Subverting Heteronormativity and Cultural Expectations in The Outing Anonymous College

Prior to the events of the Stonewall Riots, queer and LGBTQ+ movements within the United States ran primarily underground and parallel to the rest of American social activist movements. Marginalized writers and authors during the early- to mid-twentieth century found great difficulty in creating media that highlighted the injustice of social inequality while simultaneously subverting the subject enough to receive general publication and praise. To illustrate, in his 1953 novel Go Tell It on the Mountain, James Baldwin incorporates a myriad of complex elements that impacted experiences in his life including race, culture, sexuality, and religion. The short story “The Outing” from Go Tell It on the Mountain depicts how culture, sexuality, and religion repeatedly restrict the behavior of Baldwin’s characters; most notably, the teen characters of Johnnie Grimes and his friend, David Jackson. Although he could not outright advocate for a romantic relationship between these boys in his story, Baldwin still fosters a close bond between Johnnie and David that implicitly extends beyond a platonic friendship. The subtle and intimate moments Baldwin scatters throughout The Outing such as when Johnnie and David express their feelings alone...