people that will protect not only his secret but also his future in sports. When a conniving reporter from his school spills his protected secret, Bobby is forced to deal with national media attention that brings tension between him and his teammates. In order to pull his life back together, Bobby must face supportive and non-supportive teammates, his parents, his coach, the media and the boy that is beginning to play a big part in his life. While someone called a different play for Bobby’s life than he expected, it’s his turn to step up and become the successful young man he is inside.

Out of the Pocket combines two topics that in our society are typically stereotyped as not being correlated; being gay & athletes. Konigsberg tackles these subjects with a powerful message that reminds readers that sexuality shouldn’t define anyone’s success. Bobby is a college prospect quarterback but when his secret is leaked to the press, there is a scare that his dreams of playing college sports are destroyed. While Bobby’s sexuality has no effect on his football skills, once it is out in the open he gets thrown into the spotlight for being a gay star quarterback. While Bobby attempts to return his team’s camaraderie to the playfulness it was before he came out, he still experiences resistance from several teammates that can’t get past his sexual orientation. Bobby holds his head high, embraces who he is and realizes that he has become a role model of hope for others that were like him, hiding their true identity. Konigsberg may use football as the vehicle for delivering his ideas but the real story is something that can be applied to all. While you may not be in the media spotlight or a star quarterback, this book emphasizes to readers that they are not alone in their struggles. With a storyline that could unfold at any high school, Konigsberg gives young readers something to relate to, no matter their location.

Article: Bridging Multicultural Education; Bringing Sexual Orientation into the Children's and Young Adult Literature Classrooms

Scholarly Article

Swartz, Patti Capel. Radical Teacher: Bridging Multicultural Education; Bringing Sexual Orientation into the Children's and Young Adult Literature Classrooms. Cambridge: Spring 2003. , Iss. 66; pg. 11

In her article, Patti Swartz explains that in an effort to bring multicultural literature into elementary and secondary classrooms, there has been a lack of representation for certain groups. The LGBTI community’s experiences have yet to be integrated into most school curriculum. There is a need for students to recognize the prejudices of the LGBTI community. It is important to make connections between stereotypes and oppressions to show student’s that our lives are not based solely on sexuality but instead there are many components that build a person. By not including this community into school curriculum, we are not attempting to rid students of their stereotypes instead we are allowing them to keep their misconceptions and prejudices by excluding this community from discussions. Swartz feels that by bringing these issues to student’s attention in literature classes allows them to read books with characters that identify as part of the LGBTI community, discuss issues and also write about them. For school districts that do not include anti-homophobic education in their curriculum, it is important for teachers to educate themselves on prejudices and methods for discussing homophobia, stereotypes and prejudices. These curriculum plans may include discussing name calling in order to explain why it is harmful and demeaning, challenging ideas about sexuality and teaching student’s to think about what our society constructs as “natural” and “normal.” Opening up discussion about sexuality and homophobia can change the way children perceive others and these ideas can be reinforced through reading. If schools are committed to providing students with multicultural literature and education, they cannot deprive students of learning about all groups, including the LGBTI community.

"AS IF!"

While doing some research for my final project I came across this blog: http://asifnews.blogspot.com/

This blog is about authors supporting intellectual freedom. It brought me right back to our discussion about censorship and deciding what books we will place in our classroom. I just thought it was an interesting site and wanted to share it with you!

Unbelieveable. In more than one way.

First off, GO STATE! National Championship here we come!

Yesterday I went to pick up snacks for the game at Kroger. When I started walking into the store there were several people standing outside the store so I stopped to see what was going on. One table was a group of girl scouts selling cookies, nothing out of the ordinary. Next to them stood a man wearing a Kroger apron holding a can. On this can it said "Help the retarded." I went into the store unable to get this guy and his can off my mind. As a special education major, I'm sure that I am more affected by the terminology and technicalities because it is something that I constantly face but I couldn't help but wonder if other people were affected by this too. I got back in my car and told my friends about this guy standing outside. Both of them (who are not special education majors) said they couldn't believe the can said "retarded." One friend then asked me what term I would prefer for the can to say. Honestly, I struggled thinking of any word I would want this man to have on his can. I now wish I would have taken the time to ask him about his cause and inquire more about his word choice. This is just another reminder that these are the types of things we face everyday, even outside of Kroger!

Who has the right?

Last week in class we briefly touched on the subject of censorship. Censorship is something we struggle with all the time, whether we realize it or not. When we were children our parents decided what we could and could not watch. When we were in school our teachers decided what books we were allowed to read. When I was in high school my principal decided what stories could not be published. And as I look towards the future I realize that I will have that same power in my classroom. Is it really my right to decide what things children should be exposed to? Not only that but how do I decide what types of things should be discussed in my classroom and in the literature I provide to my students?!

