Gay is Synonymous with Normal

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 Simon v. The Homo Sapiens Agenda written by Becky Albertalli is a love story narrated by main character Simon Spier who spends the majority of the novel uncovering the mystery of his secret lover's identity. Simon communicates through emails with a person named Blue who is the young man Simon has an interest in. This was textbook teenage romance. The poetic nature of the back and forth emails, the bubbly mystery of discovering Blue's true identity, and the trials and tribulations of high school drama. 

This novel has a classic, cheesy teen romance feel to it. Realistic enough to keep you engaged but unrealistic enough to make you feel a couple butterflies. In my opinion, that is the best thing about this book. Simon is a normal kid who does normal high school things; involved in school theater, finds his parents just annoying enough to love them, has a group of friends who are relevant enough to keep up with, and even a high school bully. There needs to be so many more books like this. This novel portrays a gay student as a regular person who doesn't have a terrible life or a sob story or anything that makes him stand out from the rest. At the end of the book when Bram comes over to his house while nobody is home, Simon's parents arrive back and see the two boys home alone together. Simon's mother alludes to the fact that there will be a conversation coming about having romantic interests over while nobody his home. "I can tell from her expression that a conversation is coming. Some kind of awkward discussion about ground rules. Some kind of big deal." (Albertalli 303) Experiences like this are something members not apart of the LGBTQ+ community would not understand not having. The absolutely normal and typical experience of having your parents put down rules for having partners over at the house. 

The novel also highlights the other things that Simon goes through that other students may not go through. Martin Addison outed Simon to his peers before he was ready.  It really affected Simon, rightfully so. "And you know what? You don't get to say it's not a big thing. This is a big fucking thing, okay? This was supposed to be--this is mine. I'm supposed to decide when and where and who knows and how I want to say it." Suddenly, my throat gets thick. "So yeah, you took that from me." (Albertalli 196) Coming out is something that not every person will have to go through. I remember when my brother came out to me and my family. It was difficult for him, it was like he was reintroducing himself to all of us. He had to do it with everybody he met. As normal as this book makes same-sex relationships, I really appreciate the representation for the struggles that some may go through when coming out.

I believe we need more novels like this one. The fact that Simon was gay wasn't the entire plot of the book. The love story, the ups and downs with his family, his friends, all of the other side plots played into the story. It's refreshing to have a novel that makes the word gay synonymous with the word normal.

Comments

  1. Callum CarrSeptember 22, 2020 at 6:04 AM

    I really like how you brought in a personal element to your blog post. Mentioning your brother coming out to you and your family, and saying it "was like he was reintroducing himself to all of us," shows how this book can have a positive effect on people who are not a part of the LGBTQIA+. Reading books like 'Simon vs...' can, sometimes, help friends and families of queer people better understand what it is like for someone to come out.

    One thing I think the 'Love, Simon' movie added that the book didn't have was a conversation between Simon and his mother after he has come out. In it, the two of them have a heartfelt conversation where his mom says "You are still you, Simon." I think that has to be the greatest fear for closeted people everywhere: Being looked at or treated differently by their loved ones because they had the courage to show their true self to someone. It's a great scene (which you can see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QUzRn7yH6I) but I also recommend watching the movie. It isn't better than the book, but still really good.

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  2. Olivia BennettSeptember 23, 2020 at 6:41 PM

    Hey Emily,
    I also really enjoyed the novel because of how it portrayed being gay as so normal. I apperciated the fact that the whole novel did not center around the fact that Simon is gay. It just happen that the novel was a love story with a protagonist who just happened to be gay. I also actually liked the fact that no one in Simon's life seemed to be bothered by the fact that he was gay either. I feel like a lot of time coming out is only portrayed as a sad and depressing moment because the person coming out is going to lose their family and friends. However, that is not always the case. Coming out should be a happy moment where the weight of that secret is off of the person's chest and they can be who they really are. I want to mention that I also like the name of your blogpost. We need to treat being gay as normal because like your title says "gay is Synonymous with Normal."

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