GLBT Literature Overview

I have taken a particular interest in this subject because the issue hits very close to home for me. I have a family member that is lesbian and recently adopted a child. Due to my father’s attitude toward the gay community, we no longer have much connection with that side of the family. I think about the little girl quite often and can’t help but wonder what will happen once she starts school. As everyone knows, children are often relentless when it comes to bullying in school and anything that set’s someone apart in any way will be a target for ridicule. After reading the article, I feel that students would think twice about taunting a student with GLBT parents if they were told the truth about GLBT culture and realize that it is just another way of life. Growing up, I had never been told about the GLBT culture and did not really know what “being gay” meant and I feel children should be exposed to diverse literature at an early age.

Hero and Daddy’s Roommate are both Lambda Award Winners for Children/Youth Literature. The Duke Who Outlawed Jelly Beans is not an award winner but unique in its own way. It incorporated gay and lesbian parents into a variety of fairytales that children are sure to enjoy. I feel that books such as The Duke Who Outlawed Jelly Beans and Daddy’s Roommate are a great way to introduce the topic to younger students to this difficult topic. Unfortunately, the GLBT culture makes many people uncomfortable and as a result, the topic gets avoided all together. These two children’s book will expose children to the topic and help them to understand that “being gay” is just a way of life for some people.

Hero is an excellent book for older students to read and a great way to jumpstart a conversation about homosexuality. Although the main character in the book is gay, his emotions and experiences are something that almost everyone can relate to: finding oneself and being comfortable with who you are, desire for acceptance, and the constant chore of trying to live up to your parents standards. Moore does not seem to sugar coat anything in the novel and I was turned off to the book at first. However, I came to appreciate his bluntness and respected him for incorporating different aspects of the gay culture.

I was pleased at the amount of books that I was able to find relating to the GLBT topic and had a hard time choosing what books to include. Although there are numerous books written about this topic, locating the books was slightly harder. I had to order most of the books off the internet and was saddened at the fact that local book stores did not even carry the books. I look forward to reading more books by these authors and seeing what other authors have to offer.