Our BetterMost Community > Creative Writer's Corner
Taking Chances, by E. L. Van Hine and L.H. Nicoll
yb:
Great chapters, Louise, you captured Dupree's tentativeness perfectly. But I'm glad we have a glimpse of what Ennis and Ellery are up to, too. Can't wait for the next updates.
Kelpersmek:
Wow, that's really interesting Merrobot.
You've clearly researched this a great deal.
--- Quote from: merrobot on November 23, 2006, 07:36:31 pm ---As time went on, I began to look more closely at issues of homophobia, heterosexism and internalised homophobia.
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Do you believe then that it is the societal homophobia, internalised within Ennis that is a maintaining factor of his isolation? Is his identity as a gay man inseperably wrapped up with the social perception of gay men in 1980s Wyoming?
--- Quote --- I initially looked at the three models presented on the process of coming out which were outlined in a popular textbook for therapists of lesbian, gay and bisexual clients and found one which I felt was the most applicable to Ennis’ presentation. While I appreciate that it is a different model to the one magicmountain presented, I feel it adds another layer of understanding to the enigma that is Ennis del Mar.
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It certainly makes more sense to me, since there is greater flexability in the model you suggest. I have several gay friends, and did work with a gay mens sexual health charity group, and their "coming out" stages in their lives are a wide variety of tales. It is not, in my experience the "well beaten path" magicmountain was talking about. Life is complex, but this is a particularly difficult issue, which has many strands affecting it. Would you agree that any model for the experience of coming out would need to take into account many diverse elements?
--- Quote ---The Cass (1979) model is an interactionist model where the interplay between individual and society leads to a development of sexual identity. This is a six stage model: identity confusion; identity comparison; identity tolerance; identity acceptance; identity pride; identity synthesis.
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--- Quote --- He may have some inclination that he is ‘not completely straight’ but my belief is that he would tell himself that he is only in love with Jack Twist which is most keenly expressed when he visits Jack’s parents after his death (“I feel awful bad about Jack. Can’t begin to say how bad I feel.”). His feelings for Jack do not, for Ennis, shape his identity as a gay man – his love for Jack is something of an anomaly.
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Perhaps Ennis would not define himself as gay. He never does in Brokeback Mountain.
Sexuality and sexual preference is a fluid concept and it does not divide equally among straight and gay.
I like your idea that he is "not completely straight".
In this way then surely integrating himself with a homosexual community (especially an isolated one suchas the population of the Red Stallion) would be just as poor a fit as trying to integrate with a strictly heterosexual one. In essence Ennis is gay for Jack, which does not automatically transform him into a gay man in all other respects.
--- Quote ---With regard to the Laramie Saga, I think Ennis has probably mastered the second stage and is working on the issues of identity tolerance and identity acceptance. He begins to make connections within the gay community and begins to disclose his sexual orientation. He presents as being more comfortable being seen in the company of other gay men and has less contact with the heterosexual community.
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Although as you say later, he does not develop identity pride. Louise reasoned that his brutal attack on a youth after being called a 'faggot' was his repressed feelings of being oppressed by the anti-gay feelings of the society. This to me is ecidence of your model. Ennis is not progressing down a well beaten track, after the initial leap of faith into Ellery's arms, he is stepping forward and back. He regresses to the stage where he is not accepting of his sexual orientation, and over-reacts in a way which (as Louise explianed) is a result of his discomfort with his sexuality.
--- Quote ---However, he does not develop to the point where he engages in ‘identity pride’, which seems to be the point which Ellery has reached. Ellery prides himself on being an advocate and protector for gay men in Laramie however he does tend to polarise between homosexual men and heterosexual men. He has difficulties in accepting bisexual men, potentially because they challenge his “us and them” mentality.
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Yes, Ellery as a role model for gay men, I don't buy that part. He certainly could not provide an effective role model for Ennis, because he has not travelled the same 'path' in any sense. LS mentions that he is involved in a sexual relationship at college and is exploited. The is very different from the 20 years of sacrifice and living for one another that Ennis experiences in coming to terms with himself as 'gay' or more accurately, not entierly straight.
--- Quote ---Neither Ennis nor Ellery appeared to have transitioned to the final stage of ‘identity synthesis’ where sexual orientation is seen as only one aspect of a holistic self-concept. This is entirely understandable when both characters are viewed in the socio-political context in which they live and where external homophobia perpetuates their need to defend their sexual identity.
--- End quote ---
I'm not sure I follow, can you explain this bit in some more detail please?
--- Quote ---The first was the suggestion that Ennis is beginning to disclose his homosexuality to Jack’s parents and Lureen – that’s not how I interpret those scenes.
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Nor me. magicmountain, can you point to where you feel Ennis is coming out? That was entierly out of left-field for me when I read that, and I'd like to see where you're coming from on this.
--- Quote --- However, when it comes to actual traumatic experiences such as losing a loved one to murder (the circumstances are ambiguous but as it is Ennis’ belief that he was murdered, that is what will drive his reaction to the situation) the opposite tends to occur. Therefore such an event would serve to reinforce Ennis’ belief that being gay is wrong and that people who are gay deserve to be punished. This would then set up a chain of thoughts and behaviours which would be self-defeating in nature. The classic ‘learned helplessness’ model of depression (Seligman, 1975).
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Ennis was taught learned helplessness from an early age by being shown the body of Earl as a lesson. 'Do not disobey society's rules' was drummed into him so that although he would sacrifice his life for secret slices of time with Jack he would never contemplate moving in with him. His fear is a driving factor of the tragic narrative, which is cast aside to allow LS to emerge as an AU! Continuation. In many ways I see the Journal of Jack serving as the same break-point that the divorce does for other fics, and provoking him to make a dramatic lifestyle change that we do not see in BBM.
But can learned helplessness be un-learned? Is there any literature on this?
--- Quote ---There are times where potentially Ennis has ‘slipped back’ for example, his relationship with Cassie being a return to the ‘denial’ phase of coming out following a time where he was in the ‘identity confusion’ phase as outlined in Woodman and Leena (1980). These models are not designed to be linear, a clear path from A to B.
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Again, I can absolutely see this. Coming out is not, for many people, a direct line through the six stages.
Well, plenty of food for thought, I look forward to your replies!
Bigheart:
--- Quote from: Lucise on November 23, 2006, 07:18:08 pm ---Like I said to Louise ..
It is official, I can't keep it to myself any longer, I must tell the world ...
.. I am a Dupree Groupie!
*deep breaths*
I feel so much better now that it's off my chest!! :D ;D
--- End quote ---
*raises hand* Me too!! Me too!! ;D
Lumière:
--- Quote from: Bigheart on November 23, 2006, 08:10:03 pm ---*raises hand* Me too!! Me too!! ;D
--- End quote ---
Stand up and be proud sister! ;D
Ok.. I better git!
Laters, folks!
Sheriff Roland:
Milli - think I gotcha your Nick body. Started a sailor's thread in Anything Goes - and the 3rd post is the first of a likely dozen useable pics a the well built sailor. But a course, I'll be postin' just one per day a THAT sailor ... here's a sample
Think ya can do sumthin' with this specimen?
Sheriff Roland
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