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Summary study book Law and Literature of Lenora Ledwon (1-2) - ISBN: 9781317954187 (essay)
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Literature and LawLegislative Power Over Sexuality & Gender Expression in Angels In America
Legislative power has always dominated the private and intimate moments in people’s
everyday lives. This control results in a uniform-like system that does not accept any change or
deviance from societal norms, whether it be sexuality or gender expression. The play, Angels In
America written by Tony Kushner, focuses on political and religious groups that enforce
normative heterosexuality. Characters in the play go against the normative by simply being
themselves among a crucial time in the AIDS epidemic. Angels In America present how political
and religious groups, which are heteronormative, have legislative power over sexuality and
gender expression. Joe Pitt, a closeted homosexual, tries to fit the role of a male by marrying a
woman, Harper Pitt, and providing for his family, but fails to do so with his inner conflict. Roy
Cohn is a suppressed homosexual who fights with his male identity and sexuality because he
refuses to accept that he is a homosexual. These characters try to understand gender stereotypes
and sexuality during Reagan’s administrative years.
Joe Pitt is an individual fighting with his morals and happiness. Joe Pitt is a Mormon and
a republican, yet his views contradict his life (Kushner 30). Mormon Church states that marriage
is only between man and woman, with homosexuality being unacceptable. This
heteronormativity and power in his religion forces Joe to conform to heterosexuality and to
perform the gender roles assigned to men. He marries Harper Pitt and provides for his family,
which he believes is a man’s role in society. To add on, Joe is also a republican and many
republican views in the 1900s were against homosexuality. Due to his conflicting views, he had
, no choice, but to come out to his wife and mother. This battle within Joe is very significant as it
represents the many struggles homosexuality men must conform to heteronormative legislation
in political and religious systems. This overwhelming power forced Joe to put aside his
happiness to fit in his republican Mormon beliefs.
In the article written by Andrea Zlámalová called “Sexual identity in Tony Kushner’s
Angels in America”, it explains the character's view on strictly following basic gender roles. The
article explains how in Reagan’s era, most citizens were religious and following stereotypical
gender expressions. Most common religion in the mid-1900s was Christianity and gender
stereotypes were internalized by religious legislation telling people how to act. A character who
believes in old-fashioned gender roles is Joe’s mother, Hannah Pitt. Joe calls Hannah and tells
her he is a homosexual however; Hannah reminds him of what it means to be a man. Since he is
a married man, he has certain duties he must accomplish for his wife (Zlámalová, 31). These
strict gender roles prevented Joe from expressing any trait that was not deemed masculine and
this issue results in Joe being more pushed to the edge with his gender identity and sexuality.
On the contrary, a character that tries to fit in with their female identity is Harper Pitt.
Harper repeatedly mentions to Joe that she wants to be a mother and give birth to a baby
however, her valium addiction prevents her from being pregnant. She is upset that she can not
express her female identity which slowly results in her losing her temper on Joe. When she burnt
Joe’s dinner she simply said, “It just seemed like the kind of thing a mentally deranged
sexstarved pill-poping housewife would do.” (Kushner, 36). She resorts to describing herself as a
housewife that does nothing at home or for her husband, which goes against her Mormon beliefs.
Mormon women follow traditional gender roles and with Hannah being unable to perform these
roles, she does not fulfill her female duty. This power in Mormon religion is significant to gender
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