Identity Development in Young Adult Fiction - Coming-Of-Age and Coming Out in Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence

Abstract

The present thesis investigates how queer identity and queer relationships began to be portrayed in literature aimed at young adults during the 1990s. It is looking at the process by which queer identity in adolescent fiction began to be historically consolidated, and what sorts of patterns began to emerge at this time. Moreover, it aims to examine queer identity development in three short stories from the anthology Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence (1994), a young adult fiction “devoted to lesbian and gay themes” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) edited by Marion Dane Bauer. The short stories selected for this thesis include the title story “Am I Blue?” by Bruce Coville, “Winnie and Tommy” by Francesca Lia Block, and “Parents’ Night” by Nancy Garden. The short stories will be analyzed and discussed by applying queer theory, and by utilizing Troiden’s model on homosexual identity formation.