Awahaf Sahrani Advisors: Singgih Daru Kuncara, M.Hum.
1614025045 Eka Pratiwi Sudirman, M.Pd.

Queer Representations: Coming Out and Homophobia in Selected Young Adult Novels

As the progressive movements of the LGBTQ+ community and the realization of the importance of queer representation in the media, many authors have taken parts in it. For instance, in the literature field, over the last decade, many works have been written that include queer representations, especially in young adult novels. In this thesis, I seek to analyze the queer representations, specifically in terms of coming out and homophobia, as these topics are the most relatable to queer people. By doing so, I focus on each of the main characters in the selected works that are: 1) The Dangerous Art Of Blending In (2018) by Angelo Surmelis, 2) Brave Face (2019) by Shaun David Hutchinson, 3) Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (2015) by Becky Albertalli, and 4) Call Me By Your Name (2007) by André Aciman. I use the queer approach and the Cass’ Model of Identity Development to examine the coming out process, and the responses/attitudes toward it and see the correlation between coming out and homophobia. The results of my analysis show that the queer representations have evolved in terms of complexity and homophobia affects the process of coming out by inhibiting to come to terms of self-acceptance and identity synthesis.
Keywords: Queer, Representation, Coming Out, Homophobia, Young Adult.