Contemporary Czech LGBT+ literature: The example of Muffin and Tea and Cupcakes and Conspirators

Abstract

Based on a qualitative content analysis, we present two loosely related artistic narratives, Muffin and Tea (2018) and Cupcakes and Conspirators (2019) by Theo Addair, which belong to the current stream of contemporary young adult literature in which homosexuality is thematized. We have focused on selected narrative lines that relate to the themes of literary representations of homosexuality in contemporary intentional literature. Before the analysis, we set four questions: 1. How is the theme of homosexuality presented in these two works; 2. What is the originality of these artistic narratives; 3. How does the author portray the main characters in relation to their perception of themselves; 4. Are these works relevant to the issue of self-acceptance and acceptance by contemporary society in the area of minority sexual orientation? We conclude that sexual minority issues are depicted in these narratives in conjunction with the adolescents´ societal backgrounds, with the main theme presented alongside other minority characteristics or handicaps that affect the adolescents´ self-acceptance. It is in the accentuation of I other themes that we see the relevance of the publications for contemporary adolescent readers.