W
ho are the Exodusters?  Tragically stories like theirs, about African American pioneers and their contributions to our nation, are being purged from many school curriculums. But these stories are critical to our understanding of American history. So we’re shining a light on these courageous, formerly enslaved homesteaders here.

We’ve all undoubtedly learned about the Homestead Act of 1862. Its legacy has played a role in characterizing America as a nation full of scrappy, “pull yourself by your bootstraps” types. And we’ve all heard about Reconstruction – you know, the rebuilding period following the Civil War.

But “what do the Homestead Act and Reconstruction have to do with each other,” you may ask. Well, that’s where the Exodusters come in.

The Post-Civil War Era

The post-Civil War era seems like it should have been a time of progress for African Americans in the South. What’s known as the Reconstruction Amendments had been passed: the Thirteenth Amendment ended slavery, the Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to those previously enslaved, and the Fifteenth Amendment outlawed suffrage discrimination based on color, race, or previous slave status.[1]

But the post-Civil War era was not “a brand-new day,” as the saying goes. Because as another saying goes, “where there’s a will there’s a way.” And many Southern whites made a concerted effort to keep Black people disenfranchised, socially marginalized, and poverty-stricken.[2]

When Rutherford B. Hays ended Reconstruction in 1877 in return for Southern support to secure his presidency in the disputed 1876 election, things got even worse.[3]

During Reconstruction, federal soldiers had been stationed in the South to maintain order, enforce new laws, and protect the rights of the formerly enslaved. Though their protection was frequently minimal, it was better than nothing.

And once the troops were removed, the South’s white ruling class had free reign to oppress and terrorize freed Blacks without interference. Lynchings, murders, and other violent crimes against African Americans increased dramatically. [4]

The Great Exodus

Bearing this turn of events in mind, it was time to take advantage of opportunities offered by The Homestead Act, which gave 160 acres of federal land to anyone who agreed to farm it. This migration came to be known as “the Great Exodus.” And the 40,000 – 60,000 people who participated in it were called “Exodusters.”[5]

Carrying the hope for freedom and prosperity most settled in Kansas. Largely due to the state’s history as the site of fervent “free state” sentiments during the antebellum period (not to mention being the home of abolitionist John Brown).[6]

And many were part of organized efforts to establish all-Black settlements. And by 1881, Exodusters had established a dozen agricultural colonies in the state of Kansas: Nicodemus, Hodgeman, Morton City, Dunlap, Kansas City–area Colony, Parsons, Wabaunsee, Summit Township, Topeka-area Colony, Burlington, Little Coney, and the Daniel Votaw Colony.

These African American pioneers also established communities in Nebraska, including the town of Dewitty. They migrated to western New Mexico, creating settlements such as Blackdom and Dora. Not to mention the fact that over a fifty-five-year period following the Civil War, African Americans established more than fifty identifiable communities in Oklahoma. [7] Like other settlements whose foundations were laid during the pioneer age, some of them sprouted and quickly vanished, and others still survive.

Stories like theirs may be targeted for banning, but the Exodusters’ legacy deserves to be remembered.

See Below For Related Posts

#Teacher Resources                   #The American Experience              #Juneteenth

Endnotes:

[1] “The Reconstruction Amendments.” The Constitution Center. https://constitutioncenter.org/education/classroom-resource-library/classroom/the-reconstruction-amendments

[2] Arrington, Todd. “Exodusters.” National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/home/learn/historyculture/exodusters.htm

[3] “Compromise of 1877.” History.com https://www.history.com/articles/compromise-of-1877

[4] Arrington, Todd. “Exodusters.” National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/home/learn/historyculture/exodusters.htm

[5] Toler, Pamela D. “The Exodusters.” June 20, 2025. History in the Margins. https://www.historyinthemargins.com/2025/06/20/the-exodusters/

[6] Davis, Damani. “Exodus to Kansas.” Prologue Magazine. Summer 2008, Vol. 40 No. 2.

[7] “All-Black Towns.” Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. https://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.afam.006.html

Images:

Exodusters: Kansas Historical Society.

The Post-Civil War Era: U.S. National Park Service.

The Great Exodus:  Library of Congress

I
magine if you will, living in a world where you never see yourself represented in books or media. (Insert Twilight Zone theme song here). And, when you finally do, it’s as negative, immoral, or downright evil. How would that effect you? And what does it have to do with ThePicture of Dorian Gray?

Consider this… LGBTQIA youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their straight cisgendered peers. Not because LGBTQIA individuals are inherently prone to suicide risk – they aren’t. Being stigmatized by society is what places LGBTQIA individuals, like mathematician and early computer genius Alan Turing, at a higher risk for suicide.[1]

Oscar Wilde’s 1890 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray is the story of this unfortunate reality. And, Dorian’s portrait is a roadmap of psychological damage resulting from societal stigma, rather than one of sinful debauchery as it is traditionally viewed.

The Picture of Dorian Gray revolves around a triumvirate of core characters who collectively represent the experience of a single individual. Wilde tells us this himself, when he wrote the following in a letter to an admirer of his writings regarding Wilde’s relation to the characters in The Picture of Dorian Gray:

Basil Hallward is what I think I am;
Lord Henry what the world thinks me;
Dorian is what I would like to be in other ages, perhaps.[2]

.
You see… Wilde was among those who participated in London’s gay subculture. Like many of these men, he led a secret double life. Having experienced it firsthand, Wilde knew what it’s like to try to navigate an intolerant society.

Each of Dorian Gray’s core characters embodies an aspect of what it’s like for LGBTQIA individuals who live in a repressive, anti-LBTQIA society… or as Wilde put it, “a harsh, uncomely Puritanism.”[3] And, Basil Hallward’s painting of Dorian Gray reflects the erosion of psychological and emotional well-being caused by living in such corrosive circumstances – an experience that all too often ends in suicide.

The Picture of Dorian Gray
Ccontroversial From The Start

 The Picture of Dorian Gray comes closer than any other mainstream English novel of its time to treating same gender sexuality in an overt fashion. And, as this scathing review indicates, when the first installment of this serialized work appeared in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine (July, 1890), it was immediately controversial, and continues to be commonly banned: [4]

Mr. Oscar Wilde has again been writing stuff that were better unwritten; and while The Picture of Dorian Gray, which he contributes to Lippincott’s, is ingenious, interesting, full of cleverness, plainly the work of a man of letters, it is false art – for its interest is medico-legal; it is false to human nature – for its hero is a devil; it is false to morality – for it is not made sufficiently clear that the writer does not prefer a course of unnatural iniquity to a life of cleanliness, health, and sanity.[5]

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Reviews in leading magazines the Scots Observer and the St. James’s Gazette suggested Wilde should be prosecuted for what he had written. And W.  H. Smith & Son, Britain’s largest bookseller, pulled the July issue of Lippincott’s from its railway bookstalls.[6]

And this was after Lippincott’s editor struck nearly 500 words from Wilde’s original transcript, material which made the sexual nature of Basil’s feelings for Dorian Gray even more vivid and clear.

In response to this backlash, Wilde further edited his manuscript in an effort to appease the public. A guy has to make a living after all, and this reaction to his work put that at risk. To say nothing of getting on The National Vigilance Association’s radar (which is precisely the social purity organization it sounds like it is).[7]

The fact that The Picture of Dorian Gray was used as evidence against Wilde in his trial for “gross indecency,” underscores just how incendiary it was. Wilde was charged under the eleventh amendment of the 1885 Criminal Law Amendment Act, which created the new offense of gross indecency, criminalizing all sexual activity between men. He was sentenced to two years hard labor, the most extreme sentence possible under the law.[8]

Terms Like
“Sexual Orientation”
Didn’t Exist 

Victorian Society saw same gender sexuality as an unclean and “deviant” vice rather than as an orientation or identity. [9] Consequently, Victorians lacked the language relating to same gender sexuality that has since developed. So, we can’t expect to see terms like “sexual orientation” or “gay” in the text.

There’s also the recent criminalization of sexual relations of any kind between men. So, references to “medico-legal” interest, “unnatural iniquity,” and being “false to human nature” are clearly coded imputations of male, same gender sexuality.[10]

According to literary critic Richard Ellman, after the publication of The Picture of Dorian Gray, “Victorian literature had a different look.”[11] More importantly, as Art is wont to do, Wilde’s novel altered the way Victorians saw and understood the world they lived in, particularly regarding sexuality and masculinity.

The backlash evident in outraged reviews like the one above – with their coded language and allusions to criminal prosecution – shows very clearly that many early British readers were aware of the ways this book refers to same gender sexuality. And, in doing so, it was challenging Victorian notions of masculine sexuality.[12]

As a result, Wilde’s work and life – the trials for “gross indecency” in particular – are widely credited as the impetus for same gender sexuality being seen as a distinct sexual orientation and social identity.[13]

Setting The Scene
With Flowers

 Wilde’s use of floral imagery in the opening paragraphs of The Picture of Dorian Gray has been seen as linking Basil Hallward’s studio to Victorian London’s Artists’ colonies – which it absolutely does. [14] Given the popularity of floriography during this time, however, we can’t ignore Wilde’s choice of flowers and what these selections reveal.

Floriography is the language of flowers. And, it was a widely popular form of coded communication in the Victorian era. This cryptological system attaches specific and subtle meanings to individual varieties of flowers.

This form of code produces a hidden message for the intended recipient of the blooms in question, frequently revealing how the sender feels about the receiver. In this case, Wilde’s floriographic message is intended for the Victorian-era readers of Dorian Gray, an audience well-versed in the language of flowers and sure to understand its coded meaning.*[15]

Wilde uses flowers in the opening passage to set the emotional stage, to let the reader know love is literally in the air:

The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn.[16]

.

As anyone who has ever watched a rom com knows, roses signify love (the type, of course, depends on the variety of rose). So, love is indeed literally in the air.

The scent of lilacs that comes wafting through the studio door, indicates youthful innocence and the first emotions of love. And, the delicate perfume of the Maiden Blush Rose, a very fragrant pink variety of rose common in Victorian gardens conveys the message “If you love me, you will find it out.”[17]

The stage is set. The Victorian reader knows that the conversation that follows will concern the first blush of romantic love, as well as the fact that these feelings remain undisclosed.

I turned half-way round and saw Dorian Gray for the first time. When our eyes met, I felt that I was growing pale. A curious sensation of terror came over me. I knew that I had come face to face with someone whose mere personality was so fascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself.[18]

.

Wilde’s floral choices are more than just purple prose, their symbolic meaning makes it clear to the Victorian reader that passages like this one – text that appears simply vague to the modern reader – are not so ambiguous after all. To Dorian Gray’s original audience, it was perfectly clear that the studio’s occupant, Basil Hallward, has an amorous attraction to a young man named Dorian Gray.

