Was Stuart Little Gay?
August 28, 2007
My friend George just pointed me to an article by David Rakoff that I had missed in a 1999 Salon.com, called “The Love that Dare Not Squeak Its Name.” It provides a wonderful example of the way gay kids learn to read between the lines to find kindred spirits.
I found my own kindred spirit in Christopher Robin. When I was three, I was certain that there must be a third gender, to which I belonged, and I was always looking for others like me. Christopher Robin, with his long hair and effeminate clothing, fit the bill. I thought he must be half-boy and half-girl, like me and my imaginary friend, Shoetrack.
Every time my mother read to me from Winnie-the-Pooh, I’d ask her “Is Christopher Robin a boy or a girl?” I desperately wanted her to answer “He’s half-boy and half-girl” but she never did. “He’s a boy,” she’d reply each time.
“Well, why does he look like a girl?” I’d ask. I always hoped she’d think about it and come back with the answer I wanted. But she never did. She always gave me the same response.
“Because he’s English,” she’d say.
I never got the answer I wanted but the one I got at least gave me hope. I knew there was a whole country of English people out there somewhere.
Another possible example of reading between the lines of classic children’s literature—but not a childhood interpretation. I don’t think I tumbled to this reading until I was in my thirties.