Pynchon and homophobia

[Paul Mackin]

On Mon, 25 Mar 1996, John Boylan wrote:

>   The stance of the 60's left toward homosexuality was a carry-over
> from 30's Marxists linking inversion to upper class decadence, and
> decadence then to Facism and National Socialism.
>   So in the 60's you get this odd spectacle of a left-wing artist
> who is also gay, like the Italian movie and opera director Luchino
> Visconti, making THE DAMNED, which ties in aristocratic effeteness
> with homosexuality, incest, and transvestism, and links all *that*
> to Nazism.



So . . . the stereotype of homosexual Nazis had gotten itself so firmly 
established that Pynchon (as Visconti before him) was more or less forced 
to continue with it. It wasn't that P. couldn't have created believable 
_straight_ Nazis (and other Them-types) if he'd wanted to. But they'd need 
to be built from scratch. Complex character building didn't fit Gravity's
Rainbow. In a sense the book _required_ stereotypes. (or types at least 
missing the z coordinate, as Hal would say)

Or you could read the whole thing as a satire on left paranoia? 

Naw . . .

				P.