And the reason Basil refuses to exhibit the portrait of Dorian Gray is because he is “afraid [he] might have shown with it the secret of [his] soul” – and he doesn’t want to inadvertently “out” himself in modern parlance.[19] Elaborating on his first encounter with Dorian, Basil reveals to Lord Henry Wotton:

Something seemed to tell me that I was on the verge of a terrible crisis in my life. I had a strange feeling that Fate had in store for me exquisite joys and exquisite sorrows. I knew that if I spoke to Dorian I would become absolutely devoted to him, and that I ought not to speak to him.[20]

.

As Oscar Wilde indicated in the letter mentioned above, this is how he sees himself, as having genuine feelings for another man, but needing to remain closeted due to societal pressures – the vilification of same gender sexuality that ultimately ruined him.

The source for this essay is the uncensored version of The Picture of Dorian Gray. And as previously mentioned, Wilde edited – or more accurately, self-censored – the book after the backlash following its first appearance.

He deleted the lines “I knew that if I spoke to Dorian I would become absolutely devoted to him, and that I ought not to speak to him” from the above passage in the 1891 book version, the one most of us are familiar with. This deference to social pressure underscores Wilde’s concern for his own reputation.

Lilacs:
Symbol Of Dorian’s Innocence

As noted earlier, the lilac means innocence. And this symbolism evolves over the course of the first couple of chapters. The scent of lilacs refers to Basil’s feelings for Dorian, indicating the genuine and loving nature of his emotions.

And the flower signifies Dorian Gray’s character early in the text. Lilac blooms (rather than just their fragrance) are mentioned as Basil begins to tell the story of how he met Dorian. At this point, Dorian was innocent in the sense that he hadn’t realized his inclination toward same gender sexuality.

But, as a result of a conversation with Lord Henry Wotton – one laden with sexual innuendo and coded remarks about hidden impulses – Dorian comes to recognize what we would now call his sexual orientation:

Yes: there had been things in his boyhood that he had not understood. He understood them now. Life suddenly became fiery-coloured to him. It seemed to him that he had been walking in fire. Why had he not known?[21]

.

Like many transformative moments, Dorian finds this bewildering and uncomfortable – especially in a society as hostile to the idea of same gender sexuality as the Victorian era. So, he excuses himself from Basil’s studio to get some fresh air in the garden. And:

Lord Henry went out to the garden and found Dorian Gray burying his face in the great cool lilac-blossoms, feverishly drinking in their perfume as if it had been wine.[22]

.

Dorian realizes that his true sexual orientation is toward same gender sexuality. And yet, he remains innocent – now in the sense of not being vilified, and considered evil by society. This is who Oscar Wilde would like to be, a man who loves other men and is still accepted by the society he lives in.

Laburnum Signifies
Lord Henry’s Poisonous Nature

As indicated in the following passage, Lord Henry Wotton, an influential and cynical character, is associated with the laburnum tree:

From the corner of the divan of Persian saddle-bags on which he was lying, smoking, as was his custom, innumerable cigarettes, Lord Henry Wotton could just catch the gleam of the honey-sweet and honey-coloured blossoms of a laburnum, whose tremulous branches seemed hardly able to bear the burden of a beauty so flamelike as theirs…[23]

.

Laburnum is a poisonous plant that means “forsaken” in the language of floriography. The message being conveyed to recipients of laburnum is that the sender sees them as deserving to be abandoned by society.[24]

Consistent with the virulent aspect of laburnum, Lord Henry “poisons” Dorion by introducing him to notions like “every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind,” and “the only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.”[25] In doing so he, seemingly intentionally, destroys any possibility of a loving relationship between Basil and Dorian.

He strikes a nerve when he says to Dorian:

You, Mr. Gray, you yourself, with your rose-red youth and your rose-white boyhood, you have had passions that have made you afraid, thoughts that have filled you with terror, day-dreams and sleeping dreams whose mere memory might stain your cheek with shame…[26]

.

Lord Henry is intensely interested in Dorian. And his discourse clearly refers to same sex attraction, intending to test Dorian’s receptiveness to such remarks.

Dorian’s first response was to tell Lord Henry to “Stop!” to refrain from talking to him in this manner. But after further psychological prodding by Lord Henry, Dorian drops the spray of lilac he was holding during their conversation, indicating his loss of innocence… as he “listened, open-eyed and wondering.”[27]

It is significant that Lord Henry, linked to the poisonous laburnum tree, is introduced to the reader even before we meet Basil Hallward. For, this is how Wilde feels the world sees him, poisonous and predatory.

What Is Minority Stress?
And How Does It Affect
The Mental Health Of Gay Men?

Minority stress is psychosocial stress caused by chronic exposure to the social stresses  that sexual minority individuals face due to their stigmatized status (relative to the cisgender heterosexual population that is). Minority stress differs from general stress – the kind all of us may experience – because it is born of stigma and prejudice.

What is known as proximal stressors are also part of the collective package that is minority stress. And, they emerge from a socialization process where sexual and gender minority individuals learn to reject themselves for being LGBTQIA. In Dorian Gray’s case, internalized homophobia.

Another such stressor occurs when sexual and gender minority individuals develop the expectation to be stigmatized, a result of their awareness of prevailing social stigma. Hiding your identity to protect yourself from such social stigma – being closeted in modern parlance – is also a proximal stressor.

Studies indicate these stressors have a significant association with a number of mental health concerns. Unfortunately, but understandably, men with high levels of minority stress are twice to three times more likely to suffer from psychological distress such as demoralization, guilt, – and all too often – suicide ideation and behavior.[28]

Dorian’s Internalized Homophobia

LGBTQIA individuals have internalized a hostile society’s negative attitudes toward sexual and gender minorities long before they recognize their own orientation and sexuality. And, logically, when they do realize their (in Dorian’s case) same-sex attraction, they begin to apply the term LGBTQIA to themselves.

As this self-labeling begins, however, LGBTQIA individuals also begin to apply the negative societal attitudes they’ve absorbed to themselves. And, that’s when the psychologically-injurious effects of a hostile society take effect.

Along with the recognition of same-sex attraction, a “deviant identity” starts to emerge, one that threatens the psychological well-being of the LGBTQIA individual in question.[29] This is the process we see play out when Dorian Gray looks at his portrait for the first time.

Dorian made no answer, but passed listlessly in front of his picture and turned towards it. When he saw it he drew back, and his cheeks flushed for a moment with pleasure. A look of joy came into his eyes, as if he had recognized himself for the first time.[30]

.

Dorian does indeed recognize himself for the first time, finally realizing his same-sex orientation. He also takes in “the sense of his own beauty” – in other words innocence –  just as he begins to comprehend Lord Henry’s remarks about aging.[31]

Lord Henry points out that the grace of his figure would become “broken and deformed,” “the scarlet would pass away from his lips and the gold steal from his hair.”[32] This is, of course, how society would now see him as an LGBYQIA individual, “ignoble, hideous and uncouth.”[33]

As he thought of it, a sharp pang of pain struck through him like a knife and made each delicate fibre of his nature quiver. His eyes deepened into amethyst, and across them came a mist of tears. He felt as if a hand of ice had been laid upon his heart.[34]

.

Dorian Gray’s internalized homophobia has clearly emerged. And, his wish to remain young signifies a desire to continue being seen as he was before his revelation about the true nature of his sexual orientation…  in a positive manner, as Lady Brandon described him to Basil – “charming.”[35]

The painting that gives rise to this wish represents the deviant entity that is psychological damage. Later in the text, Wilde asks whether the picture would “teach [Dorian] to loathe his own soul.”[36] Psychologically speaking, the answer is yes.

Dorian’s Denial
A Symptom Of Internalized Homophobia

One of the more common forms of internalized homophobia is to deny your true sexual orientation.[37] And, Dorian’s relationship with Sibyl Vane indicates that, at this point in the narrative, he is in denial.

Barely a month after Dorian came to recognize his same gender sexual orientation, he announces to Lord Henry that he’s in love with a young woman named Sybil Vane:

I love Sybil Vane. I wish to place her on a pedestal of gold, and to see the world worship the woman who is mine. What is marriage? An irrevocable vow. And it is an irrevocable vow that I want to take. Her trust makes me faithful, her belief makes me good. When I am with her, I regret all that you have taught me. I become different from what you have known me to be. I am changed, and the mere touch of Sybil Vane’s hand makes me forget you and all your wrong, fascinating, poisonous, delightful theories.[38]

.

This sounds more like a vindication of his denial than a testament of true love. Dorian wants the world to see the “woman who is mine.” In other words, he wants the world to see him conforming to the dominant heterosexual culture. And in doing so, annihilate the possibility of having same sex desires.

“Her trust makes me faithful, her belief makes me good” – in short, Sybil’s presence will keep Dorian in line with societal norms. When he’s with her, he regrets everything Lord Henry has taught him. The mere touch of her hand “makes [him] forget [Lord Henry] and all [his] wrong, fascinating, poisonous, delightful theories.” So in Dorian’s mind, he can’t actually be gay… but notice the words “fascinating,” and “delightful” woven into his refutation.

And let’s not forget what he found so attractive about Sybil’s acting:

Sybil was playing Rosalind. Of course the scenery was dreadful, and the Orlando absurd. But Sybil! You should have seen her! When she came on in her boy’s dress she was perfectly wonderful.[39]

 .

Sybil’s role as Rosalind, in her “perfectly wonderful” “boy’s dress” blurs the gender lines for Dorian. And, she’s good at pretending to be someone she really isn’t – which is precisely what Dorian is trying to do.

When Sybil’s acting ability flounders and he is forced to see her for who she really is, his interest dies as well. So, he breaks off their engagement, in cruel and uncertain terms. And, the effects of Dorian’s denial-based psychological gymnastics manifest in the painting.

Basil’s Outwardly Hostile Form
Of Internalized Homophobia

The fateful night when Basil Hallward shows up on Dorian’s doorstep, before his departure on the midnight train for Paris, he embodies a form of internalized homophobia that occurs when LGBTQIA individuals negatively judge others sexual and gender minority individuals.[40]

Dorian ran into him on the street, and when he did, a “strange sense of fear, for which he could not account, came over him.”[41] After a few minutes of small talk, Basil makes it clear that he wants to address “the hideous things people are whispering about [Dorian].”[42]

Basil immediately begins to read Dorian the riot act, as the expression goes, launching into a lengthy diatribe:

Why is it, Dorian, that a man like the Duke of Berwick leaves the room of a club when you enter it? Why is it that so many gentlemen in London will neither go to your house nor invite you to theirs?…

 Why is it that every young man that you take up seems to come to grief, to go to the bad at once? There was that wretched boy in the Guards who committed suicide. You were his great friend. There was Sir Henry Ashton, who had to leave England, with a tarnished name. You and he were inseparable. What about Adrian Singleton, and his dreadful end?...[43]

 .

You get the picture. And that was just the beginning. Basil continues his harangue, actually taking it up a notch and getting downright parental:

I do want to preach to you. I want you to lead such a life as will make the world respect you. I want you to have a clean name and a fair record. I want you to get rid of the dreadful people you associate with. Don’t shrug your shoulders like that. Don’t be so indifferent…[44]

.