Last week I was watching One Tree Hill and I was thrown into one of the characters shoes. On the show one character, Haley, is an English teacher. For one of her writing assignments one student wrote about her rough childhood. The writing was graphic, sensitive and honest. As a teacher Haley chose this students writing to print in the newspaper because she thought it was inspiring. The principal on the other hand thought the topics written about in this paper were not appropriate to print. Haley decided to print it anyway, knowing that her job was on the line. She was fired for her actions. As a future teacher, I wonder what I would have done in her shoes. Did the principal have the write to censor a student's life story? What topics are we not allowed to address within our classrooms? I am so torn in this debate. While I want my students to be exposed to these real life issues, I struggle with knowing if that is my place to teach about these issues. And if it is my job, then how do I approach such topics? Is there good literature that can help students relate to these struggles?

So much to think about with a lack of answers to all my questions. We will be teaching children so many things and yet it is up to us to decide what we will be teaching them. Do we have that right to decide?

Struggles

After taking time to weed out my options for topics and narrowing in on one that really peaked my curiosity, my topic has become more of a struggle than I expected. I decided on focusing on parents and parental reactions in books that focused on sexual identity struggles. I have done some research and searched out books regarding this topic and while I have found quite a few books for middle/high school students regarding sexual identity, there seems to be a lack of "voice from the parents." This lack raises lots of questions in my mind. Why are parents not being represented in these books? Is there controversy on what type of reaction they should have? Are these authors choosing to just not represent them to avoid controversy? I have had firsthand experience with two friends when they "came out" to their family. I feel that parents play an integral part in this topic and by leaving them out of books it really takes away something that readers can relate to.

Since I am really struggling with this topic, I decided to expand my topic a little more and focus more on the reactions of friends in books that deal with sexual identity. In most of the books I have looked at, peer-to-peer relationships tend to play an important part so hopefully there will be a lot of good literature for me to find!

things will never be the same after this...

That is exactly what I feel about this class. Since we started digging deeper into these multicultural books and really "questioning the text", I will never be able to pick up a book again in the same way. I find myself constantly asking why things are put into certain ways, I wonder if the book is authentic and mostly I have been trying to look at things from a perspective other than my own. The idea of this is not awful, it is actually a great quality to have but it surely makes reading anything a lot more complicated.

For example, the readings for this week by Marc Aronson and Andrea Pickney both discussed eligibility for various literature awards. Before this class, I knew of some of these awards and when they were placed on books, I held those books to a higher value than others. Naive of me, yes, but it's something that many people find themselves falling into without even thinking about it. I was one of those people. Then this past week I picked up the article by Aronson in which he questions the merit of awards such at the Coretta Scott King award that "predetermines the book's validity" based on ethnic credentials. Aronson raises several good points such as having this type of prerequisite makes it so that books are "not literature in its own terms but by extraneous standards." "Who you are, which box or boxes you check on the census form, comes first. Your community, your ethnicity, comes before your talent. And as long as the prize is essentially a community honoring and encouraging its own, it is not clear how the rest of the public is meant to react." Aronson questions the validity of these awards because they are not based strictly upon literary merit but first and foremost the ethnicity of the author. Before this article I had never thought about this point of view. To me, these awards were honoring works written by specific cultural heritages yet Aronson makes a strong argument questioning the actually literary merit of these books. Are we choosing them because they are rich books or because they have a specific author?

Pickney on the other hand rebuttals Aronson’s article with several good points as well. She argues that the basis of these awards is not to select the best literary book but instead select and honor specific writers (based on their heritage/background) and the books they write. By having these awards, we are making sure to highlight those authors which sometimes get lost in the midst of things because they are from a small represented group. These awards are not trying to say they are choosing the best book based on its literary merit, instead they are choosing the best book within their specified requirements.

While both of these articles raise some great points they leave the question remaining; how do these awards influence reader’s choices? Do the requirements for these awards enhance the number of quality books on the market or do they hinder readers by putting an award, simply because they are written by a specific ethnic writer, onto a low quality book? To me these questions remained unanswered. Before this class I would have seen awards as only a positive thing, yet now I have been opened to other opinions which have brought me to see another light on this topic. So for now I remain on the fence. Knowing that this is one debate where both sides have pros and cons and I don’t think either side will pull me over anytime soon.

Asian/Pacific American Award

History of the APAA
Founded in 1980 as the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA)
Became part of the American Library Association (ALA) in 1982
Branched off from the Asian American Librarians Caucus (AALC)
A nonprofit organization

Purpose of APALA
To provide a forum for discussing problems of APA librarians.
To provide a forum for the exchange of ideas by APA librarians with other librarians.
To support and encourage library services to APA communities.
To recruit and mentor APA librarians in the library/information science professions.
To seek funding for scholarships in library/information science masters programs for APAs.
To provide a vehicle whereby APA librarians can cooperate with other associations and organizations having similar or allied interests.


