Identity through Literature of Gay Chicanos

Abstract

Identity through Literature of the Gay deals with aspects of homosexuality as manifested in Chicano literature and as displayed in several cross-cultural issues in Mexico and the United States. This study employs the theory of semiotics to explore how the gay Chicano writer applies linguistic signs to develop a literary identity in an artistic opus. This creation of a literary identity is based on what it means to be homosexual in both Mexican and U.S. cultures. This theoretical application contains five points that attempt to explain the characteristics of a gay Chicano literary work and compares them to the Gay Chicano experience, which draws on encounters from both sides of the border. This five-part theory is applied to the poetry and narrative of two gay Chicano writers, Francisco Alarcon and Arturo Islas.