In “The Laugh of the Medusa,” Hélène Cixous stresses the importance of women writing their bodies, especially their sexuality, into their texts. Allison Bechdel writes her sexuality onto the pages of Fun Home, by literally depicting herself masturbating and having sex with her partner in college. As Cixous implies, Bechdel’s writing of her bodily experience allows her to identify herself as an adult, lesbian academic. But, what about a woman with many bodies? In a YouTube video titled “OCD”, Bechdel explains that her writing prosses involves physically posing as each character before she draws them, meaning that every image of a person within the text is an image of Bechdel. By analyzing a few problematic images in the text, such as the open cadaver in the funeral home, the photograph of a naked teenager, the exterior shot of Allison and her family, and the second full page panel of Allison in the car with her dad, the reader can see how Bechdel writes her body onto the page in a way that-instead of identifying who she is- complicates the reader’s perception of her. Thus, Bechdel shows how complicated identity is for a queer woman with anxiety and problematic family history
