The role of intimacy in Querelle
In Pretty Woman. Julia Roberts talks of the credo "No kissing" This is explained in the movie, that kissing equals intimacy. Sex is allowed but its not linked to intimacy.
I found the same strains of discorded intimacy in Querelle. "No kissing thats for sure" p 70. and later " Nor would it ever entered his head that a man could kiss another"
Kissing is intimate, its affection. At the heart of the sexual interaction in Querelle is a power struggle. The sex is a manifestation of a power struggle, not a symbol of intimacy.
So does Genet help perpetrate the stereotype that sex between men is about power, not intimacy, or by highlighitng this detial is he mocking the idea?
Another point I wanted to bring up was the idea of the amount of gay men in the book. While is disproportionate,.(I am deriving my information form the 1948 Kinsey report, which states 10% of the population is gay) think about your life for a moment. Who surrounds you? More than likely people of the same race, sexual orientation,and political leanings. Genet could have been reflecting his world on to the pages of Querelle. I know if I were to write down the cast of characters in my life, they would not reflect the US Census Bureau, or the Kinsey Report.
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I beg to argue with your second to last paragraph. Maybe it is because it is a Sunday early afternoon and I am a bit "tipsy" already, but it seems to perfect.
Maybe people are typically surrounded by people who are similat, because people what their beliefs supposrted by the people around them, but is that really the case or does it just seem to be the case?
Look at our class. I don't know who is gay and who is not, but we have a mix for sure. And I'm sure our political and religious views are different as well. We have mulitple races and mulitple social groups mixing together. Yes, that may be rare, but it can't be disreguarded.
I'll stand up as an example. I work with a mix of very concervative and very liberal people. My best friend is hispanic and has dread locks. Before she had a child, we would go to the Balcony for Industria and go out bar hopping all the time. My husband is into video games and nerdy stuff like that. My family is very religious and my mom was a Sunday School teaher growing up. I feel that I am surrounded by diversity and varying viewpoints.
That is not to say that there are many people out there who aren't surrounded with people of their race, religion, sexual orientation and similar finacial situations, but there are many people out there who are the exact oposite.
I think it makes better, well rounded individuals to get a little bit of every side of things.
Hum, maybe that was a rant, but I see so many people everyday who are spending time with people very different from themselves, that I think that statement and any survey or ratio or set of statistics doesn't take into account individuals and negates their impact.
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