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 “pornographic.” If Bechdel continues not to comment on the current situation, it’s because she’s already definitely stated that “pornography is meant to cause sexual arousal in readers […] which is clearly not the intent of her book.”
It’s no wonder why this issue has been dividing people. On the one hand, a student has a right to exercise their voice if they feel their rights (in his case, religious) are being infringed upon. In fact, according to VP for Public Affairs and Government Relations at Duke University, Michael Schoenfeld, “the summer reading is entirely voluntary — it is not a requirement, nor is there a grade or record of any student’s participation,” so Grasso is under no academic obligation to read it. On the other hand, if you attend a school that accidentally gets lumped into the Ivy League all the time and you still choose to complain about your first assignment, a 232 page book of pictures no one is forcing you to read? It feels a little like the only reason left you’d try to be That Dude complaining in a Facebook group to hundreds of your peers is because… you’re That Dude, I guess. Especially when Duke’s Common Experience book selection committee openly anticipated this outcry over two months ago, choosing instead to believe that their student body could push themselves beyond their comfort zone to engage with different experiences.
There is hope on that end, however. Grasso recently told The Daily Beast that he “would not have read the book if the pictures were of heterosexual intercourse. I am a Christian, and I do believe what the Bible says about homosexuality but I also know Christians recently and historically have harassed homosexuals, and I believe what the Bible says about harassing people and discrimination.” He added, “Obviously, the purpose of Fun Home is literary and not pornographic in nature.” Grasso even chose to read the parts that contained no nudity after being informed which pages to skip by a friend.
Perhaps there’s even more to be gleaned from the moment than meets the eye, however. After all, despite Duke being one of several liberal arts oases in North Carolina, the (now unconstitutional) vote on Amendment 1 to prohibit same-sex marriage still painted the state a bright shade of homophobic in 2012. You can bet your national championships a great deal of the class of 2019 came from those exact homes in state and now must engage with dialogue around their beliefs. Furthermore, it’s amazing to think how one graphic novel, an art form people are still trying to argue is dying or at the very least crass and meaningless, can spark so much discussion and interest. In a world where sucessful LGBT+ comics and comic authors still aren’t the norm, one can also hope all the publicity will drive up sales and maybe even draw attention to similar titles. Who knows? Maybe we should stop framing this as a problem, and start thinking of it as an opportunity.
You can learn more about Alison Bechdel and support Fun Home and her other works by visiting her website, http://dykestowatchoutfor.com/.
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