Review Essay: For Gay Pride Month: Armistead Maupin's 'Letter to Mama'

This paper reviews the letter written by Michael to his mother about his homosexuality. The letter includes his emotions, courage, and the need for guidance. The paper discusses the Save Our Children campaign, San Francisco's LGBT culture, and the lessons learned by Michael.

English Composition
12/3/2018

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Review Essay: For Gay Pride Month: Armistead Maupin's "Letter to
Mama"
The paper talks about the letter that has been written by the son to his mom about the
homosexuality of his own son. The paper shows the review of the letter that has been written by
the son to make her mother know about the truth. The son shared his emotions with her mom
which include his up and down movement in life. Along with this, the courage he has shown to
make their parents inform that he is Homosexual is clear from the letter.
Thesis statement: - “Revealing the truth of being Homosexual to mom with the help of letter”.
The letter written by Michael to his mother starts with the apology for making them aware about
the truth so late. Michael letter includes the love and importance of the parents in his life which
provided him with the courage to inform the parents about the truth. He admitted the fact that he
wouldn’t have written the letter until and unless his parents hadn’t told about their involvement
in the Save Our Children Campaign. Save Our Children is the campaign that came into existence
in the year 1977 in Miami, Florida to overturn a recently legislated county ordinance that has
banned the discrimination in the certain areas of the employment, housing, and accommodation
on the basis of sexual orientation (Niedwiecki, 2013). The campaign was initiated by Anita
Bryant who took the stand against discrimination towards the gay on the basis of sexual
orientation. This campaign further affected her popularity and career as she is an American
singer and political activist (Stone, 2016). In the initial conference, Bryant said about Save Our
Children that gay people are trying to recruit our children into homosexuality. In addition, Bryant
equated gays and lesbians with the criminals (Rosky, 2013).

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This made Michael realise that it is her responsibility to make their parents aware that their own
son is homosexual. Further, he said that he never needed saying from anything expect the cruel
and ignorant piety of people like Anita Bryant. This shows the hatred of people who are
homosexual for the Bryant who introduce the campaign like Save Our Children (Chenier, 2010).
Further, the son has apologised the mother for emotional breakdown and for the feelings after
knowing the truth. Though, he also sympathises by saying that he is aware of the feeling because
he had been through for their most of the life. This includes the feeling of being revulsion,
shame, disbelief and rejection. Further, the child made their mother feel in the letter that this is
not the fact that he has become homosexual latter on (Romano, 2006). Michael clarified that he
was not recruited child by any of the homosexuals as a mentor. Though, being with these feeling
he always wished to have someone in the life older and wiser than the people in Orlando to make
him feel the presence. The need of the older than me would have said to me that You're all right,
kid, there is no need to worry. In the letter son has shared his feeling to need of adult who has
guided him well and treated him like another child by saying; Kid you can grow and can become
doctor and teacher just like any other child, you are not evil or sick or crazy, you can succeed, be
happy and find friends and the feeling of being loved and loved without any hate. (Refer
Appendix)
This reflects the feeling which is faced by most of the homosexual in the world when they find
themselves as left out when there is no one to guide them and when there is lack of the equality
among the child (Boucai, 2010). In the letter, the feeling of the son might have her mother made
him in being mixed feelings. Michael said he has found his own way in the city which became
his home. The fact is that it is hard to believe that San Francisco is full of men and women that
include both gay and straight. The people in San Francisco don't consider sexuality while

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evaluating or measuring the worth of human beings. This has been found that LGBT culture in
San Francisco is one of the largest and most prominent. In addition, it includes most of the
LGBT communities in the world and due to which the city is known with the nicknames of “Gay
capital of the world” (Graham, et al 2011). The culture of the country with its history accepts the
people with the homosexual and behaves with humanity. Michale makes her mama aware that
the people in San Francisco are not radicals or weirdoes. They are shop clerks, little old ladies,
banker and some people who nod and smile to you when they meet you on the bus. Further, their
attitude towards homosexual people is neither patronizing nor pitying. The people in the country
spread the message of love with the person and not treating them on the basis of their sexuality.
In the end, Michael said after understanding her mother situation that you might be asking
yourself related to What did we do wrong? Which one of us made him that way? and How did
we let this happen?. Though, he denied answering all the questions because it doesn’t affect him
in the long run. Micheal shares the fact he knows that her mother and his papa are responsible for
the way I am which is homosexual. Further, after the so many harsh feeling Michael likes to
thank his parents with the heart, for the light and joy of her life. The letter includes the feelings
of the son while revealing the truth and fact of being homosexual. The mixed feeling of him
made Micheal say that he can’t tell how it is to be gay but can tell what it is not.
It is not hiding the words which include family, Christianity and decency. In addition, there is no
fear to your body and the pleasure to see how God has made. There is no judgment to the
neighbour except the crass or unkind. The letter includes the lesson that has been learnt by the
Michael include tolerance, humility and compassion with the limitless the possibilities of living.
Moreover, the people have given me the strength of passion and kindness with the sensitivity that
always remained a source of strength. All these lessons brought me into the family of man due to

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which made Michael like the place. Further, while ending the letter Michael said that there is
nothing left to say and he remains the same son for her mother. Further, the child said that he
never wanted to hurt their parents. This shows that respect and love for the parents in the eyes of
children. The child didn’t ask for any answer from mother but accepted the fact that he doesn't
need to lie anymore with the parents who taught him the lesson of the truth. The letter ends with
the love and regards from Michael side.

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References
Boucai, M. (2010). Gay Rights and Moral Panic: The Origins of America's Debate on
Homosexuality. journal of social history, 44(2), 606-609.
[Link: http://www.academia.edu/download/36258347/Boucai_-_2010_-_J_Social_Hist_-
_Fejes_Review.pdf]
Chenier, E. (2010). The natural order of disorder: Paedophilia, incest and the normalising
family. Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll: Psychological, Legal and Cultural Examinations of
Sex and Sexuality, 35-44.
[Link: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?
doi=10.1.1.626.5752&rep=rep1&type=pdf#page=48]
Rosky, C.J. (2013) Fear of the queer child. Buff. L. Rev., 61, p.607.
[Link: http://buffalolaw.org/past_issues/61_3/Rosky.pdf]
Graham, R., Berkowitz, B., Blum, R., Bockting, W., Bradford, J., de Vries, B., Garofalo, R.,
Herek, G., Howell, E., Kasprzyk, D. and Makadon, H. (2011) The health of lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender people: Building a foundation for better
understanding. Washington, DC: Institute of Medicine.
[Link- https://books.google.co.in/books?
id=4dDNNYmoqScC&printsec=frontcover&dq=San+Francisco+dominance+in+LGBT&
hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwia9a-
1qIPfAhVNk3AKHc1yA9cQ6AEIKTAA#v=onepage&q=san%20francisco&f=false]

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Niedwiecki, A. (2013). Save Our Children: Overcoming the Narrative that Gays and Lesbians
are Harmful to Children. Duke J. Gender L. & Pol'y, 21, 125.
[Link: https://repository.jmls.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1473&context=facpubs]
Romano, P. (2006). For Gay Pride Month: Armistead Maupin's "Letter to Mama". Retrieved
from: http://paxromano.blogspot.com/2006/06/for-gay-pride-month-armistead-
maupins.html
Stone, A. L. (2016). Rethinking the tyranny of the majority: The extra-legal consequences of
anti-gay ballot measures. Chap. L. Rev., 19, 219.
[Link: https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1368&context=chapman-law-review]

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Appendix

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