In many parts of the world, people who identify as LGBTQ+ face persecution and discrimination for their sexual orientation and gender identity. In some countries, this leads to censorship and suppression of artistic expression that includes queer narratives. Artists have developed various strategies to evade censorship and still communicate queer stories through their work. This essay will explore how artists have used disguise, symbolism, metaphor, and subtext to encode queer narratives in contexts of censorship, and how these strategies inform contemporary creative practice.
One strategy that artists have used is disguising queer themes in works intended for a general audience.
The novel "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker was initially rejected by publishers because it dealt openly with lesbianism. To get around censorship, Walker wrote the story using animal characters, such as Celie the cow and Shug Avery the goat, which were meant to represent women in lesbian relationships. The book became an international bestseller and won the Pulitzer Prize.
Another strategy is the use of symbolism to convey queer themes. Symbolic images or objects can be interpreted differently depending on the viewer's knowledge and experience.
In his painting 'Christ and John the Baptist,' artist Caravaggio depicts two men holding hands while wearing clothing associated with Christian saints. While the painting appears innocent at first glance, it contains hidden meanings about same-sex love.
Metaphors and allegories are also effective ways to encode queer narratives without explicit mention of LGBTQ+ issues. In her poem 'Song of Myself,' Walt Whitman uses poetic devices to describe the beauty of same-sex attraction, even though homosexuality was illegal at the time. Similarly, James Baldwin's play "A Raisin in the Sun" presents black families facing racism but also explores gay relationships between two brothers.
These strategies continue to influence contemporary artistic practices today. Many artists create work that seems innocuous but contains queer subtext, such as David Hockney's paintings of gay couples or Yoko Ono's performance pieces that explore gender fluidity. Other artists incorporate symbols or metaphors into their work to address LGBTQ+ topics, such as queer activist Keith Haring's graffiti art featuring rainbows and triangles.
Artists have used various tactics to communicate queer stories despite censorship and suppression. Their creative approaches inform current artistic practice by inspiring new forms of expression and challenging social norms around sexuality and identity.
What strategies have artists used to encode queer narratives in contexts of censorship, and how do these strategies inform contemporary creative practice?
"Artists who have been censored for their queer narratives have had to find ways to encode them into their works. One strategy is through symbolism, where they use images or objects that represent different facets of queerness but are not explicitly sexual in nature. This can be seen in the work of artists like Andy Warhol, who used Campbell's soup cans as symbols of queer identity in his paintings.