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Redmond, Charles Daniel

English

2009

MA

This thesis examines the problematics surrOtmding assimilation using the theoretical approaches of Lee Edelman's No Future and David Halperin's What Do Gay Men Want? Looking at lessons gleaned from African-American movements against assimilation, specifically the Black Arts Movement, I argue that the current push for assimilation within the gay community repeats the mistakes of the past. Essentially, any push for or against assimilation involves the tacit acceptance of imaginary identity tropes and too often results in the radical othering of those who fail to live up to these categorizations. The writings of James Baldwin, particularly Giovanni's Room and Another Country, are used as a backdrop in which to analyze the difficulties that arise whenever assimilation becomes the predominant approach of stigmatized groups seeking out political recognition. Ultimately, I contend that any attempt to embody the norm involves, an exchange of one fantasy for another, and that the results of this swap are undesirable because those who resist are othered and ultimately deemed unfit for recognition.