After getting a look at the portrait he painted of Dorian all those years ago, Basil really lets loose:

My God! if it is true…  and this is what you have done with your life, why, you must be worse even than those who talk against you fancy you to be!…

 Pray, Dorian, pray… What is it that one was taught to say in one’s boyhood? Lead us not into temptation. Forgive us our sins. Wash away our iniquities. Let us say it together.[45]

 .

At that point, Dorian feels like a “hunted animal,” an apt description of how it must feel to be on the receiving end of an openly hostile society. So, Dorian picks up the knife that was lying on a chest a few feet away, one that was there because he’d used it a few days earlier to cut a piece of chord. And, in short, he stabs Basil to death with it.

Symbolically speaking, Basil’s murder is psychological and emotional self-defense. And once again, the psychological damage – this time the result of enduring an openly hostile society – appears in the painting.

Gossip And Scandal
A Source Of Minority Stress

Between cycles of denial, Dorian was a bit of a “wild child” as the expression goes. One who was beginning to create an unfavorable reputation for himself. And it was this gossip, and the need to avoid scandal, that Basil was confronting Dorian about on his way to Paris.

Scandals are ubiquitous social phenomena. They’re the public event par excellence, creating a singular dramatic intensity by mobilizing significant amounts of emotional energy, usually with momentous consequences.

They discredit and disgrace by undermining the social standing and reputation of those they effect. The most important thing to remember about a scandal, however, is that its power of contamination is derived from shame.[46] And this shame appears in the painting.

A careful reader notices that The Picture of Dorian Gray’s opening pages contain a comment about the sudden disappearance of Basil Hallward a number of years earlier.

 Basil’s disappearance was evidently quite the scandal. The reference points out that it caused “such public excitement, and gave rise to so many strange conjectures” when it occurred.[47]

This phrase suggests that The Picture of Dorian Gray is a story being conveyed as gossip, one that keeps the scandal surrounding Basil Hallward’s disappearance alive after all these years.

There’s also the rumor that Dorian was seen “brawling with foreign sailors” in the “distant parts of Whitechapel.”[48] The scuttlebutt was that he “consorted with thieves and coiners and knew the mysteries of their trade.”[49] And, much ado was made about his absences from the city.

As a result of this gossip, Dorian was “blackballed at a West End Club of which his birth and social position fully entitled him to become a member.”[50] When a friend of Dorian’s  brought him into the smoking-room of the Carlton, the Duke of Berwick and another gentleman stood up “in a marked manner,” and left the room.

Lord Henry makes the following remark in the 1891 version of The Picture of Dorian Gray, “the books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.”[51] The shame Wilde seems to be exposing to the reader is Victorian society’s propensity to vilify men who love other men as evil, and ruining them with scandalous gossip.

The psychological damage associated with being the subject of gossip and scandal appears on Dorian’s portrait too.

Psychological Maladies:
Demoralization And Guilt

Over time, Dorian has clearly come to accept that he is indeed attracted to other men. But, given the societal stigma associated with such sexuality, and potential social ruin should it become known, he must hide his true orientation.

Therefore, for many years, Dorian has been immersing himself in intellectual and philosophical endeavors as a “means of forgetfulness, modes by which he could escape, for a season, from the fear that seemed to him at times to be almost too great to be borne.”[52]

But repressing your true self is extremely psychologically taxing. So, as mentioned above, he has also periodically embarked on “mysterious and prolonged absences,” when he would engage in things like those Basil was berating him for. It was his habit, for example, to frequent places like “the little ill-famed tavern near the Docks” – in disguise and using a false name, of course.[53]

When he met Hetty Merton, Dorian was showing signs of demoralization and guilt, the psychological maladies that typically develop as a result of such minority stress.

Once again, Dorian relates the story of his relationship with a woman to Lord Henry. Only this time around, the plan isn’t to marry Hetty. It’s simply to set her up in a place he would visit every now and again. Nevertheless, like Lord Henry’s marriage, an arrangement with Hetty would go a long way toward keeping gossip about Dorian’s sexual orientation at bay.

She was quite beautiful, and wonderfully like Sybil Vane. I think it was that which first attracted me to her. You remember Sybil, don’t you? How long ago that seems! Well, Hetty was not one of our own class, of course. She was simply a girl in a village. But I really loved her. I am quite sure that I loved her.[54]

.

Dorian’s pronouncement of his love for Hetty is clearly more subdued than his enthusiastic attestation of love for Sybil Vane. The phrase “I am quite sure that I loved her” comes across as downcast and dispirited.

It sounds more like he’s trying to convince himself he had some sort of affection for her, feelings that would make a convenience relationship bearable, rather than a declaration of romantic love.

During their conversation regarding Hetty, Dorian talks with Lord Henry about how many “dreadful things” he has done in his life, things that he is “not going to do anymore.”[55] Dorian declares “I am going to alter. I think have altered.”[56] 

And, to prove it (at least to himself) he reveals that his reason for ending the relationship with Hetty was because he “didn’t want to bring her shame.”[57] Whether that’s actually the case or Dorian is simply despondent, he’s clearly immersed in the demoralization and guilt that minority stress so frequently gives rise to.

Self-Loathing:
Suicide Ideation & Behavior

 As Dorian was walking home from Lord Henry’s following their conversation about Hetty, two young men passed him on the sidewalk, and he heard one of them whisper to the other “That is Dorian Gray.”[58] He used to be pleased when he was recognized or talked about, but not anymore.

Given the number of whispering campaigns about him making their way through the social community these days, to say nothing of the open hostility he’s experienced, “He was tired of hearing his own name.”[59]
When he made it home and was settling in for the night, Dorian began to wonder if it was really true that we can never change. And, he “felt a wild longing for the unstained purity of his boyhood.”[60] This sentiment sent Dorian sliding into self-loathing:

He knew that he had tarnished himself, filled his mind with corruption, and given horror to his fancy; that he had been an evil influence to others, and had experienced a terrible joy in being so; and that of the lives that had crossed his own it had been the fairest and the most full of promise that he had brought to shame. But was it all irretrievable? Was there no hope for him?[61]

.

Hetty Merton popped into his head again and the good he had done in her regard. And, Dorian began to wonder if the painting locked away upstairs had changed. Maybe if his life became pure, he would be able to erase all the signs of his “evil passion” from its face.[62]

So, he went to take a look. He locks the door behind him as usual, and uncovers the portrait. And when he did “a cry of pain and indignation broke from him.”[63] There had been no improvement. In fact, there was a new look of cunning in the eyes.

In the mouth he saw “the curved wrinkle of the hypocrite,” which wasn’t there before.[64]

And, the hypocrisy he saw was that of living a life in conflict with his true self. His portrait appeared more loathsome than ever.

It didn’t seem to matter how he went about trying to fit into a repressive, hostile, anti-LGBTQIA society as a sexual and gender minority. And, all the psychological damage he had endured due to minority stress remained visible in the painting.

The internalized homophobia that created this deviant entity was obviously there. The psychological gymnastics of denial was clearly evident. Feeling like a hunted animal in an openly hostile society was also there, conspicuously so.

So, Dorian looked around the room, and picked up the same knife that had stabbed Basil Hallward:

As it had killed the painter, so it would kill the painter’s work, and all that that meant. It would kill the past, and when that was dead, he would be free.[65]

.

The “painter’s work,” of course, means the deviant entity that emerges from internalized homophobia. In trying to put an end to it, and the psychological distress his portrait embodied, Dorian ended up killing himself.

He was found lying on the floor… dead – bearing all the scars once exhibited by his portrait.

In Conclusion

 The lives of far too many LGBTQIA individuals end the same way Dorian Gray’s did. And, that’s after enduring years of psychological trauma, caused by the stigma that comes with trying to navigate living in a hostile, anti-LGBTQIA society.

If you’re an LGBTQIA individual, it’s psychologically important to see yourself represented. And if you aren’t a sexual and gender minority, seeing members of the LGBTQIA community in books and media is just as beneficial psychologically.

There’s a lot of Othering going on, divisive fear mongering about people who have different life experiences than our own. That’s what all this book banning is about.

But, when we read books about people who have different life experiences than ours, we realize there’s nothing to be afraid of. We see that we’re all just trying to make our way in the world, and that we have more in common than the fear mongers would have us believe.

It isn’t just right to try and understand those around us and see them us equals. It’s psychologically beneficial…  because nobody wants to spend their lives living in a Twilight Zone where they’re constantly afraid. The Picture of Dorian Gray shows us how that ends up.

.

That’s my take on The Picture of Dorian Gray
what’s yours?

.
Use this discussion guide
to inspire in-depth thinking,
and jump-start a conversation.

Download Wilde’s norm-busting work here.

Endnotes:

[1] Alan Turing was a mathematician credited with developing a modern computer that aided British espionage efforts during World War II. Turing also had sex with men and, as a result, was branded a security threat and convicted under a criminal code that outlawed sex between men. In addition, he was barred from continuing his government consultancy. He was also forced to receive hormonal treatments to reduce his libido. And, in 1954, he died in 1954 by poisoning himself with cyanide.

Hodges, A. Alan Turing the enigma. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2014.

“Facts About Suicide Among LGBTQ+ Young People.” The Trevor Project. Jan 1, 2024. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/article/facts-about-lgbtq-youth-suicide/

[2] Wilde, Oscar. Selected Letters of Oscar Wilde, ed. Rupert Hart-Davis. New York: Oxford University Press, 1979. Pg 116.

[3]  Frankel, Nicholas. “General Introduction.” In Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 14.

[4] Banned and Challenged Mystery Books to Read Now. PBS.org https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/specialfeatures/banned-and-challenged-mystery-books-to-read-now/#

[5] Unsigned notice of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Scots Observer, July 5, 1890; rpt. In Oscar Wilde: The Critical Heritage ed. Beckson, p 75.
Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine. Vol 46, July 1890.

[6] Frankel, Nicholas. “Textual Introduction.” In Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011.. Pg 39.

[7] The National Vigilance Association was a private British organization that focused on “for the enforcement and improvement of the laws for the repression of criminal vice and public immorality.” Records of the National Vigilance Association. https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/a97a5bcd-eb99-31df-b564-8e75a4c33fb7

[8] Adut, Ari. “A Theory of Scandal: Victorians, Homosexuality, and the Fall of Oscar Wilde.” American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 111 No. 1. July 2005. Pg 224.

[9] Frankel, Nicholas. “General Introduction.” In Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 7.

[10] Frankel, Nicholas. “General Introduction.” In Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 7.

[11] Ellman, Richard. “A Late Victorian Love Affair.” The New York Review of Books. August 4, 1977.
Oscar Wilde: A Collection of Critical Essays. Edited by Richard Ellman. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1969. Pg 314.

