Female Homosexuality in a Heteronormative Narrative. From "The Bell Jar" to "Sex and the City"

Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1, 3, University of Regensburg, language: English, abstract: Both "The Bell Jar", a novel written by Sylvia Plath which was published in the year 1963 shortly before the author's death, and popular HBO series "Sex and the City" feature - at least at some point in the story - minor lesbian characters. Whether those characters function as the protagonists' love interests or not, they pose a severe threat to the heteronormative narrative of the stories.

Gender and sexuality are historically intertwined in several ways. Often, the legitimacy of "real" male- or womanhood has to be proven by heterosexuality. Hence, homosexuality can threaten those concepts of a stereotypical gender identity. According to Judith Butler, gender is something that is constructed rather than something we simply own; thus it is not ensured and can be dismantled either by oneself or someone else. Focusing on female homosexuality as a perceived threat to heteronormativity and femininity as well as femaleness, this paper will predominantly discuss two lesbian characters and two straight, female characters in Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar" and the HBO series "Sex and the City".