Heterosexual Tension in Joyce's "A Painful Case"

Although I did agree with much of Jackson’s biographical analysis, I have a difficult time reading the story as Duffy being a closeted gay. Other than the obvious sexual statements and rejection of Ms. Sinico, Duffy nor Joyce never imply homosexual tension within Duffy. Most of Duffy’s thoughts and actions in the story are of a level of ambiguity that hint at, but cannot be certainly interpreted as Duffy being a closeted gay. Jackson’s obvious reading of “Love between a man and a man…” line bothered me because I think Joyce was trying to display why men are simply friends and men and women can rarely be just friends. Heterosexual tension is the underlying theme of the story. From Ms. Sonico’s sexual touch to Duffy’s epiphany of love, the story shows me no more proof of homosexual tension and closeted gayness than it does heterosexual tension. And because of both Duffy’s and Ms. Sonico’s actions, I have to read to the side of heterosexual tension.

James Duffy the Lonely Realist

Roberta Jackson’s critique of “A Painful Case” argues that James Duffy is a symbol of sexual oppression. A product of his time, Duffy is defined as an individual oppressed by the moral codes and standards of his time. Jackson supports her argument by referring to James Joyce’ personal life, and in particular, the sexual tendencies of his brother Stannie. Not only does this provide Jackson with cultural and historical background into the life of Joyce, but rather, furthers her argument by asking several insightful questions. Throughout her critique, Jackson includes the analysis of several other individuals. This not only establishes a variety of lenses to view the text, but also, allows for Jackson to develop and strengthen her argument. In particular, one critique comes from Charles Peake, in which he defines James Duffy as an “upright and incorruptible man, who freely chooses the cold, dark, silent world of his isolation.” This reading spoke out to me, especially having read Hemingway’s ‘The Sun Also Rises’ prior to this assignment. I could not agree anymore with Peake in believing that this is an internalized oppression chosen by Duffy. Many scholars find Duffy to display homosexual tendencies that of which are applicable to the life of Joyce. However, I find James Duffy to be a realist, a lonely individual that both paradoxically ‘unites him with and separates him from others’. He is simply ahead of his time, and looking out for himself. James possesses sexual desire but fails to act on it. Although this may be credited to fear and the instability of the times, I find this rejection of Mrs. Sinico as an act of protection. A protection from anguish and misery in order to uphold the realistic worldview James Duffy has come to develop. Ultimately, James is a man who lacks emotion, drive, and all romantic values. He does not reject Mrs. Sinico due to homosexual preferences, but rather, sees the lack of fulfillment that stems from such interaction.

Men in Tights: An Analysis of Drag

First off, I would like to say that I really had an epiphany while watching the beginning of the 2010 show that made the rest of the experience much more enjoyable. For the first time, it really came to me of how much gender is about performance. Men and women, different in biological structure, are very much alike. In the case of the drag show, there were several men who were in costume as women and one woman as a man. The ability to "gender-bend" is fascinating because all these individuals had to do was put on some different clothing, don the war paint, and embody the stereotypical mannerisms of the other side to give the appearance of that specific sex. Gender roles, more than anything else, are what separate men and women the most. Some of these entertainers were so spot-on and able to mimick the opposite sex that, in another setting, I would never be able to tell the difference. While dressing in drag is not about being transgendered at all, it gives someone the opportunity to temporarily change gender and become someone else. Another thing that struck me was how much heteronormative mindsets have an impact on the dress of those doing drag. To impersonate a women, a man must adopt an ultra-femininity in which he is covered in 4 hours of makeup and either skimpy clothing or dresses. The same situation went for the female, her costume consisted of a masculine goatee so that the audience was shown she was meant to be a man. While Miss Gay IU 2009 was stunning in his both his attire and performance, I couldn't help but notice how extreme the transition was.

The Duffy of Jackson's "Painful Case"

Throughout Roberta Jackson's critique of "A Painful Case" she presents and elaborates upon the contextual relevance of the story to Joyce's own life. She uses this biographical analysis to reconstruct the reader's perception of the main character, Duffy, as a "closeted" homosexual. Her argument is viable and well supported and the extent to which Joyce used references from his personal life is made quite clear in Jackson's article, but what remains unclear is how much creative leniency he took. Is Duffy infact a "closeted" homosexual? Can Duffy simply not be a reclusive moral realist loosely based on his brother? Jackson's analysis of Duffy's confession of his "soul's incurable loneliness" to Mrs. Sinico suggests that this statement of Duffy's hints towards his sexual orientation. In Her analysis she makes a fair argument but that is not to say his statment could just as easily be a stated observation of an intellectual realist. For after reading about Mrs. Sinico's death, Duffy analyzes the situation and states, as callous as it may be, that "evidently she had been unfit to live, without any strength of purpose, an easy prey to habits, one of the wrecks on which civilisation has been reared (97)." With a hard analysis of a text, more questions and possibilities arise than answers or certainties. A work of fiction is always and will forever be a work of fiction.