[12] Frankel, Nicholas. “General Introduction.” In Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 7.

[13] Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 9.0) May 1895. Trial of OSCAR FINGAL O’FFLAHARTIE WILLS WILDE (40), ALFRED WATERHOUSE SOMERSET TAYLOR (33) (t18950520-425). Available at: https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/record/t18950520-425
Appleman, Laura I. “Oscar Wilde’s Long Tail: Framing Sexual Identity in the Law.” Maryland Law Review. Volume 70, Issue 4. Pp 985-1043. July, 2011.

[14] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 67.

[15] * After 1892, the green carnation Oscar Wilde famously sported was seen as suggesting that the wearer was a man who loved other men. It was in that year Wilde had a handful of friends wear them on their lapels to the opening night of his comedy Lady Windermere’s Fan. The symbolism is said to be based on the idea that a green carnation embodies the “unnatural.” And, in those days the first thing most people would think of when they heard that word would be “unnatural love,” i.e. same gender sex.

“Four Flowering Plants That Have Been Decidedly Queered.” Jstor Daily. https://daily.jstor.org/four-flowering-plants-decidedly-queered/

“Why the Green Carnation?” Oscar Wilde Tours. https://www.oscarwildetours.com/our-symbol-the-green-carnation/

Museum Selection.co.uk https://www.museumselection.co.uk/victorian-language-of-flowers/

Pearson, Rachel. “The Petals of Dorian Gray.” Boston University. December 4, 2011.

[16] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 67.

[17] Mrs. L Burke. The Illustrated Language of Flowers. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1867. Pg 36 and 52.

[18] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 79.

[19] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 78.

[20] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 79.

[21] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 96.

[22] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 97.

[23] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 67.

[24] Mrs. L Burke. The Illustrated Language of Flowers. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1867. Pg 35.
Pearson, Rachel. “The Petals of Dorian Gray.” Boston University. December 4, 2011.

[25] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 94, 96.

[26] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 96.

[27] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 100.

[28] Meyer, Ilan H. “Minority stress and mental health in gay men.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior. Washington Vol. 36, Issue 1. March, 1995.

[29] Meyer, Ilan H. “Minority stress and mental health in gay men.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior. Washington Vol. 36, Issue 1. March, 1995.

[30] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 101.

[31] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 102.

[32] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 102.

[33] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 102.

[34] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 102.

[35] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 80.

[36] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 150.

[37] Richard C. Friedman M.D. and Jennifer Downey M.D. “Internalized Homophobia and the Negative Therapeutic Reaction.” Guilford Journals, 2022. https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/pdf/10.1521/pdps.2022.50.1.88

“10 Signs of Internalized Homophobia and Gaslighting.” May 21, 2020. Psychology Today.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/communication-success/202005/10-signs-internalized-homophobia-and-gaslighting

[38] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 136.

[39] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 134.

[40] “10 Signs of Internalized Homophobia and Gaslighting.” May 21, 2020. Psychology Today.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/communication-success/202005/10-signs-internalized-homophobia-and-gaslighting

[41] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 210.

[42] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 215.

[43] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 215.

[44] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 216.

[45] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 223.

[46] Adut, Ari. “A Theory of Scandal: Victorians, Homosexuality, and the Fall of Oscar Wilde.” American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 111, No 1. July, 2005. Pg 217-221.

[47] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 67.

[48] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011.Pg 202.

[49] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011.Pg 202.

[50] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011.Pg 202.

[51] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray.  London: Simpkin, Marshall Hamilton, Kent and Co. LTD, 1891. Pp 241-242.

[52] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 201.

[53] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. P 188.

[54] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. P 242.

[55] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 241.

[56] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 241.

[57] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 241.

[58] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 248.

[59] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 248.

[60] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 248.

[61] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 248.

[62] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 249.

[63] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 249.

[64] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 249.

[65] Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Edited by Nicholas Frankel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of The Harvard University Press, 2011. Pg 252.

Images:

Dorian Gray in Chains: Charles Ricketts-Public Domain https://archive.org/stream/pictureofdoriang00wildrich#page/n7/mode/2up

Controversial from the start: Unknown author – From part one of The Elmer Holmes Bobst Library’s online exhibition: Reading Wilde, “Querying Spaces: An Exhibition Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Trials of Oscar Wilde” Public Domain

Terms like “sexual orientation” didn’t exist: Photo by stephen packwood on Unsplash

Setting the scene with flowers: Photo by Cody Chan on Unsplash

Lilacs, the symbol of Dorian’s innocence: Photo by Dmitry Tulupov on Unsplash

Laburnum signifies Lord Henry’s nature:  MySeeds.co

Minority Stress: Photo by George Pagan III on Unsplash

Dorian’s internalized homophobia: Photo by amir maleky on Unsplash

Dorian’s Denial: Photo by Saif71.com on Unsplash

Basil’s internalized homophobia: Photo by Callum Skelton on Unsplash

Gossip and Scandal – A source of Minority Stress: Photo by Joseph Corl on Unsplash

Psychological maladies – demoralization and guilt: Photo by Melanie Wasser on Unsplash

 Self-loathing – suicide ideation & behavior: Photo by Louis Galvez on Unsplash

Pride Flag: Image by rawpixel.com on Freepik.

It means soft or gentle like a light breeze. But some words carry sensation within them as well as meaning. And ‘Zephyrous’ is one such dulcet gem. It doesn’t merely describe a type of wind, but evokes the serene feeling of a pleasant breeze caressing your skin. The kind that makes that picnic with your significant other even more romantic.

Etymology:
Origin of Zephyrous

The origin of its root “Zephyr” comes from Greek mythology, where Zephyros was an anemoi, a wind god – specifically the west wind. Associated with spring, the west wind is thought to be the bringer of mild weather and renewal. Over time, the root influenced terms in technology, literature, and even aerodynamics, routinely evoking ideas of lightness and motion.[1]

Find A Caboodle
Of Fun & Fancy Words Here.

#Fun & Fancy Words

Endnotes:

[1] Peterson, Ryan. “Unlocking the Mystery of ‘Zephyrous’: A Complete Guide to Its Meaning and Usage. April 30, 2025.

Wordpandit.com  https://wordpandit.com/word-adventure-zephyrous/

W
ho’s Magnus Hirschfeld? And, what does he have to do with book banning? He was a German physician and sexologist, best known for being an outspoken advocate for sexual minorities. And, his work was targeted in the first Nazi book burning. Hirschfeld saw sexual orientation as a naturally occurring trait, one deserving of scientific inquiry and political emancipation rather than societal hostility.[1]

His motto was per scientiam ad justitiam (through science to justice), which epitomizes his conviction that scientific understanding of sexuality would result in tolerance and acceptance of sexual minorities.[2]

Hirschfeld established the world’s first gay activist group, the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee. The organization’s primary goal was overturning Paragraph 175 of the German Criminal Code, which targeted homosexual men. As a gay man, this section of Germany’s penal code dogged Hirschfeld’s own existence.[3]

Through his medical practice, he also saw the devastating impact it had on men who lived in fear and shame, prey to blackmailers. The organization’s charter also called for public enlightenment about sexual minorities.

The Yearbook for Sexual Intermediaries, published in 1899, was the first text produced toward that end by Hirschfeld’s Scientific-Humanitarian Committee. It appeared in annual editions for a quarter of a century, and totaled 11,000 pages. The Yearbook is academic in nature, and forthrightly maintains that homosexuality is in-born. It also tracks the development of a corresponding homosexual identity throughout history.

In 1904, Hirschfeld published the essay titled The Third Gender and it’s the first published work on the subject from an insider’s perspective.[4] The phrase “the third gender” is a label of convenience utilized in ancient Rome, coming from a time when he was still examining the distinction between gender and sexuality.[5]

In his research on sexual attraction, Hirschfeld landed on the idea of a continuum – decades before Alfred Kinsey entered the picture.[6] He specified that being at either end of the heterosexual/homosexual spectrum was the exception rather than the rule. Hirschfeld also noted that these proportions were likely to change over the course of one’s lifetime.[7]

Much of The Third Gender revolves around expressions of same-sex attraction, but it also addresses those living in conflict with their assigned gender (who would come to be identified as trans). Hirschfeld realized that denying their identity was driving these individuals to depression or even suicide. At the time, a term describing their circumstances didn’t exist. In fact, it was Hirschfeld who coined the term transsexualism, giving a name and therefore credence to their situation. His most powerful contribution to the transexual community, however, (even above the clinical assistance he offered) was acknowledging that trans men and women exist… and always have.

In contrast to the Yearbook for Sexual intermediaries’ academic tone, there’s little evidence of Hirschfeld’s extensive research into sexual practices in The Third Gender. The focus is reversed, from exoticism to familiarity, with same-sex subjects presented in commonplace domestic settings. It’s also markedly sentimental, which makes it more accessible to the average reader.[8] For example:

I was once treating a noble lady who had been living with a friend for a number of years for a serious nervous condition. Neither before nor since have I seen such a loving merging of a healthy person into a sick person in my practice as in this case, neither among spouses nor even among mothers who feared for their children. The healthy friend was not a pleasant fellow citizen, she had a lot of ruthless and headstrong attitudes, but anyone who saw this truly touching love and care, this unremitting effort day and night, held much too good for her for the sake of this strong and beautiful feeling. She was really bonded to her friend, if you touched a painful limb of the patient, she winced reflexively, every discomfort of the sufferer was reflected on her face. [9]

Some think of their dashed hopes, what could they have achieved if old prejudices had not stood in the way of their careers, and others in respected positions remember the lie of life that weighs heavily on them! Many think of their parents who are dead or for whom they are dead, and all of them with heartfelt melancholy of the woman who loved them more than anything and whom they loved more than anything—their mother. [10]

1919 saw Hirschfeld open the world’s first institute for sexual science, which he located in Berlin. It is there that he established a vocabulary for sexual minorities, which helps to remove the stigma and taboo they’d been experiencing. It’s also here that he offered practical interventions like hair removal, hormone treatment, and pioneering gender affirmation surgery.[11]

After more than a decade, Hirschfeld’s Institute for Sexual Sciences housed an extensive library on sexuality, it included rare books, as well as diagrams and protocols for transition surgery.

It was on May 6, 1933 that the Nazis came for the institute. Troops swarmed the building, and carried off all its books, which they piled in the street along with a bronze bust of Hirschfeld. The bonfire engulfed more than 20,000 books, filled with research that not only helped establish a historical context for non-conforming people but also delineated procedures that addressed their physical needs.[12]  

Needless to say, the collection was irreplaceable. And as a result of the burning, the acknowledgement and therefore acceptance of sexual minorities was significantly hindered across the globe.

And it isn’t only the LGBTQ+ community that’s effected. Hobbling opportunities to understand one another is detrimental to all of us.  That’s why it is more important than ever to not just talk about the banning of books, but to take action.

