Literatura in cenzura - Društvo za primerjalno književnost - ZRC SAZU

Undressing Literary History:The Censorship of Same-Sex DesireAndrej ZavrlAdult Education Centre, Kranja.zavrl@hotmail.comThe area that seems to have been quite persistently controlled up to the present day isthat of sexual non-normativity. A clear expression of the still-present unspeakabilityof same-sex desire – as an instance of such non-normativity – is seen in the differentways of censoring literature representing same-sex desire.Keywords: literature and censorship / homosexuality / gay literature / lesbian literature /Slovene literary criticismUDK 821.09:176.8Perhaps the issues addressed in this article may no longer appear particularlyrelevant, especially at a time when gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender,intersexual, and queer (GLBTIQ) issues are characteristically saidto have been largely mainstreamed and, at least in the West, relativelyemancipated. Indeed, has not the gay and lesbian affirmative, with its demandsfor positive representation, prevailed? Moreover, we live at a timewhen, as Michael Warner puts it, “most gay people want in-laws, not outlaws”(“Boys and the Banned”). Surely the times of the explicit censorshipof same-sex contents of works known from literary history are definitelyover? Yet, why is it that the Slovenian title of the performance of Copi’splay L’homosexuel ou la difficulté de s’exprimer (1971), held in September 2007at the most prestigious Slovenian cultural centre, only retained the secondpart of its original title? 1Therefore I would like to consider some (mostly Slovenian) cases ofwhat I see as more or less implicit and discreet examples of censorship bycriticism and omission: examples of glossing over, refusing to acknowledge,or repressing same-sex desire in literary texts. Let us call this practicewhat it is: attempts to control the circulation of ideas in a society andto confine the influence of those that were (deemed) potentially harmfulthrough implicit and retroactive critical censorship. In other words,I would like to investigate how the “integrity” of literature can be – andoften is – subject to various manipulations. Also, to refer to the title of the259Primerjalna književnost (Ljubljana) 31. Special Issue (2008)