Androgyny as Abstraction
Androgyny can be read as an abstraction of gender, allowing the reader to view the characters’ genders as they wish. This reading doesn’t fundamentally change the character in ways inconsistent to the story. The reader simply chooses to fill in the free space as they see fit. 1/8
McCloud discusses the theory of iconic abstraction: abstracting a drawing allows for it to be more universal and accessible to a wider audience. As the abstraction increases, more people can view themselves or their ideals in it, with the final image being universal. 2/8
Androgyny in Heart of Thomas played a historic role in the perception of gender & sexuality. Many lesbians credited it as influential to their sexual awakening/development. 4/8
There were freedoms in being male which were yearned by the predominantly female audience. Androgyny in this manner is used as a narrative or rhetorical tool. Historic influences and perceptions of the students is intertwined with the application of androgyny. 5/8
Androgyny as abstraction doesn’t point towards or against a story being queer. Abstraction lets the reader choose the queerness of the characters, removing that choice from the narrative. The use of androgyny is invariant to whether it tells a heteronormative or queer story. 6/8
Separating the historical context from the narrative of Heart of Thomas itself becomes important in maintaining the scope of narrative classification, and as such androgyny does not contribute towards either category. 7/8
Androgyny cannot be understood as a contribution to the viewing of Heart of Thomas as either a queer or heteronormative narrative. Not all narratives important to queer history and the development towards queer acceptance are themselves queer narratives. 8/8