What kind of action? Check out a banned book from the library – yes, that actually helps. And, public input is important, so contact your local school board members, library trustees, and state legislators. Better yet, attend the next school board or library board meeting and speak out against book bans. It’s also a pretty good way to commemorate Stonewall’s anniversary.

    #Berlin’sThirdGender     #MagnusHirschfeld
#LGBTQ+ authors

Endnotes:

[1] Melville, Raymond. “Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld.” Stonewall Society. https://www.stonewallsociety.com/famouspeople/magnus.htm

[2] Bauer, Edgar J. “Hirschfelt, Magnus.” GLBTQ Historical Society. https://www.glbtqarchive.com/ssh/hirschfeld_m_S.pdf

[3] Conway, James J. “Out on the Town: Magnus Hirschfeld and Berlin’s Third Sex.” June 7, 2022. The Public Domain Review. https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/out-on-the-town?fbclid=IwAR0EdZNI7FNZ3ciu7wBCCIEOB8WCBc3FglAVjBJF7ZJ5fOrGT9U3v-3AVBM#p-1-1

[4] Conway, James J. “Out on the Town: Magnus Hirschfeld and Berlin’s Third Sex.” June 7, 2022. The Public Domain Review. https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/out-on-the-town?fbclid=IwAR0EdZNI7FNZ3ciu7wBCCIEOB8WCBc3FglAVjBJF7ZJ5fOrGT9U3v-3AVBM#p-1-1

[5] Hirschfeld, Magnus. The Third Gender. 7^th edition. Edited by Hans Ostwald. Berlin: Hermann Seemann, Pg 6.

[6] Conway, James J. “Out on the Town: Magnus Hirschfeld and Berlin’s Third Sex.” June 7, 2022. The Public Domain Review. https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/out-on-the-town?fbclid=IwAR0EdZNI7FNZ3ciu7wBCCIEOB8WCBc3FglAVjBJF7ZJ5fOrGT9U3v-3AVBM#p-1-1

[7] “Hirschfeld, Magnus” in Encyclopedia of Gender and Society (vol 1) edited by Jodi O’Brien. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2009. Pg 424.

[8] Conway, James J. “Out on the Town: Magnus Hirschfeld and Berlin’s Third Sex.” June 7, 2022. The Public Domain Review. https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/out-on-the-town?fbclid=IwAR0EdZNI7FNZ3ciu7wBCCIEOB8WCBc3FglAVjBJF7ZJ5fOrGT9U3v-3AVBM#p-1-1

[9] Hirschfeld, Magnus. The Third Gender. 7^th edition. Edited by Hans Ostwald. Berlin: Hermann Seemann, Pg 14.

[10] Hirschfeld, Magnus. The Third Gender. 7^th edition. Edited by Hans Ostwald. Berlin: Hermann Seemann, Pg 19.

[11] Conway, James J. “Out on the Town: Magnus Hirschfeld and Berlin’s Third Sex.” June 7, 2022. The Public Domain Review. https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/out-on-the-town?fbclid=IwAR0EdZNI7FNZ3ciu7wBCCIEOB8WCBc3FglAVjBJF7ZJ5fOrGT9U3v-3AVBM#p-1-1

[12] Schillace, Brandy. “The Forgotten History of the World’s First Trans Clinic.” May 10, 2021. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-forgotten-history-of-the-worlds-first-trans-clinic/

Images:

“6 May 1933: Looting of the Institute of Sexology.” Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.”

Magnus Hirschfeld. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Magnus-Hirschfeld#/media/1/266859/245720

Yearbook for sexual intermediates with special reference to homosexuality. Edited by Magnus Hirschfeld. Leipzig: Publisher of Max Spohr 1.1899-13.1912.

Conway, James J. “Out on the Town: Magnus Hirschfeld and Berlin’s Third Sex.” June 7, 2022. The Public Domain Review. https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/out-on-the-town?fbclid=IwAR0EdZNI7FNZ3ciu7wBCCIEOB8WCBc3FglAVjBJF7ZJ5fOrGT9U3v-3AVBM#p-1-1

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration, College Park. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/photo/the-institute-for-sexual-science

T
he Stonewall Book Awards are named for the Stonewall Uprising, a turning point that ignited explosive growth in the gay rights movement. It began when patrons of a gay bar in New York City’s Greenwich called The Stonewall Inn resisted police harassment during one of the NYPD’s routine raids.

Why was The Stonewall being raided? Essentially because its patrons were doing what people do in a bar… having a drink, hanging out with friends, maybe doing a little dancing. The “problem” was, they were participating in those activities as openly LGBTQIA+ individuals.

As members of this marginalized community, The Stonewall Inn’s patrons were susceptible to arrest for “disorderly acts” like open displays of affection, or slow dancing. They could also be charged with “wearing a disguise” (in other words dressing in drag). And it was illegal to serve alcohol in “disorderly” establishments like The Stonewall Inn – where needless to say, the mere presence of LGBTQIA+ people rendered it disorderly.

Finally, in the wee hours of June 28,1969 gay men, lesbians, homeless LGBTQIA+ teens, trans women of color, and allies all decided to take a stand against this persecution. [1]  And the rest, as they say, is history.

Why Is Pride Month
In June?

The initial gay pride parades in America coincided with the first anniversary of the uprising. And June was designated Pride Month in recognition of the Stonewall Uprising’s significance in LGBTQIA+ history.[2]

President Clinton officially declared June “Gay and Lesbian Pride Month” in 1999:

Thirty years ago this month, at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, a courageous group of citizens resisted harassment and mistreatment, setting in motion a chain of events that would become known as the Stonewall Uprising and the birth of the modern gay and lesbian civil rights movement. Gays and lesbians, their families and friends, celebrate the anniversary of Stonewall every June in America as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month…  I encourage all Americans to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that celebrate our diversity, and to remember throughout the year the gay and lesbian Americans whose many and varied contributions have enriched our national life.[3]

In 2009, President Obama expanded Pride Month to include the larger (LGBTQ) lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. And in 2016, he designated The Stonewall Inn a national monument:

Stonewall will be our first national monument to tell the story of the struggle for LGBT rights. I believe our national parks should reflect the full story of our country, the richness and diversity and uniquely American spirit that has always defined us: that we are stronger together, that out of many, we are one.” [4]

The Stonewall Book Awards

The Stonewall Book Awards are sponsored by the Rainbow Round Table of the American Library Association. Three awards are given annually, recognizing English-language works “of exceptional merit relating to the LGBTQIA+ experience.”[5]

They began as the Gay Book Award in 1971, when the American Library Association’s Rainbow Round Table was known as the Task Force on Gay Liberation.[6] Barbara Gittings and Israel Fishman, for whom two of the awards are named, were founding members. Mike Morgan and Larry Romans, whose names grace the children’s and young adult literature award, were partners and longtime supporters of the Stonewall Book Awards.[7]

by Nicholas Boggs

And Be Sure To Check Out
The American Library Association’s
2026 Rainbow Book List

#Pride Month                    #LGBTQ+ Authors                     #Celebrations

Endnotes:

[1] “Stonewall Riots.” History.com

Stonewall: The Basics. NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. https://stonewall50consortium.org/stonewallfactsheet.pdf

Wills, Matthew. “Gay Bars and Gay Rights.” Jstor Daily. June 25, 2021. https://daily.jstor.org/gay-bars-and-gay-rights/

[2] “Stonewall Riots.” History.com https://www.history.com/articles/the-stonewall-riots

Miranda, Gabriela. “What are the origins of Pride Month? And who should we thank for the LGBTQ celebration?” USA Today. June 3, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20221025015604/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2021/06/03/what-pride-month-means-look-history-lgbtq-celebration/7504029002/

[3] Clinton, William J.  “Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, 1999.” Federal Register Vol. 64, No. 115.

[4] Obama, Barack.  “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, 2009.” Whitehouse.gov.

Miranda, Gabriela. “What are the origins of Pride Month? And who should we thank for the LGBTQ celebration?” USA Today. June 3, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20221025015604/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2021/06/03/what-pride-month-means-look-history-lgbtq-celebration/7504029002/

[5] “Rainbow Round Table Announces the 2026 Stonewall Book Award Winners for Non-fiction and Literature.” American Library Association.
https://www.ala.org/news/2026/01/rainbow-round-table-announces-2026-stonewall-book-award-winners-non-fiction-and

[6] “Stonewall Book Awards History.” American Library Association. Archived. https://web.archive.org/web/20161222112410/https://www.ala.org/glbtrt/award/history

[7] Staino, Rocco. “Larry Romans, Hero of LGBTQ Literature for Young People, Dies at 68”. School Library Journal. February 8, 2016.

Images:

The Stonewall Inn: Photo by Karly Jones on Unsplash

Progress Pride Flag: Photo by Cecilie Bomstad on Unsplash

Being finifugal means you’re averse to endings, so you try to avoid or delay the final moment of…  well, anything. That’s pretty concise, but I just can’t bring myself to conclude this definition. And by that, I mean the semantic statement of the meaning of the term finifugal. Because definition can also mean the level of detail in a digital image or recording. But that’s not what it means in this instance. Defining something can also mean clarifying the details of a particular project. And then there’s… (insert play-off music here). [1]

Endnotes:

[1] Fawcett, Bill. “11 Weird Words/Phrases You Should Be Using.” Huffington Post. Oct 1, 2023.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/weird-phrases_b_4018105

[2] Dara Rochlin Book Doctor. https://dararochlinbookdoctor.com/2016/09/14/word-wednesday-finifugal/

Oxford English Dictionary. https://www.oed.com/dictionary/finifugal_adj?tl=true

T
he American Library Association recently released its Top 11 Most Challenged Books List of 2025, as part of their State of American Libraries report.  Of the 4,235 unique titles challenged, 1,671 (40%) of them represent the lived experience of LGBTQIA+ individuals and people of color. [1]

Why does that matter? As Professor Eddie S. Glaude Jr. points out:

What and how we remember — and what and who we exclude from our stories — matter, because those memories and stories shape how we act today and how we fight for our future.[2]

Pair this with

#Banned Books       #On Censorship

Endnotes:

[1] “American Library Association releases 2025 Most Challenged Books List as National Library Week Begins.” https://www.ala.org/news/2026/04/american-library-association-releases-2025-most-challenged-books-list-national-library

[2]Eddie S. Glaude Jr. America, U.S.A. How Race Shadows the Nation’s Anniversaries. Crown: New York, 2026. Pg 12.

[3]“’Sold’ Tops the List of 11 Most Banned Books of 2025.” School Library Journal. April 20, 2026. https://www.slj.com/story/Sold-Tops-List-11-Most-Challenged-Books-2025

[4] “American Library Association releases 2025 Most Challenged Books List as National Library Week Begins.” https://www.ala.org/news/2026/04/american-library-association-releases-2025-most-challenged-books-list-national-library

Book Resumes are from American Library Association. “Most Challenged Books.” https://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10

Image:

Most Banned Books of 2025:  Photo by fan yang on Unsplash

T
he idiom “coming out” relates to a significant, transformative, and often dangerous process for those who identify as LGBTQIA+. At its core, “coming out” refers to an individual’s journey of acknowledging and accepting their sexual orientation or gender identity, and sharing that identity with others.

