Out On Main Street
by bobbyg
Out on Main Street by Shani Mootoo is an interesting read because we see the themes of identity performance and roles. I have skimmed through it couples years back but have never had the chance to analyze it. The reading allows us to capture the larger picture of identifying as homosexuals in a heterosexual sphere- intertwined with race, ethnicity and religion. The narrator begins by outlining ‘identity performance’ and roles as Indo – Trinidadian. She mentions that her family and she are ‘watered down Indians’ because they do not follow the ‘identity’ of being Indians nor follow Indian practices. She links this identity with her sexual orientation and gender performances as she describes herself as masculine lesbian wearing jackboots and a crew-cut (48). Along with awkward sentence structure and slang grammar, this read allows me to look at identity performance of gender and race from a Sociological perspective. One theme that struck me while reading was ideas about multiculturalism. The multiculturalism act of 1988 still to date has been criticized heavily because some groups see it as a threat to national identity or critique that multiculturalism keeps society divided between different races. With our mosaic model, Mootoo raises some interesting questions on multiethnic groups and gender. The ideas of multiculturalism and immigration have always been of interest throughout my Sociology degree. Coming from a mixed family myself, I have always examined how the concept of multicultural allows for multiethnic groups to choose what aspects of their culture/ religion to bring and what not to bring when entering Canada. Still today we have debates over this with identity politics in Quebec or debates on Sharia law in Canada. Overall this read opens up important questions regarding Multiculturalism and gender with Canadian society today.
First off, I really like the structure and layout of your blogs! 🙂 second, I enjoyed how you spoke of multiculturalism.
I appreciate your reflection of how this short story incorporates race, sexuality, gender, gender performance, ethnicity, and religion as the narrator navigates her identity.
I am wondering what specific passages in the story we might turn to to explore the very important questions you bring up about multi-culturalism? I would just suggest doing a bit more close reading of the text itself, particularly in the latter half of the post, so as to anchor your approach and interpretation.