Coming Out of the Closet while Coming-of-Age: The Construction of Gay Male Sexuality in Edmund White’s A Boy’s Own Story

Süleyman Bölükbaş

Coming Out of the Closet while Coming-of-Age: The Construction of Gay Male Sexuality in Edmund White’s A Boy’s Own Story

Abstract

Published in 1982, Edmund White’s A Boy’s Own Story is a bildungsroman of a young boy remembering his past and sexual initiation. While the novel traces the narrator’s experiences of growing into a young man, it also includes glimpses of gay men’s experiences in the U.S during the mid-20th century. This article attempts to analyze the character’s journey of sexual discovery as part of his identity construction and details how this development of sexuality differs from the same-sex sexualities in the bildungsroman tradition. During his coming of age and self-growth process, the character’s sexual discovery is affected by the presence of the father figure. Due to this figure, the protagonist becomes attracted to his first love, Kevin. In light of the theoretical framework on the bildungsroman, gay sexuality, masculinity, and the oedipal triangle, this article examines the way the main character’s discovery of his attraction to Kevin is shaped by his relationship to his father. And this leads to the discovery of both himself and his sexuality during the process of transitioning from boyhood to gay manhood, where his sexuality becomes a part of his identity.

Keywords

Edmund White, bildungsroman, gender, sexuality, masculinity, queer literature, Edmund White, bildungsroman, gender, sexuality, masculinity, queer literature

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

North American Language, Literature and Culture, Literary Studies

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Süleyman Bölükbaş ^* This is me
0000-0001-6721-9048
Türkiye

Publication Date

May 1, 2021

Submission Date

February 22, 2021

Acceptance Date

March 25, 2021

Published in Issue

Year 2021 Number: 55

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA28KX83RA

APA

Bölükbaş, S. (2021). Coming Out of the Closet while Coming-of-Age: The Construction of Gay Male Sexuality in Edmund White’s A Boy’s Own Story. Journal of American Studies of Turkey, 55, 101-120. https://izlik.org/JA28KX83RA

AMA

1.Bölükbaş S. Coming Out of the Closet while Coming-of-Age: The Construction of Gay Male Sexuality in Edmund White’s A Boy’s Own Story. JAST. 2021;(55):101-120. https://izlik.org/JA28KX83RA

Chicago

Bölükbaş, Süleyman. 2021. “Coming Out of the Closet While Coming-of-Age: The Construction of Gay Male Sexuality in Edmund White’s A Boy’s Own Story”. Journal of American Studies of Turkey, nos. 55: 101-20. https://izlik.org/JA28KX83RA.

EndNote

Bölükbaş S (May 1, 2021) Coming Out of the Closet while Coming-of-Age: The Construction of Gay Male Sexuality in Edmund White’s A Boy’s Own Story. Journal of American Studies of Turkey 55 101–120.

IEEE

[1]S. Bölükbaş, “Coming Out of the Closet while Coming-of-Age: The Construction of Gay Male Sexuality in Edmund White’s A Boy’s Own Story”, JAST, no. 55, pp. 101–120, May 2021, [Online]. Available: https://izlik.org/JA28KX83RA

ISNAD

Bölükbaş, Süleyman. “Coming Out of the Closet While Coming-of-Age: The Construction of Gay Male Sexuality in Edmund White’s A Boy’s Own Story”. Journal of American Studies of Turkey. 55 (May 1, 2021): 101-120. https://izlik.org/JA28KX83RA.

JAMA

1.Bölükbaş S. Coming Out of the Closet while Coming-of-Age: The Construction of Gay Male Sexuality in Edmund White’s A Boy’s Own Story. JAST. 2021;:101–120.

MLA

Bölükbaş, Süleyman. “Coming Out of the Closet While Coming-of-Age: The Construction of Gay Male Sexuality in Edmund White’s A Boy’s Own Story”. Journal of American Studies of Turkey, no. 55, May 2021, pp. 101-20, https://izlik.org/JA28KX83RA.

Vancouver

1.Süleyman Bölükbaş. Coming Out of the Closet while Coming-of-Age: The Construction of Gay Male Sexuality in Edmund White’s A Boy’s Own Story. JAST [Internet]. 2021 May 1;(55):101-20. Available from: https://izlik.org/JA28KX83RA

JAST - Journal of American Studies of Turkey