In a society acutely focused on appearance and status, small shifts in hetero-capitalist thinking can result in massive changes in the way we perceive ourselves and others. No one feels the weight of perception more than marginalized queer communities. As a result, many works of queer literature heavily focus on the negative perceptions of queerness – especially when those characters are notably weaker, more feminine, or both. Queer identities that give modern society its individuality are often the same ones that are met with the most disdain because they often conflict with cultural standards and expectations surrounding gender and sexuality. Though these identities are not in any way harmful or threatening they do strip the institutions that try to oppress them of their power. By making the feminine presenting and queer characters the runt, we reinforce the idea that these identities are less-than, subversive, and undeserving of kindness and humanity. The texts referenced here all support the idea that the world would be a better place by making a safe space for all identities and dignifying them as equal instead of the lesser.
Society’s traditional norms of masculinity often regard queer people as runts and sissies. In contemporary queer literature, authors dive into the complications of identity formations within queer familial relationships. Despite the words “runt” and “sissy” being a derogatory term, the characters in We the Animals by Justin Torres and On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong reclaim and redefine them, turning them into empowering terms through self-acceptance. Queer people face the social pressures of presenting as society deems normal and often lose themselves while trying to figure out who they are. Being forced into a role such as “runt” and “sissy” can lead queer identities to confusion and deprivation of acceptance. The characters in Torres and Vuong’s novels emphasize their self-development through embracing their femininity and “runt” and “sissy” qualities. The essays in this cluster examine the appearances of so-called sissies and runts as well as analyzing the character’s outcomes with various frameworks.
In Monnighan Crowell’s essay, “#WORLDHATESGWORLS,” she critiques the notion that femininity is inherently weak, as well as the concept of gender indoctrination. Using Jack Halberstam’s The Queer Art of Failure and Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Crowell analyzes the character, Little Dog, and his mother’s interactions which enforce a learned hatred of femininity that harms both women and queer identities. Crowell also investigates real-world structures that have been built on gender indoctrination, expressing how even the smallest of gendered details enforces a power deficit that deprivileges feminine-based traits. Crowell’s look into Little Dog and his mother’s upbringing shows how gender indoctrination can damage familial relationships and fuel hatred towards and repression of femininity.
In contrast, Avi Schoenthaler’s essay “The Runt and their Pack: Love and Loss,” dives into the intricacies of runts and their animalistic similarities using Heather Love’s Feeling Backwards. By examining the connections between character relations coded as animal packs in both Akwaeke Emezi’s Freshwater and Justin Torres’s We The Animals, and the behaviors of runt characters in particular, the essay asserts that these runt characters find themselves linked to yet detached from their own identities.
Maria Sanchez-Carrillo’s “Now Sissy that Walk and Talk: Runts in Queer Literature,” instead goes into the similarities between sissies and runts, as well as their shared goal of positive reclamation of both themselves and their terms through a rejection of society’s definitions of them through Jose Munoz’s Cruising Utopia. On the other hand, Bea Duncan’s “Possibility and Longing in Hartford,” specifically looks at the moniker of sissy and why some runts may be better classified as sissies. Additionally, it examines why and how the relationships sissies find themselves in are imbalanced due to the stigma against them.
This cluster gives readers a new look at these archetypes by examining queer protagonists’ progression throughout these narratives and the futures they help us foresee beyond the scope of the texts.