By: Mustika Nur Amalia
(History of English Literature)
The terms of LGBTQ issue are really complicated to learn. Since mainstream acceptable sexuality is heterosexual therefore the existence deviant sexuality such as LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) is marginalized. In Australia, the society is more tolerant toward LGBTQ issue but the law which is under British Commonwealth and still holding Christian value cannot legalize gay marriage. Australia today is a diverse multi-cultural society with many fairly well-accepted non-traditional lifestyles, including gay ones (www.dreadedned.com.au). However, the cases of discrimination toward LGBTQ still exist in the society due to religion reason. The case of discrimination toward gay due to religion reason is pictured in the Bentley’s ‘God Made Me This Way’. The story tells about the main character ‘I’ who always go to church and from Pastor John point of view, everything that he did, God hates. It shows that the character ‘I’ being marginalized based on religion. Before we going further in analyzing the story deeper, let me give overview about the history of LGBTQ and LGBTQ literature in Australia.
First, let me give an overview toward the history of LGBTQ in Australia. The history of LGBTQ milestone is divided into three, first before the coming of the white men, second Shipwrecks and Dutchmen, and third convicts and colonies. In the era before the coming of the white men and European’s colonies, Indigenous Australia consists of hundreds of different groups and peoples with their own culture, spiritual belief and language. Before colonizer came, many tribes of indigenous against the practice of homosexuality as mentioned in the DNA magazines in many tribes, homosexual acts were completely forbidden but among some tribes, similar to practices in ancient Greece, unmarried men entered into sexual relationships with youths with the expectation that the relationships would end once they married. However, in some groups, the practice of male relationship is acceptable due to some groups believe that certain people possessed both male and female spirits in one body. Because of these, they accept male relationship while others are not. In the era Shipwrecks and Dutchmen, DNA magazine notes that on October 25, 1616, Dirk Hartog became the first white man to set eyes on the continent of Australia after being blown off course on his way to Dutch colonies in the Spice Islands of Indonesia. But it was another ship from Holland that sets the first date in the recorded gay history of Australia. In this magazines also mentioned that in the 9th of June, 1727, The merchant vessel Zeewijk wrecked itself on the Houtman Abrolhos islands off the coast of Western Australia. The vessel hitting a submerged reef, ten men drowned, the desperate survivors tried to go Java Island for rescue. During this time, two young sailors, Adriaen Spoor and Pieter Engels, were caught by their crewmen the practice of sodomite. In the era convicts and colonize, the practice of homosexual relationship broaden among convicts. However, the government tried to give death penalty toward the practice of sodomite. As DNA magazine reported the first recorded execution for a homosexual act did not occur until 1828, when Alexander Brown, chief officer on the whaling ship Royal Sovereign, and crewmember Richard Lister were ordered to hang by the neck by a Sydney court.
The first Australia literature which brought up the issue of LGBTQ occurs in the Kenneth "Seaforth" Mackenzie's The Young Desire It (1937). The story tells about homosexuality practice in the public school. This is a significant novel for the way it reveals gaps between sex and gender (www.lgbtq.com). Next, the novel which is told about homosexuality in military pictured in the novel Randolph Stow's The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea (1965). In the early LGBTQ literature mostly brought the theme about the confusion of gender identity. In the short story entitled ‘God Made Me This Way’ found some differences in the era early LGBTQ literatures. ‘I’ in this short story does not experience the confusion about gender identity. He already knew that he has different sexuality as he states in the story ‘You know the kind, boys who love boys’. Even pastor John in the church always spoke that God hates the thing like that (homosexuality), however the main character is oke with that strange things that happen to him. He believes god is always loving, and caring, no matter how bad he is. Moreover, from the narrator point of view, Pastor John has bad personality. He is coldest, meanest, most hateful man that the ‘I’ new. When he is reveal and curse ‘I’ in the church in the middle of praying that he is as ‘homosexual’, the society seems does not approve his existence. It proves from the expression ‘There is an audible gasp throughout the congregation as everyone looks at me. Intimidating or not, if there was ever going to be a time when I wished I could sink through the floor, this is it’. This is the expression of disapproval when they notice who is he really are. But, the characters ‘I’ does not keep silent about unfairness which is Pastor John made. He dares to give stern look as a sign of protest. From the narrator point of view also give the message that as a human, we cannot just give judgment to the people who do not belong the mainstream, God Hates, he has experienced reading the bible, he knows god is love. And also, he realizes that he is a gay because god made it. The most touching scene when his mother knew the reality that he is as homosexual, she doesn’t hate him. In the end of the story, ‘I’ do not shy to admit that he is a gay, and he has boyfriend Billy.
In conclusion, the story of ‘God Made Me This Way’ is a reflection of discrimination toward gay in Australia due to religion perspective. It also reflects gay treatment in Australia nowadays. Even though, as multiculturalism society, Australian tolerate about the existence of LGBTQ, but the practice of discrimination still exist due to religion reason. And this story is written in Christian perspective and give the reader new point of view about gay treatment in the Christian community.
References:
Bentley, Grand. 2009. God Made Me This Way. (online) avaliable at http://lakeweedatarrowhead.net/godmadem.htm. Accessed on May 13, 2012.
_____. Australia and New Zealand Literature. (online) available at http://www.glbtq.com/literature/aus_nz_lit,2.html. Accessed on May 13, 2012.
_____. HISTORY OF HOMOSEXUALITY IN AUSTRALIA - DNA Magazine, 100th Edition. (online) available at http://www.illawarraqinfo.com/page17.htm. Accessed on May 13, 2012.
_____. Being gay in Australia. (online) available at http://www.dreadedned.com.au/source/info/gay.htm. Accessed on May 13, 2012
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar