In  The Image of Gays in Chicano Prose Fiction,  Karl J. Reinhardt surveys a variety of outstanding works of contemporary fiction by male Chicano writers which include homosexual references that are often so hidden that they may not even be apparent to heterosexual readers

Bentley, Sara

English

VCU Scholars Compass

p a r t  o f  some fundament al ist groups such as the 80 " .. 1 .. . . t I I • t i -call -.a .or a  •aJ Or l y ,  1 m ght be helpful to those c .._ t e d  to t o l er a� i�n and understanding to find out :::!t ... there are rel 1g1ous points of view different from tb wh i c h  seem to advocate "Kick a queer f or Jesus " 8 Ole i · 1 • ucb nves t 1gat ons need not necessarily be restricted t t h e  Judeo-Christ i an tradit ion . 0 S tud i es such as Pro fessor Re inhardt ' s  should be helpful i n  defusing a highly emotional and controver­s i a l  i ssue by prov iding informat ion which could help exp l a i n  t h e  s t ereot ypic images of homosexuals . Perhaps a more obj e c t ive study of this social issue and the r o l e  var i ou s  cu ltur e s ' l it eratures may have played and s t i l l  p l ay in defining peoples ' views of others wi l l  i n cr e as e  th e general publ ic ' s  understanding of t h e  homosexual ,  th e i r  feel ings and contribut ions as p e op Z e . And perhaps increased l eve ls of understanding w i l l  l ead t o  the end of negat ive stereotypi ng of peop l e  and a g reater degree of tolerance in the s e nse o f  t h e  democrat i c  i dea l . W .  Thomas Jamison Appal achi an State University Cri t ique I n "The Image of Gays in Ch icano Prose Fiction , "  Kar l  J .  Re inhardt surveys a variety o f  outstandin g  works o f  con t emporary f i ct i on by male Chicano wr i t ers which inc lude homosexual references that are often so h i dden t h a t t he y  may n o t  even be apparen t t o  het ero­sexua l readers . Re inhar d t draws t hree bas i c  conclusions from h is research : 1 )  th a t gay charact ers in the fict ion sur­veyed are of t en i n c i den t a l  rather than central to the plot an d are i d en t i f i ed no t  by their sexua lity but by degr adi ng s o c i a l  s t ereot ypes of homosexuals ;  2) that gay chara c t e r s  who are impor t a n t  to the pl ot are kept i n  t h e ir p l a c e  or are pun is hed for their "sin"  by being b an i shed for comm i t t i n g  an unac cept ab le act ; and 3 ) t hat when homosexu a l i t y  i s  t h e  cen t ra l  theme , as in t he works of ga y  ac t iv i s t  wri t er ,  John Rechy ,  the h�­sexual charac t ers are never Ch i canos . V ide�h!sb survey a r t i c l e  i s  s i gn i f i c ant in that i t  pro­that has �g i nn i ng an d a b as i s  for res earch into a th�e are l y  been touched by l i t erary c r i t i cism or 52 sociological investigati on . Although there is a pre­occupation with homosex uality and an emphasis on mach­ismo in Mexican and Chicano culture, much of the sexual innuendo common in adolescent male conversation is nearly absent in literature . In short, Chi cano homo­sexual ity is still " i n  the closet . " Reinhardt argues that forced secrecy regarding homos exuality is even greater among Chicano writers than among other wri ters . lben homosexuality is dealt with in ficti on, it is usual ly designed to reinforce h eterosexual stereotypes of gays and to degrade and deride homosexuals . Refer­ences to lesbians are even rarer and when included they are brutally derogatory . Lesbians are portrayed as loud, crude, vulgar and profane, i f  portrayed at all . Reinhardt ' s  paper should provoke keen i nterest in and provide a much-needed impetus for further research and l iterary criticism on the i mages and atti tudes t oward gays in Chicano literature . It may also en­courage a deeper analysis of the parti cular stereotypes reagrding homosexuality in Ch ican o culture . Critique Sara Bentley LaCrosse, Wiscon s in The author speaks truly in stating that gays in literature have remained , for the most part, i n  the closet . Generally authors have been con cerned with presenting a given philosophy , advocati ng s ocial change, creating aesthetically satisfy ing literature , not primarily with sexuality, per se . Rather sex has ostensibly served a purpose and bas not functioned as a goal, unless one wishes to cons ider the erotic lit­erature, as , for example, Anais Nin has produced . Nevertheless, it is true that societal bans have been incorporated into the literature . Hemingway toys with the homosexual issue in "Big Two-Hearted River, " but his short story and inferences exist solely in the realm of symbolism . Unti l recently very few Ameri can authors, regardless of ethnic origin , have f ocussed on this subject . Possibly Nathaniel West in Miss  Goody fWo Shoes with the creation of a male fulfilling a fe­male role borders on homosexuality . And of course James Baldwin ' s  Ano the� Count�y deals honestly and straightforwardly with the issue, building h is story around a homosexual protagonist . Recently we have seen a flurry of authors tackle the subj ect , as Marge 53 

