My first impressions on this book were that it was definitely much more interesting than my last reading on American Studies, or "Butches, Femmes, and Kikis." The author's structure of the book is quite dynamic as it recounts each of the protagonists' experiences, because it starts by giving a small window into their lives, and actually shifts the order in which it is told to the reader. Something about these tales from the celibate Foster to the rather... loose Jim, the vivid recounts of how each of these people came into the realization of their sexuality.
Craig- Craig with his neglect from his mother and then immediate transference to the all boys school was a great way to start the book in my opinion. The sympathy that we have for his situation in the start draws us into the book and keeps us reading, but then when it soon turns rather raunchy in his relationships with the other boys in the school, it quickly engulfs readers. I personally was rather confused with the emergence of the sexual roles of the boys at such an early age, because they were actively engaging and sex and they were like... 7.
Jim- After like two pages of Jim's story, in both parts I was just like, "Wow, Jim is a complete and total slut already!!" Jim made me wonder how and why a child his age would develop a sexual identity so quickly and at such an early age because his story is actually not the first time I had seen such an occurrence, it happened exactly the same to one of my best friends, so I was confused then and I'm still confused now that I know that he wasn't the only ho.
Yvonne- I like that there was a black voice in the book, and even more so that she was so powerful as was her mother. I became a bit disenchanted with her though when she kept letting trivial things overshadow her education, and I really thought she could have risen to the occasion more. I also like how her role help give a more active voice to the readings from Friday.
Ray- Ray for me was a superstar because, while pretty much everyone had that visibility that we emphasized in the LGBT movement, Ray had it the most. For Ray to be in full-face makeup for me was just striking. I know personally I could never have been in full face and patio pants at that age. I didn't have the desire to, and I also think that I have the awareness that Ray lacked, that people have stigmas about people who don't conform to the schemas set forth by society for gender behavior. Thus I honestly wonder if a lot of Ray's courageousness comes from his pure oblivion at what other people thought, when he was younger.
So far these are the biggest impressions I have gotten from the book. I hope that I will see more intriguing things unfold from the others soon so I can raise questions about them as well
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I guess one way to think of Duberman's work is to imagine it as a piece of literature, and envision how the characters come to be and operate within the dynamic of its story. What, for instance, are the forces holding Yvonne back? Why would Craig and Jim become sexual so early? And how does Ray/Sylvia imagine his gender non-conformity in relation to his race and class, not to mention traumatic family life?
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