Coming out: Not so Fun responses

 Coming out: Not so Fun responses

    In Fun Home, Alison comes out as a lesbian and announces this to her family. This gets ahold of somewhat similar yet different reactions from her parents. Her mother is against her coming out. Her father is not a whole lot supportive, but not against it. This shows their experiences with same sex relationships. 

    Her mother has had negative experiences with same sex relationships and sees it as a problem that she has to deal with. She sends Alison a disapproving letter. She states in her letter, “I have to deal with this problem in another form…” This reflects on her relationship with her husband. She has had to deal with the infidelity from her husband due to same sex affairs. This gives the mother a negative view and experiences on same sex relationships, and this affects her response to Alison’s coming out. This can be seen with the affair with the babysitter. This response is hard on Alison. However, Alison says her response is mild and can be seen when her mother mentions that, “...I could live with it…” This is not an extreme response to her coming out.

    Her father’s response was not quite on the supportive side, yet it was not against it. He responds with, “Everyone should experiment. It’s healthy.”  This is also a mild response. This shows her father’s perspective on same sex relationships. He does not take it seriously, like her mother, and says it is a sort of experiment. In experiments, one does not initially know the answer to the questions proposed. This shows that he thinks that Alison does not truly know her preferences. It also shows her father's sentiments on his affairs. He views his affairs in a positive light, in contrast to his wife. However, he does not seem to mind her relationship preferences. He seems to agree with it just the way he agrees with his affairs.

    These major figures in her life do not provide the support she seeks. It is clear, however, that she receives more support from her dad than from her mom. Her mother views this situation as a threat, while her father accepts it. However, she does get to know her parents better through coming out. This shows how they interact with other people and show their views on the matter. 

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