It’s important to note, as entrepreneur Tan France tells us, there’s “no right or wrong way to come out. It’s your journey, do it the way you wanna do it.”[1] And Juno Dawson, author of This Book is Gay, underscores the magnitude of coming out in her statement:

The whole point of coming out is that we have the FREEDOM to be who we are… You’re FREE now and don’t have to HIDE.[2]

The phrase “coming out” raises a question, though…  what are LGBTQIA+ individuals coming out of?  There’s another idiom that provides the answer to that question – “in the closet.”

In The Closet

The idiom “in the closet” refers to a person who is concealing their sexual orientation or gender identity. It’s an evocative metaphor indeed. And not surprisingly, this phrase reveals quite a bit about the lamentable experience it describes.

When unpacking this idiom, the first question we need to ask is “why a closet?” Well…  these days a closet is a place to store things. But it originally referred to a small private room for activities like study or prayer.

This association with privacy carries with it a sense of hiding something, keeping it secret. Which conjures images like the wife in Jane Eyre, who was locked up in the attic in order to conceal some shameful depravity.[3]

Figurative uses of the term closet having to do with secrecy and hiding emerged in the early 15^th century. And its use as an adjective began to surface in the 17^th century. The Oxford English Dictionary offers examples like “closet duties” (1639), “closet sins” (sometime before 1656), “closet good works” (1657), as well as “closet memoirs” (1706).[4]

The precise phrase “in the closet” gained momentum during mid- 20^th century (along with what might be considered its companion idiom “coming out”), as people began to articulate their sexual identities more openly. During this time the LGBTQIA+ community began to emerge from the shadows (and yes, there was a community despite the dreadful need for secrecy).

For many the “closet” became a space where hidden relationships, whispered conversations, and unexpressed feelings could safely thrive…  away from societal discrimination and condemnation.

The Closet Might Be Safe
But It’s Isolating

Whether you’re talking about the early definition of a closet as a tiny private study or today’s definition as an area for storage, it’s definitely a nonsocial space.

Things, in this case people, may find their way out of this proverbial closet. But while they’re in it, they are barred from participating fully in what is taking place beyond its door. Which paints a picture of what it’s like to conceal one’s sexual identity – and it isn’t a pretty one.

Hiding such a significant part of yourself may be isolating and unnatural. But, as an enclosed and controllable space, the closet seems to protect its inhabitant from exposure and harm. It feels safer than sharing your sexual orientation or gender identity.

Or is it? Being inside something is to have it surround you, dictating the terms of your actions and experience. And this is very much what happens when someone is “in the closet.” They are locked away, and to no small degree defined by that state of being.

We don’t say that their sex life is in the closet, for example, but that they are in the closet. This is just one of the things that is so painful about being in the closet – this denial of the self.[5]

Needless to say, mental health suffers. And very often so does physical health. Because living with such constant stress leads to negative health consequences like high blood pressure, degradation of immune and other biological functions.[6]

Impact Of The Phrase
“Coming Out”

Over time, the phrases “in the closet” and “coming out” generated powerful discourse about acceptance, identity, and the courage it takes to live an authentic life. A cultural development that continues to be reflected in popular media and literature.

Works by authors such as James Baldwin, and figures like RuPaul have been instrumental in framing the dialog around queer identities. Their narratives frequently explore themes of fear, secrecy, discovery, and liberation. With each story adding depth, and illustrating how others have navigated their own journeys.[7]

And that is why it’s so important to push back against the book banning that targets such works and the people who write them. These stories let individuals who are yet unable to come out of the closet know that they are not alone. That they are valid, seen, and loved.[8] Because as Laverne Cox so aptly put it, “Everyone has the right to be exactly who they are.”[9]

#Aphorisms and Idioms                     #Pride Month

Endnotes:

[1] Munson, Lia. “Say It Loud: 50 Powerful Pride Month Quotes That Matter.” Resilient Stories. April 30, 2025. https://resilientstories.com/pride-month-quotes/

[2] Dawson, Juno. This Book is Gay. Sourcebooks: Naperville, IL, 2021. Pg 6.

[3] Kushnick, Hannah L. “In the Closet: A Close Read of the Metaphor.” AMA Journal of Ethics. August 2010.

[4] “Hamlet in the closet.” The Grammarphobia Blog. April 5, 2019.  

[5] Kushnick, Hannah L. “In the Closet: A Close Read of the Metaphor.” AMA Journal of Ethics. August 2010.

[6] Annesa Flentje et al. “Minority Stress, Structural Stigma, and Physical Health Among Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals: Examining the Relative Strength of the Relationships.” Annals of Behavioral Medicine. June 29, 2022. 56(6): 573 -591.

[7] “Where Did In The closet Come From?” CozyVibes.

[8] “The Closet: A Place Of Shame Or Safety? The History Of ‘Coming Out.’” Chris Paul Rainbows.

[9] Munson, Lia. “Say It Loud: 50 Powerful Pride Month Quotes That Matter.” Resilient Stories. April 30, 2025. https://resilientstories.com/pride-month-quotes/

Images:

Coming Out: Photo by William Fonteneau on Unsplash

In The Closet: Photo by Peter Trones on Unsplash

But It’s Isolating: Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

Impact Of The Phrase:  Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

Etymology:
Origin of Octothorpe

The word is said to have been invented in Bell Laboratories  –  you know, where the telephone came from. In the early 1960s the scientists there modified the telephone keypad, adding the # symbol to send instructions to the telephone operating system.

Since the # symbol didn’t have a name, they gave it one. They decided it should be called octo- something because it has eight points. But it’s uncertain how things proceeded from there.

According to one report, it was named after the Native-American Olympian Jim Thorpe. Another unverifiable report asserts that “thorpe” refers to the Old Norse word for “farm or field.” In which case, octothorpe means “eight fields.”

Then there’s the downright silly claim that one of the Bell Labs employees burped while talking about the symbol, and that version of the word stuck.[1]

Find A Caboodle
Of Fun & Fancy Words Here.

#Fun & Fancy Words

Endnotes:

[1]“Octothorpe.” Dictionary.com  https://www.dictionary.com/articles/octothorpe

“Octothorpe: the many names of the # symbol.” March 25, 2026. https://www.englishgrammar.org/octothorpe-names-symbol/

Eldridge, Stephen. “Number sign.” Britannica.https://www.britannica.com/topic/number-sign

W
hat actually happens when young people read “disturbing” books? Literary scholars Gay Ivey and Peter Johnston have studied this at length. And it’s not the baloney banners spout to scare you.

Ivey and Johnston are co-authors of the recently released book Teens Choosing to Read.  And, they point out in a recent blog post for Columbia University’s Teachers College Press that what actually happens when young people read “disturbing books” has been “lost in the political battles over ‘educationally suitable’ books.” [1]

Well…  Ivey and Johnston have studied this, and here’s what they learned: The students they interviewed, most of whom said they previously read little or nothing, “started reading like crazy” both in and out of school. And, their reading achievement improved. They also reported improved self-control, as well as developing more, and stronger, friendships and family relationships. Students also reported being “happier. Yes, happier.” [2] That’s no small consideration, given the recent rise in teens with anxiety disorders. 

More than 20% report being bullied, and over 60% have abused alcohol by 12th grade. About one out of six young adults indicate “they made a suicide plan in the past year,” a 40% rise in the past decade.[3] Black students who reported attempted suicide rose 50% in 2019. These figures are astronomically higher for LGBTQ+ students. Reading and talking about books that are personally meaningful can literally provide a lifeline for teens. [4]

Public School Superintendents list the post-pandemic decline in reading achievement among their biggest concerns, closely followed by bullying and disruptive behavior, as well as students’ mental health. [5]  Sadly, banning “disturbing books” takes a way one of the best tools educators have for addressing these concerns.

The article below is a more detailed look into Ivey and Johnston’s findings, with insights directly from students, teachers, and parents. They’ve have been leaders in their field for decades. So, we should pay attention to what they have to say on the subject of books and reading.

This book deals with incest and other issues that make us and other adults nervous for children, but we cannot really know how readers find meaning. Talia’s comments suggest that at least in part, she was drawn to the intricate relational dynamics among the characters and saw them as indistinct from those of her own social world. Although the complexity of the characters’ lives might not have paralleled Talia’s life (but would those of some of her peers), becoming intertwined with them allowed her to empathize and perhaps see others outside of the narrative differently. So much for trying to comprehend younger readers’ experiences through adults’ eyes and minds only.

We imagine, though, that others who parent, teach, and study young adolescents, especially those even younger than Talia, experience some degree of trepidation at the thought of their children being drawn to books offering glimpses into complicated relationships, sexual situations, violence, substance abuse, strong language, and other realities most children gain at least awareness of by their teen years. In this article, we will share what we have learned from children edging their way into young adult literature. Most of our work has centered on eighth-grade students and, of course, some of the literature we will mention would not be of interest to fifth and sixth graders. Our point, though, is not to suggest what pre-and young adolescents should read, but instead to shed some light on why and how they read in order to inform practice and reduce anxieties.

We will start by describing the range of ways students tell us they use characters and their moral dilemmas as tools in their own lives. Next, we explain how we have theorized students’ experiences with text when they are engaged in reading narratives. We illustrate how conversation through and about texts and the discursive environment of the classroom shape students’ experiences with these texts. Finally, we offer some suggestions for supporting the engagement of readers emerging into adolescence.

Notice that Patterson’s question is not answered explicitly, but instead, his classmates offer several possibilities. What becomes clear, through collaboration around a problem, is the realization that serious, vexing matters like this one and others they encounter in texts defy simple explanations. In other words, the multiple perspectives offered on the text make it less likely for children to accept what they read at face value. Also relevant are the expansion of the conversation and the blurring of lines between social worlds in and out of the book. Although we cannot be certain, we might infer that Charlie has some personal experience, or at least deeper knowledge about the topic, that complicates the conversation. We are struck by how Scott, in his second comment, appears to take up Charlie’s way of thinking about the issue.

To our knowledge, most conversations around mature narratives taken up by the middle school students we studied moved in a direction most adults would consider healthy and pro-social. But keep in mind that children’s thoughts and talk were undoubtedly influenced by the discursive environments of their classrooms. The way teachers invited students to think about books with complex issues was apparent in how they introduced new texts to the class, including their own recent reading. For instance, one teacher began telling about Dirty Little Secrets (Omololu, 2010) by sharing that she had a close friend, like the main character of the book, whose mother was struggling with the problem of hoarding. She talked to students frankly about how difficult the problem had been for her friend’s entire family, and how the book helped her understand her friend’s dilemma in new ways. In other words, she resisted sensationalizing the subject matter, instead treating a real issue— and perhaps one that touched the lives of students in her class—with sensitivity. She also talked about the text as a tool for thinking and for enhancing her relationship to her friend, rather than as a form of entertainment.

