Young, Troubled, and Queer: Gay and Lesbian Representation in Edward Roy'sThe Other Side of the Closetand Sara Graefe'sYellow on Thursdays

This paper considers how a queer ideology can challenge heteronormativity in TYA by comparing two plays that have emerged from Canada in roughly the past decade: The Other Side of the Closet (1997) by Edward Roy and Yellow on Thursdays (2002) by Sara Graefe. The Other Side of the Closet is an anti–gay-bashing play that reinforces heteronormativity by omitting homosexuality in favor of discourses of troubled gay youth, coming out/outing, and homophobia. Yellow on Thursdays similarly employs restrictive discourses but also moves beyond them by incorporating expressions of same-sex desire and attraction, thus providing a starting point from which to theorize the possibility of queer TYA.