In comparison to The Laramie Project, the story of a brutal homophobic murder and the effects of latent homophobic mindsets instilled in the residents of Laramie, “Of Families and Other Magical Objects” re-define the image of masculinity, featuring two gay men taking on the traditional “manly” hero role. The societal norms of masculinity that have been portrayed in media throughout the decades created an ideal image of men; Height, strength, athleticism, and a lack of emotion are some traits that are often sought after. Machismo- defined as “a strong sense of masculine pride or an exaggerated masculinity”(Merriam Webster) along with the desired physical and nonphysical traits, embody the popularly accepted standards to be considered a ‘real’
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In the quintessential hero stories, a man, usually very strong and masculine has to rescue the damsel in distress. We see this in most popular kids movies and fairy tales such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Rapunzel. These children’s stories and movies give the impression to children that a homosexual relationship is the normal and desired way of life. They also showcase the “manly man” persona and extremely feminine characters, both of which commonly take on the typical gender roles, a topic that today’s society is so desperately trying to change. The comic “Of Families and Other Magical Objects” is breaking the heteronormative chain with common children’s book by creating a modern interpretation of the typical hero story featuring two gay males as the central hero’s. Although it is much different from the average children’s hero story, presenting it as an innocent kid friendly comic normalizes it. Modern kids comics featuring less accepted lifestyles are pushing us into a future of acceptance. Exposing children to this type of story can normalize the idea of two men being together, and other relationships that are not yet considered “normal” by many people around the world, resulting in a world with less hate. The more children who are raised with the idea of homosexuality being normal, the less homophobia we will have in our future. When kids are taught that homosexuality is normal and nothing to be ashamed of, we will see less kids using homophobic slurs to insult their classmates, in turn lowering the amount of homophobic adults and homophobic areas such as Laramie, around the
In the quintessential hero stories, a man, usually very strong and masculine has to rescue the damsel in distress. We see this in most popular kids movies and fairy tales such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Rapunzel. These children’s stories and movies give the impression to children that a homosexual relationship is the normal and desired way of life. They also showcase the “manly man” persona and extremely feminine characters, both of which commonly take on the typical gender roles, a topic that today’s society is so desperately trying to change. The comic “Of Families and Other Magical Objects” is breaking the heteronormative chain with common children’s book by creating a modern interpretation of the typical hero story featuring two gay males as the central hero’s. Although it is much different from the average children’s hero story, presenting it as an innocent kid friendly comic normalizes it. Modern kids comics featuring less accepted lifestyles are pushing us into a future of acceptance. Exposing children to this type of story can normalize the idea of two men being together, and other relationships that are not yet considered “normal” by many people around the world, resulting in a world with less hate. The more children who are raised with the idea of homosexuality being normal, the less homophobia we will have in our future. When kids are taught that homosexuality is normal and nothing to be ashamed of, we will see less kids using homophobic slurs to insult their classmates, in turn lowering the amount of homophobic adults and homophobic areas such as Laramie, around the