I know I didn't contribute much to the discussion on Tuesday. But that was because I wasn't even sure of my own opinion in regards to the one major comment I made. Even now, days after our discussion, I'm still not at all sure of my own opinion on this subject. I see the merits of forming a gay canon. It would allow for a more open discussion of the issues and the things people in the LGBT community have to go through. It would also form a definitive community of support for LGBT authors to which they could find a sense of belonging as well as from which they could gain recognition. And I'm sure there are other merits as well that I'm just not thinking of right now. However, I have a few fears or reservations regarding this formation of a gay canon. For one, it would necessitate removing authors from the primary canon, which seems in some way wrong, like we're now saying they're not good enough to be in the primary canon anymore or like we're othering them. Also, there would be a tendency to label gay authors as just gay and read their works from that point of view only when the authors might have wanted to say something different/make a different point. So I'm not sure where the happy medium/solution is there, or if there is one at all. But I think it's important to discuss it, even if we don't come to any answers, because it can at least make us more aware of the issues and other people's points of view.
Sorry this is so short and so late. I didn't know what to think right after the discussion, and so I thought a few extra days to mull over the issues might help, but apparently they didn't... This is a tough issue because it is so personal and involves the issue of identity, which is unique to each person. Each person will have a different view of the issue, and because I'm the type of person who likes to take in all different viewpoints before formulating my own thoughts/opinions, this is a difficult subject for me to work through.
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