Guinea Pig Grooms
April 2, 2008AfterElton.com has a long, glowing review of Sarah Brannen’s picture book Uncle Bobby’s Wedding. It concludes with an author interview in which Brannen tells us about the inspiration for her story: seeing all the happy same-sex couples getting married in her home state of Massachusetts a few years ago.
She also answers the burning question that’s been on many of our minds: “Why guinea pigs?” Apparently she had originally planned to use birds because she wanted a species in which the coloring made it clear that both Uncle Bobby and his fiancé were male, but she decided that birds “look silly in clothes.” In the end she chose guinea pigs for the cuteness factor: “I wanted to create little fat furry people.”
So let’s revise the question: “Why critters?“ Would we as a community be more enthusiastic about this book if the characters were human? Will families who would never dream of reading Heather Has Two Mommies be more likely to pick up this book because of the cute critters on the cover? (I already know of one family whose love of guinea pigs has outweighed their discomfort with gay marriage.) How do you feel about gay guinea pig weddings?
Thanks for mentioning the article, KT. I should add that in a subsequent interview with me, Brannen also said she wanted to use animals so that more children could identify with the characters. By that, I don’t think she means that children could identify with being fur-covered rodents, but that race is taken out of the picture, so children are free to imagine what they will. (Gender is still there, however, since the protagonist, Chloe, is a girl.)
I think you have a good point, though, about cuteness and the appeal to readers who might hesitate about Heather. The question then is: will readers find guinea pigs cuter than penguins, or will Uncle Bobby cause the same kind of uproar as Tango? I suspect the latter–though I’d like to hope there are enough readers who will be swayed that the fringe element on the right will be silenced.
You know, I’ve wondered this. All things being equal, there are few gay-friendly picture books out there starring humans that I like. It’s pretty much “ABC: A Family Alphabet” and “Mini Mia and Her Darling Uncle” or nuthin’. Now we’re seeing cute fuzzy animals in tuxes, and the art is getting more sophisticated. Looks like a trend to me, but if it means getting better quality books out there, so be it.
now all the queer guinea pigs in california will be tying the knot
I think the use of animals in LGBT stories is fine for a couple of reasons. Firstly, children are accustomed to books featuring animal characters which tell stories that children can relate to their lives as humans: Max and Ruby, Ferdinand the Bull, Winnie the Pooh, Frog and Toad, etc. Secondly, it is sometimes easier to couch an unfamiliar idea in within the context of a story about human-like animals which are non-threatening. Thirdly, nature does give us many real examples of LGBT behaviors (see Joan Roughgarden’s book Evolution’s rainbow : diversity, gender, and sexuality in nature and people).
Heather Has Two Mommies and many of the older LGBT picture books are actually pretty didactic.
I want to mention that there are more books than Fuse mentioned. See http://sfpl.org/sfplonline/kids/booklists/rainbow.htm
for a sampling.