Fun Home: Why One Graphic Novel is Sparking National Controversy

It goes like this: first year Brian Grasso posted in a Duke University Class of 2019 group that he refused to read the book assigned for summer reading because it would “compromise [his] Christian moral beliefs.” Now if you’re a Blerd who also happens to be a Tar Heel like me, your first reaction to the news of Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel Fun Home causing a stir is to roll your eyes at “d00k” antics but carry on with the rest of your day. It would seem, however, that a sizable number of major news outlets do not share this identity.  Let’s back up a second to review the source of this controversy, a comic so heinous it won an Eisner Award and went on to become a Tony Award winning musical (true story). Fun Home, short for Funeral Home, details author Alison Bechdel’s life growing up as a lesbian while simultaneously learning that her overbearing father’s violent death may have been linked to his closeted past. One of the hallmarks of the book, aside from its intricate storytelling style and classical allusions, is the fact that it took Bechdel over seven years to complete due to the labor-intensive process of photographing herself as each character to reference later. So, potentially triggering material? Sure. Morally compromising, though? Much like when the graphic novel was assigned as the College of Charleston’s summer reading two years ago (yeah, this has all happened before), the accusations lie with the book’s depiction of nudity and LGBT+ sexuality being labelled as…