According to http://www.apalaweb.org/about/aboutapala.htm

APALA Awards
Asian Pacific American Award for Literature
Honors work about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage on both literary and artistic merit
Three awards for illustrations in a picture book, youth literature and adult books


APALA Awards
Scholarship Award
Gives a student of Asian/Pacific background financial support
Must be enrolled in a master’s or doctoral degree
Must be working towards a degree in library and/or information science at a library school accredited by the ALA

APALA 2008 Award Winners
Adult Non-Fiction
Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans By: Jean Pfaelzer
Illustration in Children Literature
Surfer of the Centruy By: Ellie Crowe, Illustrated by: Richard Waldrep
Young Adult Literature
Hiroshima Dreams By: Kelly Easton


Eligibility Requirements
These are a few of the several requirements for eligibility to receive the APALA award:
Works must be related to Asian/Pacific Heritage, not necessarily written by or illustrated by an Asian/Pacific American. The individual must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
Anthologies or books containing the work of more than one author are not eligible.
Works must be originally written in English.
Works must have been published by a large publishing house, trade or small press/publisher located in the United States or one of its territories. Self-published works and exclusive internet publications are not eligible.

Who Decides?
Nominating Committee
Committee Charge: To nominate candidates for elective offices of APALA. The Nominating Committee shall consist of at least three past APALA presidents. The immediate past president shall be appointed chair.
The Literary Awards Committee
Committee Charge: To solicit nominations, review and vote for an award each for Adult Fiction, Illustration in Children's Literature, and Youth Literature.

New Perspective

Yesterday in class we had our small group discussions about the book Habibi and I was able to walk away with a new perspective on the book. This section of the course about Arab-Americans is something I struggle to personally relate to. When I read Habibi I saw a somewhat unrealistic story about a girl who was up-rooted from her "home" and moved into a completely different culture. While discussing this with my group, Mallory brought to my attention a different part of the book that I had completely overlooked. To her, this book spun a negative light on the Jewish people and yet left the Arabs in a positive light. While I am neither Jewish or Arab, I read through the part of Habibi discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict without a second look. I was really grateful to see this book through someone else's eyes, especially from someone that related to this book more than I had. I'm glad that there is a purpose for our small group discussions!

On another note, during class yesterday when we were watching the two videos I began thinking about the movie Crash. For those of you that have not seen it, Crash is a movie that intertwines several different stories into one (with a diverse cast). It blatantly uses racial stereotypes in order to bring forward the type of things we assume about others. At one point in the movie an older man's store gets robbed and defaced with things about Arabs. The man then says "they think we're Arab. When did Persian become Arab?" This movie really changed my outlook on the tendency to group people together and stereotype them. This movie will definitely get you thinking about how easy and common it is to stereotype someone without knowing a lick about them. Like I said, I highly suggest watching this movie if you have never seen it. Hopefully it will give you a new outlook like it did for me.

The beginning of becoming a "blogger"

Today as I was setting up this blog my roommate harassed me about becoming a "blogger." This is my first experience maintaining a blog and I'm excited to see how my knowledge of the blog realm will increase throughout the semester. Just to get started, my name is Melissa and I am a junior at Michigan State University. I am majoring in Special Education- Learning Disabilities with a focus in language arts. I have lived in Michigan my whole life and absolutely love being a part of the MSU community. Yet after I graduate I plan on moving a little more south to experience something new.
Our first assignment in TE 448 was to write an autobiographical poem about ourselves and I feel that mine can give a little more insight into my life so here it is:

I am from a small town where a new face is a big deal

where everyone knows everyone’s business.

I am from a tight knit family who loves me

even when I make mistakes that let them down.

I am from long walks, picnics in the fall and summer days spent on the deck

where every moment is cherished for the simple things

I am from ginger cookies and lutefisk at Christmas

where the cousins put on plays for the family

I am from tree forts in the “birds nest” and truth or dare on the dock

where most of my summer nights were spent

I am from Love You Forever every night before bed time

and endless circles around the cul-de-sac in my Barbie corvette

I am from a strong independent mother

who I now see in my own reflection

I am from choir lessons, dance routines, school plays and school sports

where I have been green and white my whole life.

I am from a deep rooted faith in God that has stayed with me

even throughout the challenges of growing up

I am from high aspirations to achieve my dreams

with no doubts about accomplishing greatness

I am from friends that give me gut busting laughs

and hand to hold me up when everything else falls

I am from a home that has molded me not only into the person I am

but also has shown me the person that I want to be