Report on visiting 'shOUT speaker Russell Roybal

What I found interesting about Russell Roybal’s speech was his choice of “text”—rather than look at a work of literature or a series of images, he chose to examine the policies of the United States government through gay/lesbian/transgender theory. Much as literary works can reflect cultural views of homosexuality, so too can actions taken by the government. Roybal showed that Hall’s key principle #3, that social attitudes about sexuality change over time (237), can be seen by changes in government policy. He began his speech by listing the disappointments of the Clinton era (“Don’t ask, don’t tell”), the Bush era (“The Defense of Marriage Act”, among others), and now the Obama era (refusing to overturn DADT, for example). That isn’t to say his entire speech was doom and gloom. He noted that there have been many advances in LGBT rights in recent years—including a recent change in census policy that allows for gay married couples to be counted as such for the very first time. Despite a few losses, state referendums have greatly expanded LGBT rights in areas of marriage and work discrimination. These “texts” reflect growing acceptance among the American public. The disappointments of Maine and California, however, show that this acceptance is not at all complete. While I would have taken the overall picture as one of success, Roybal asserted that “There is no such thing as being a little equal.” You either have full equality, or you do not. If LGBT rights are in fact human rights, then no compromise is acceptable. The distinction between public and private lives is in this case indistinguishable—any and all actions taken by the government about LGBT rights in general has a profound impact on the personal lives of millions of people in this country. Roybal ended his speech with an impassioned plea to President Obama, asking him to recognize this connection.

Gay/Lesbian/Queer Analysis of Wabash College's 2010 Drag Show

When attending Wabash College's annual Drag Show, sponsored by shOUT, I knew to expect glitz, glamour, energy, dance, and much more. What I did not expect, however, was to see an entirely different side of the performers/entertainers during the "question-and-answer" portion of the show. One of the most impactful questions was asked by a Wabash College: "Why do you do it?" There was a variety of answers, with the most repeated answer being that many of the performers just love to entertain others. A few performers, however, spoke about wanting to break stereotypes, whether it was done by bringing both gay and straight viewers together or by partaking in no alcoholic substances of any sort before their performances. This breaking of stereotypes reminded me of Donald E. Hall's view on transgender studies: "Transgender and transsexual theorists have even worked to disrupt the notion that only two sexes exist and have challenged the belief that the sex to which one is assigned at birth constitutes one's natural identity, especially given new technologies that allow dramatic changes in what had been considered fixed biological fact" (Hall 235). Some of the drag queens mentioned that they felt their dual sexualities at an early age but decided to do drag as a way of not hiding either gender's voice. It is also important to note that the notions of "transgender" and "transsexual" do not just referring to men. At the drag show, there was a woman, who later identified herself as a lesbian, who performed as a man. I thought this was the best aspect of the show because many people associate the idea of more than two sexual identities existing with drag queens, which excludes an entire group. Overall, the show provided a look at many different aspects of gay life, whether it was from the audience members, the performers, or the lessons learned by first time viewers.

Drag Show Analysis

The stage was set up with a walkway leading into huge floor space, as well as a sort of post-modern painting of a city landscape. The the performers were all very outgoing, by no means shy, and made numerous racial and gender jokes. This surprised me at first. I had no idea what to expect by attending a drag show. Some of the racial jokes seemed made me rather uncomfortable but from talking to the performers afterwards I realized that maybe I have the problem. After the extremely energetic performances, the drag performers all came on stage to answer questions like, “why do you do it?”. I would like to state that both straight and gay people perform and occasionally there are females who pretend to be men as I learned tonight. Likewise there are straight and gay attendees at drag shows as well. Everyone is welcome and everyone is made fun of. The performers all agreed that drag shows are a performance just like theater. People get to go up and pretend they are someone they are not. One woman said that women originally were not allowed to act and so men had to play female parts. So, for one aspect, drag shows are simply a means of entertainment. But, there was something more profound about the unique show. Many of the performers were gay and have always felt afraid to express themselves in a society that does not always accept people for who they are. The racial jokes, the gender jokes and foul language were simply meant to join everyone together. All genders and races in the audience were cracking up while I and a few others felt uncomfortable initially. However, the performers want to show break the prejudices against all people. I never imagined how hard it might be for someone who is gay to decide wether or not they wanted friends and family to know. The performers discussed a few of their personal moments, but drag gave them a way to express themselves and feel more confident by not caring what people think anymore. That attitude and atmosphere made me happy too. There are things about all of us that can be prejudiced in some way and it is surprisingly easy to even subconsciously be prejudiced against someone else. Going to the drag show and seeing how comfortable and happy the performers were on stage made me realize how difficult it can to be gay when, for some performers, the only time you can be yourself is when you perform. I had a hard time doing an actual queer analysis of this “text” but, to me, these observations taught me a lot about queer theory simply because I understand multiple sides and aspects now.