When further examining the theme of fun home, these 3 really
stand out; gender roles, homosexuality, and fatherhood. And what is really
interesting to me is the way she talks about these issues. Bechdel tells her
story joining these entire themes one graphic novel that’s equally as
complicated as her childhood. I think through writing this book Bechdel was
able to draw connections and realize things she was never able to as a kid.
While reading the book you get clear visuals and I understood her childhood,
but only in the way that she herself was able to come to understand it. We only
truly understand Her father and her own struggles with gender roles near the
end as it all clicks in, and how because they were both struggling with
realizing their homosexuality; homosexuality which caused her father to act the
way he did when she was a child. In the end we realize, in the culmination of
everything, her father offered an unconventional shade of fatherhood that she too
was able to finally understand.
Allison's father trys to assert his power and masculinity, and at the same time tries to repress Alison's masculinity. 
Luke, it's definitely true that through the creation of a memoir, or graphic memoir, in this case, the author can have a much clearer understanding of his or her feelings. And the way Bechdel and her father handled both their sexualities is a big indication of what kind of personalities they had, and the type of environment/era they both grew up in.
ReplyDeleteI like the picture you attached to your post, it's very revealing of both Bechdel and her father's conflicting personalities. I think because of his internalized homophobia, Bechdel's father wanted to both project his own masculinity and his own gender's roles onto Alison, yet still retained his more feminine aspects, which brought out the contrast with Alison's more masculine traits.
This is kind of unrelated to your post but I saw an interesting Youtube video that explains how Bechdel drew most of her comic. It looks really painstakingly tedious but she obviously had a lot of patience. Check it out!