Critique [of THE IMAGE OF GAYS IN CHICANO PROSE FICTION]

p a r t  o f  some fundament al ist groups such as the 80 " .. 1 .. . . t I I • t i -call -.a .or a  •aJ Or l y ,  1 m ght be helpful to those c .._ 
t e d  to t o l er a� i�n and understanding to find out :::!t ... 
there are rel 1g1ous points of view different from tb wh i c h  seem to advocate "Kick a queer f or Jesus " 8 Ole 
i · 1 • ucb nves t 1gat ons need not necessarily be restricted t t h e  Judeo-Christ i an tradit ion . 0 
S tud i es such as Pro fessor Re inhardt ' s  should be 
helpful i n  defusing a highly emotional and controver­
s i a l  i ssue by prov iding informat ion which could help 
exp l a i n  t h e  s t ereot ypic images of homosexuals . Perhaps 
a more obj e c t ive study of this social issue and the 
r o l e  var i ou s  cu ltur e s ' l it eratures may have played 
and s t i l l  p l ay in defining peoples ' views of others 
wi l l  i n cr e as e  th e general publ ic ' s  understanding of 
t h e  homosexual ,  th e i r  feel ings and contribut ions as 
p e op Z e . And perhaps increased l eve ls of understanding 
w i l l  l ead t o  the end of negat ive stereotypi ng of 
peop l e  and a g reater degree of tolerance in the s e nse 
o f  t h e  democrat i c  i dea l . 
W .  Thomas Jamison 
Appal achi an State University 
Cri t ique 
I n "The Image of Gays in Ch icano Prose Fiction , "  
Kar l  J .  Re inhardt surveys a variety o f  outstandin g  
works o f  con t emporary f i ct i on by male Chicano wr i t ers 
which inc lude homosexual references that are often so 
h i dden t h a t t he y  may n o t  even be apparen t t o  het ero­
sexua l readers . 
Re inhar d t draws t hree bas i c  conclusions from h is 
research : 1 )  th a t gay charact ers in the fict ion sur­
veyed are of t en i n c i den t a l  rather than central to the 
plot an d are i d en t i f i ed no t  by their sexua lity but by 
degr adi ng s o c i a l  s t ereot ypes of homosexuals ;  2) that 
gay chara c t e r s  who are impor t a n t  to the pl ot are kept 
i n  t h e ir p l a c e  or are pun is hed for their "sin"  by being 
b an i shed for comm i t t i n g  an unac cept ab le act ; and 3 ) 
t hat when homosexu a l i t y  i s  t h e  cen t ra l  theme , as in 
t he works of ga y  ac t iv i s t  wri t er ,  John Rechy ,  the h�­sexual charac t ers are never Ch i canos . 
V ide�h!sb survey a r t i c l e  i s  s i gn i f i c ant in that i t  pro­
that has 
�g i nn i ng an d a b as i s  f o r  res earch into a th�e are l y  been touched by l i t erary c r i t i cism or 
52 
sociological investigati on . Although there is a pre­
occupation with homosex uality and an emphasis on mach­
ismo in Mexican and Chicano culture, much of the sexual 
innuendo common in adolescent male conversation is 
nearly absent in literature . In short, Chi cano homo­
sexual ity is still " i n  the closet . " Reinhardt argues 
that forced secrecy regarding homos exuality is even 
greater among Chicano writers than among other wri ters . 
lben homosexuality is dealt with in ficti on, it is 
usual ly designed to reinforce h eterosexual stereotypes 
of gays and to degrade and deride homosexuals . Refer­
ences to lesbians are even rarer and when included 
they are brutally derogatory . Lesbians are portrayed 
as loud, crude, vulgar and profane, i f  portrayed at all . 
Reinhardt ' s  paper should provoke keen i nterest in 
and provide a much-needed impetus for further research 
and l iterary criticism on the i mages and atti tudes 
t oward gays in Chicano literature . It may also en­
courage a deeper analysis of the parti cular stereotypes 
reagrding homosexuality in Ch ican o culture . 
Critique 
Sara Bentley 
LaCrosse, Wiscon s in 
The author speaks truly in stating that gays in 
literature have remained , for the most part, i n  the 
closet . Generally authors have been con cerned with 
presenting a given philosophy , advocati ng s ocial 
change, creating aesthetically satisfy ing literature , 
not primarily with sexuality, per se . Rather sex has 
ostensibly served a purpose and bas not functioned as 
a goal, unless one wishes to cons ider the erotic lit­
erature, as , for example, Anais Nin has produced . 
Nevertheless, it is true that societal bans have been 
incorporated into the literature . Hemingway toys with 
the homosexual issue in "Big Two-Hearted River, " but 
his short story and inferences exist solely in the 
realm of symbolism . Unti l recently very few Ameri can 
authors, regardless of ethnic origin , have f ocussed 
on this subject . Possibly Nathaniel West in Miss  Goody 
fWo Shoes with the creation of a male fulfilling a fe­
male role borders on homosexuality . And of course 
James Baldwin ' s  Ano the� Count�y deals honestly and 
straightforwardly with the issue, building h is story 
around a homosexual protagonist . Recently we have 
seen a flurry of authors tackle the subj ect , as Marge 
53 


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Critique [of THE IMAGE OF GAYS IN CHICANO PROSE FICTION]

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