Although most reading was selected by students, the books that teachers selected for students to think through together—with teachers reading aloud— were precisely those that inspired fervent conversations that placed some students at the edge of their comfort zones. Routinely popular throughout our time with students was Jumping Off Swings ( Knowles, 2009), which allowed students to confront the implications of casual sex, questions about abortion, and the consequences of decision making on selves and others. In the midst of a reading in one eighth-grade classroom, one student shared with her classmates her belief that she had been one of those consequences and wondered if her mother regretted the decision to have her. Up to that point, the perspective of an unwanted baby had been missing.

Rather than evade the issue or offer reassurances she could not be certain about, the teacher asked the class, “If you worried you had not been a planned baby, what are some different ways you could think about that?” In asking for a range of possibilities, the teacher resists the urge to give closure, and in doing so, she also invites students to dig deeper and to entertain multiple perspectives. This reduced need for closure, as facilitated by the teacher, is important, not only because it influences the way children will perceive and interact with each other (Kruglanski, Pierro, Mannetti, & De Grada, 2006), but it also shapes how children might perceive and interact with new information in texts without the teacher present, as we saw in our earlier example with Marty and his friends.

Throughout their reading of Jumping Off Swings, children had a continuous discussion about characters’ decisions, particularly related to the difficult realities of sex at a young age. Several months later, the teacher invited students to read a newspaper article about a fifteen-year-old boy who was sentenced to juvenile detention for rape, then released when his accuser recanted her accusation and confessed that the encounter was consensual. His latest dilemma, though, was that his name had already been indelibly entered on the sex offender registry. Reacting to that problem, the children’s teacher admitted, “When we were talking about Ellie and Josh (characters in Jumping Off Swings), I never even offered that up in my mind as a possible consequence of having sex so young.” Along with characters Ellie and Josh, this falsely accused young man was struggling to have his life restored, and he became an additional factor in the ongoing problematizing of the issues. Thus, the conversation continued— both within the community and within individual minds— and raised the likelihood that there were other perspectives not yet explored. For instance, future reading might include Orbiting Jupiter (Schmidt, 2015), the story (as told by his sixth- grade foster brother) of a 13- year-old father not only grieving the death of the child’s mother, but also unable to see his child.

We believe it is no coincidence that students participating in this sort of dialogic classroom might be similarly dialogic in their thinking and conversations around text in the absence of a teacher. An example from one of our studies (Ivey & Johnston, 2015, pp. 316– 317) illustrates this point.

When Akeem wanted several of his classmates to read and talk about Response (Volponi, 2009), he opened it to a section he knew would raise the ire of his friends and told them to read. As expected, Xavier and Terris almost immediately questioned the use of “n—-r” and other issues of racism they gleaned from that short section. Santino took it personally, saying if anyone called him a “b–ner,” he would “take a swing at them.” Xavier countered that instead, he “should be chill like Luis.” Luis was a character from Perfect Chemistry (Elkeles, 2009), a fact that needed no clarification, since this character and others populated the classroom discourse, and these boys frequently talked about characters’ dilemmas and used them as tools for their own lives. The intertextuality in this space involved the narratives students read, past and ongoing conversations, the narratives of their life histories and futures, and those of others, including characters. As such, these collective influences widened both the possibilities for other perspectives and the basis for choosing possible responses to life’s complications.

It is this uncertainty and the expectation of multiple perspectives that keep students engaged—with the texts, with each other, and with their own lives. Comfort with uncertainty— a reduced need for closure— is what alters the ways students view knowledge and each other. It allows them to see their own perspectives as real contributions to community knowledge building, and, as a result, allows them to not be fearful of asking difficult questions. Thus, rather than view the lure of particular texts as problems for teaching, we suggest that within a discursive environment inviting dialogic response, these texts might be viewed instead as productive tools for learning. We now turn to some ways to arrange for such engagements

We owe a tremendous debt to the middle grades teachers and students from whom we have learned. Below, we expand on several guiding principles that we credit to them.

Centralize Engagement:

Engagement requires relevance, and because we do not know exactly what children will find relevant, we must make available a wide range of texts from which they can choose. Choice is important. Students have made it clear that in earlier grades, they would choose, on principle, not to read books they were required to read. Meaningful choice fulfills the human need for autonomy. However, it also builds initiative in reading. Children learn to choose to read and to find books they find worthy of their time.

When children are reading a range of books they find engaging (personally meaningful and a little challenging in one way or another), they find they have to talk with one another. It is through participating in or overhearing these conversations that students gather the information they need in order to choose books they will find engaging. Without the talk, students would only have book covers and impersonal publicity reviews and abstracts to inform their choices. For example, for half of his eighth-grade year, Reginald persisted in reading adventure books with animal characters, which had been his practice since about third grade. So when we saw Reginald deeply engaged in Twisted (Anderson, 2007), a book focused on adolescent relationships, we asked him about it. He said he did not know he would be interested in this kind of story until his classmate, Peyton, shared with him a portion of the text featuring the character’s inner dialogue—a battle between his brain and his hormones. Reginald recognized this tension and decided to read on his own.

In other words, engagement is not only with the books themselves, it is also with characters and with others around the books. Through engagement with each other, children begin to assume that there are multiple viewpoints on most issues and multiple sides to people and situations. A conversation about a character’s grief, deception, or insecurities, for instance, might become a space where children reveal, from their own experiences, alternative ways to think through unsettling behaviors— not just of characters, but also of each other and of unknown others. Teachers might not only expect, but also encourage such spontaneous talk. Without permission to talk, some students would lose their way in their reading, and thus, their engagement. When they encounter tough spots in their reading— interruptions in their comprehension— they turn to peers to help them sort out meaning.

Because students are often prohibited from talking during “silent” reading times, teachers might have to prompt appropriate conversation until it becomes the students’ new norm. Such conversations might stem from teachers’ own reading, with comments such as “I want to get your thinking on why this character is doing this . . .”; teachers could invite students to do the same by asking, “Is one of your characters bugging you?” or “Does anyone have a character in their story who needs our help?” We have observed several consequences of these simple actions, such as students scheduling time with each other to sort out a point of confusion in a book or spur-of- the- moment peer groups that include students who are reading a book, those who have finished, and those who have not read the book, but who know the story from listening to other conversations. In the classrooms we have studied, students choose their own books, but they do, in fact, read many of the same books, albeit at different times across the year. Thus, each time a new reader picks up a book, conversation ensues, and new angles on meaning are considered.

For teachers who need opportunities to develop some confidence around the idea of teaching in a class where students are reading a range of texts at once— as opposed to a whole class novel— reading a carefully selected text aloud to students is a good way to start building engagement. It allows teacher and students to share the experience and provides an excellent opportunity to make available narratives, characters, and genres students might not seek out on their own. For instance, a teacher who notices students are not reading books written by authors of color might choose a book by Jason Reynolds, Coe Booth, Kwame Alexander, or Malin Alegria.

Talk about Books as Tools:

We want children to find books and the conversations within and around them to be resources for making sense of the world— tools for building a self and thus relationships with others and the world.

We mentioned earlier a teacher who resisted sensationalizing a book in which a character struggled with hoarding and instead described it as useful for understanding a friend and her family. In our experiences, a good principle to apply when talking about and through narratives is to assume that someone in the class has been touched by difficulties similar to those faced by characters in the story. The point is not to avoid these issues, but to invite a different sort of conversation about them— one that focuses on hard decisions, emotions, and perspectives rather than character traits, plot dynamics, or what characters do, per se.

We might also consider linking narratives with each other across time as part of the same larger conversation. For instance, All American Boys (Reynolds & Kiely, 2015), a book that deals centrally with racism in communities, features the brutal beating of a blameless Black teen by a White police officer. It is told in the alternating perspectives of the victim and a White classmate— a friend of the police officer— who witnessed the incident. Significant to point out in introducing this book would be what we gain from being allowed to enter the minds of two different characters, and the fact that this book is the result of a collaboration between a Black author and a White author, adding another layer of potential mind reading. Kinda’ Like Brothers (Booth, 2014) is told from the perspective of an 11- year- old boy who resents his mother’s newest foster children— a baby and a boy close to his own age. Using All American Boys as a model, a teacher might suggest how useful it would be to imagine, while reading, the perspective of the older foster child as we learn more about his life.

Although it is true that students will use provocative tidbits or quotes from their books to draw in other readers and conversation partners, we notice that the dialogue quickly migrates to more substantial matters, and in fact, this is precisely what students have in mind. In one class, a student shocked her peers when she stated matter- of- factly that a character in her book had kicked another in her private region. There was an immediate response of gasps and some giggles, but there were also worried looks on some classmates’ faces. When one asked, “What would make her do that?” the reader was prepared and eager to talk about how the character’s anger was connected to complex and difficult family matters, and these issues were taken up further in conversation.

Asking why was a common practice in this classroom, no doubt shaped by the teacher. When this teacher talks about her own reading, you might hear her say, “I am reading this because I want to understand why a mother would leave her daughters alone for days with no food,” or “I want to understand why a person would stop eating.” Her response to characters engaging in self-destructive or anti-social behavior was not to judge or condone the activity, but rather to humanize it and try to understand it.

Open New Perspectives:

When students have questions and uncertainties stemming from reading and conversation, it might be tempting to provide answers or, if the subject matter is uncomfortable, change the subject. Neither option is usually best for developing sophisticated thinking or healthy dispositions toward unsettling information encountered in texts.

Earlier we referred to an incident involving nesting osprey and what appeared to be a murderous mother bird. Viewers were infuriated that no action was taken to save the babies. Taking a cue from the teacher who habitually asks why, we might seek out explanations for the mother bird’s behavior. Doing so would likely result in a range of possible theories, for instance, that it was an act of mercy. It would also lead to other stories of osprey parents who were fiercely protective of their offspring. We would not get answers, but instead we would further complicate our thinking and potentially motivate additional research. These complications keep the uncertainty and the conversation alive, but also underscore the realization that in order to know something, you have to explore it from many sides.

Just because engaged conversations typically emanate from students’ questions, and students play a large role in orchestrating these conversations, does not mean that teachers are unnecessary to the process. On the contrary, teachers are critical to facilitating the continuation of talk and nudging students beyond simplistic interpretations. Living Dead Girl (Scott, 2008) is a wildly popular book in the school communities we know that have it in circulation. Younger readers of this book often get stuck on the question of why an abducted, sexually abused girl would not make more substantial attempts at freedom. Noticing that students in her class were perseverating on this perplexity, yet not ready to leave it, a teacher found other books told from the perspective of teens held captive, including Stolen (Christopher, 2012), the memoir A Stolen Life (Dugard, 2012), and Pointe (Colbert, 2014), a narrative from the perspective of a friend of a kidnap victim. Students read and circulated the books enthusiastically. In the process, they became aware of a range of theories on why an abducted child might stay with his or her captor, including Stockholm syndrome, fear, and shame. Their question about Living Dead Girl was not answered, per se, but their minds were opened to the possibility that this problem defies simple answers, and they generated new questions, thus perpetuating the conversation. In the process, these children were expanding their ability to imagine others’ perspectives and the complexity of human emotions and motivations.

