Quest to Freedom: Reclaiming Individuality through Sado-Masochism in Faggots by Larry Kramer

Abstract

Individuality is the quality or character of a particular person that distinguishes them from others of the same kind. In other words, it is the mark which separates its existence from the rest of the group. According to Fromm, the process of individuality begins at infancy level when the child is separated from the mother. This then takes an emotional toll on the child as he suffers from loneliness and anxiety which stem from the prior separation. The child will henceforth acquire his individuality through the process of socialization which requires constant interaction with people in his life. For this paper, we have selected a novel, Faggots, authored by Larry Kramer, to be the main text for our research. This article argues that the characters in the text are conflicted with feelings of anxiety and loneliness as they embark on respective quest to eradicate the feeling of loneliness by looking for a potential life partner. However, these characters go through a series of promiscuous relationships by living an active sexual lifestyle on the ground that they are in search of the “right” one. Therefore, this paper will look into the sadistic and masochistic (sometimes both; otherwise known as sadomasochistic) tendency practiced by the characters in the novel in their quest to reclaim their lost individuality. This research draws in the concept of freedom, sadism, and masochism as proposed by Erich Fromm to further consolidate the findings.