It is tempting to think of children in terms of developmental stages in which they are ready for this but not for that, or in which one stage is preparation for another stage. Although we are writing here with emerging adolescents in mind, even young children are encouraged to think about difficult issues of gender and equity and moral dilemmas that arise in engagements with narratives. Excellent examples can be found in books like Black Ants and Buddhists: Thinking Critically in the Primary Grades (Cowhey, 2006), Creating Critical Class-rooms: Reading and Writing with an Edge (Lewison, Leland, & Harste, 2014), Negotiating Critical Literacies in Classrooms (Comber & Simpson, 2001), and Getting beyond “I like the book”: Creating Space for Critical Literacy in K– 6 (Vasquez et al., 2003). Indeed, we hope that teachers of young children also find some relevance in the perspective we have offered here.

With adolescents, who often choose “disturbing” books, it can also be tempting to worry that they will take up the lives of flawed characters as models to live into. However, we have only seen this in a positive sense, as when Xavier suggested that rather than “take a swing” at someone for a racist comment, he “should be chill like Luis,” a book character. Making problematic choices about life narratives may be more likely when a child feels alienated from the community (Newman & New-man, 2001). Fortunately, we have found that within the conversations students have about books, they find that they need each other in order to know and be known. They recognize that they belong to a learning community and are competent members of it, a perception that could derail the likelihood of dysfunctional narratives.

Our work has taught us that although there are changes in the dilemmas of humanity that engage children over time, there are continuities in instructional principles. For example, in order to become engaged, children need a sense of personal relevance and a degree of uncertainty. Uncertainty is provoked by teachers, peers, and characters who open different perspectives, foreground moral dilemmas, and expose emotional and relational lives. We are not simply teaching children to read— though we are doing that. We are helping children to see books as tools for their own development. Only when they are fully engaged do they bring to bear the full coherence of their cognitive, emotional, and relational lives. In this context, their academic needs are met (they do better on tests) but so are their developmental needs (Ivey & Johnston, 2013).

Human beings need a sense of autonomy, competence, and belonging (Ryan & Deci, 2000). When everyone is required to read the same book, some students are less likely to have these needs fulfilled, and the potential for engagement is reduced. Differences in competence, narrowly defined, are fore-grounded, and some students have less to bring to the conversations than others. By contrast, when students choose to read different, personally relevant books, they at once gain a sense of autonomy and a sense of competence. The basis for simplistic comparisons is removed. Meaningfulness is fore-grounded, and each student brings something new and different to literate conversations; they become full participants in an engaged learning community.

Students also find a measure of success in other ways, for example, by persuading and/or helping others to read books that engaged them in order to solicit their opinions. These, in turn, bring a sense of belonging, and the conversations about characters’ emotional and relational lives expand social- emotional and moral development along with self- regulation (Bernier, Carlson, & Whipple, 2010; Finkel et al., 2006). Fostering these engagements, processes, and connections is the heart of language arts teaching with children of all ages.

This article originally appeared in
Language Arts, a publication of NCTE.

Gay Ivey is the William E. Moran Distinguished Professor in Literacy at the University of North Carolina Greensboro and a past president of the Literacy Research Association.

Peter Johnston is professor emeritus of literacy teaching and learning at the University at Albany.
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Into the Classroom With ReadWriteThink

(powered by NCTE: National Council of Teachers of English)

Young adult literature has long been criticized for being too dark. It’s true that many YA authors choose to write about difficult topics. Violence, abuse, and trauma are never easy to stomach— in literature or in life. And yet if you talk to adults who actually work with teens, you soon learn that there are plenty of young people living the very situations we see depicted in YA lit. These teens deserve stories that tell the truth about their experience. So do teens whose lives are more sheltered. Literature can show us how ordinary people cope in the face of struggle and pain. In this podcast episode from ReadWriteThink.org, you’ll hear about teens who are dealing with a range of obstacles and hardships. https://bit.ly/1OINTDR 

In this lesson plan from ReadWriteThink.org, students participate in learning clubs, a grouping system used to organize active learning events based on student- selected areas of interest. Guided by the teacher, students select content area topics and draw on multiple texts— including websites, printed material, video, and music— to investigate their topics. Students then have the opportunity to share their learning using similar media, such as learning blogs.https://bit.ly/2c6l1Tz

In this lesson plan from ReadWriteThink.org, students write to their school librarian requesting that a specific text be added to the school library collection. Students use persuasive writing skills as well as online tools to write letters stating their cases. Students then have an opportunity to share their letters with the librarian.https://bit.ly/1qGEodB

#banned books        #benefits of the humanities          #Literacy        #benefits of reading

Endnotes:

[1] Gay Ivey and Peter Johnston. “What Happens When Young People Actually read ‘Disturbing’ Books.” Teachers College Press blog. October 31, 2023.
[2] Gay Ivey and Peter Johnston. “What Happens When Young People Actually read ‘Disturbing’ Books.” Teachers College Press blog. October 31, 2023.
[3] Gay Ivey and Peter Johnston. “What Happens When Young People Actually read ‘Disturbing’ Books.” Teachers College Press blog. October 31, 2023.
[4] Gay Ivey and Peter Johnston. “What Happens When Young People Actually read ‘Disturbing’ Books.” Teachers College Press blog. October 31, 2023.
[5] 2023 Voice of the Superintendent. EAB (formerly Education Advisory Board).

References:

Bal, P. M, Butterman, O. S., & Bakker, A. B. (2011). The influence of fictional narrative experience on work outcomes: A conceptual analysis and research model. Review of General Psychology, 15, 361– 370.

Bal, P. M., & Veltkamp, M. (2013). How does fiction reading influence empathy? An experimental investigation on the role of emotional transportation. PLoS ONE, 8(1), e55341. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0055341

Bernier, A., Carlson, S. M., & Whipple, N. (2010). From external regulation to self- regulation: Early parenting precursors of young children’s executive functioning. Child Development, 81, 326– 339.

Busselle, R., & Bilandzic, H. (2009). Measuring narrative engagement. Media Psychology, 12, 321– 347. doi: 10.1080/15213260903287259

Comber, B., & Simpson, A. (Eds.). (2001). Negotiating critical literacies in classrooms. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Cowhey, M. (2006). Black ants and Buddhists: Thinking critically and teaching differently in the primary grades. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.

Finkel, E. J., Campbell, W. K., Brunell, A. B., Dalton, A. N., Scarbeck, S. J., & Chartrand, T. L. (2006). High- maintenance interaction: Inefficient social coordination impairs self- regulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 456– 475.

Guthrie, J. T., Wigfield, A., & You, W. (2012). Instructional contexts for engagement and achievement in reading. In S. Christenson, C. Wylie, & A. Reschly (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Student Engagement (pp. 601– 634 ). New York, NY: Springer.

Ivey, G. (1999). A multicase study in the middle school: Complexities among young adolescent readers. Reading Research Quarterly, 34, 172– 192.

Ivey, G., & Johnston, P. H. (2013). Engagement with young adult literature: Outcomes and processes. Reading Research Quarterly, 48, 255– 275.

Ivey, G., & Johnston, P. H. (2015). Engaged reading as a collaborative transformative practice. Journal of Literacy Research, 47, 297– 327.

Kruglanski, A. W., Pierro, A., Mannetti, L., & De Grada, E. (2006). Groups as epistemic providers: Need for closure and the unfolding of group- centrism. Psychological Review, 113, 84– 100.

Lewison, M., Leland, C., & Harste, J. C. (2014). Creating critical classrooms: Reading and writing with an edge. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.

Lysaker, J. T., & Miller, A. (2013). Engaging social imagination: The developmental work of wordless book reading. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 13, 147– 174.

Mar, R. A., & Oatley, K. (2008). The function of fiction is the abstraction and simulation of social experience. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3, 173– 192.

Newman, B. M., & Newman, P. R. (2001). Group identity and alienation: Giving the we its due. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 30, 515– 538.

Rosenblatt, L. (1983). Literature as exploration. New York, NY: The Modern Language Association of America.

Rosenblatt, L. (1985). Viewpoints: Transaction versus interaction: A terminological rescue operation. Research in the Teaching of English, 19, 96– 107.

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self- determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well- being. American Psychologist, 55, 68– 78.

Vasquez, V., Muise, M. R., Adamson, S. C., Heffernan, L., Chiola- Nakai, D., & Shear, J. (2003). Getting beyond “I like the book”: Creating space for critical literacy in K– 6 classrooms. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Children’s and Adolescent Literature Cited:

Anderson, L. H. (2007). Twisted. New York, NY: Penguin.
Booth, C. (2014). Kinda like brothers. New York, NY: Scholastic.
Christopher, L. (2012). Stolen. New York, NY: Chickenhouse.
Colbert, B. (2014). Pointe. New York, NY: Penguin.
Dugard, J. (2012). A stolen life: A memoir. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Elkeles, S. (2009). Perfect chemistry. New York, NY: Walker.
Hopkins, E. (2004). Crank. New York, NY: Margaret K. McElderry.
Hopkins, E. (2006). Burned. New York, NY: Margaret K. McElderry.
Hopkins, E. (2008). Identical. New York, NY: Margaret K. McElderry.
Knowles, J. (2009). Jumping off swings. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
Omololu, C. J. (2010). Dirty little secrets. New York, NY: Walker.
Pelzer, D. (1995). A child called It. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications.
Pelzer, D. (1999). A man named Dave. New York, NY: Dutton.
Reynolds, J., & Kiely, B. (2015). All American boys. New York, NY: Atheneum.
Schmidt, G. D. (2015). Orbiting Jupiter. New York, NY: Clarion.
Schroeder, L. (2009). Far from you. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Scott, E. (2008). Living dead girl. New York, NY: Simon Pulse.
Shakur, T. (1999). The rose that grew from concrete. New York, NY: MTV Books
Sitomer, A. L. (2008). Homeboyz. New York, NY: Hyperion.
Volponi, P. (2009). Response. New York, NY: Penguin.

Images:

What Actually Happens When Young People Read Disturbing Books:
Photo by Vladislav Anchuk on Unsplash

Children’s Views on Learning from Narratives: Photo by Johnny McClung on Unsplash

Processes of Transformative Reading: Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

Provocative Texts Taken Up in Community: Photo by javier trueba on Unsplash

Supporting Emerging Adolescents Through Engaged Reading and Conversation:
Photo by Armando Arauz on Unsplash

Development, Needs, and Cognitive, Social & Emotional Coherence:
Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash