Rich 1

Chrystal Rich

Professor Taylor

English 7005

16 October 2018

Saenz’s Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe:

How it Defies and Encourages Common LGBTQ Literature Trends

It is widely believed that in recent years young people have begun to lost interest in

reading literature. It seems as if the ushering in of technology has left little time for quiet

reading. Assistant Professor Beth Brendler believes that young people are disinterested in books

that are outdated and unrelatable. In her article, “Blurring Gender Lines in Readers’ Advisory for

Young Adults,” Brendler explains, “What teens do want are engaging reads with relatable

characters who face issues similar to those that concern adolescents today, artistic and creative

writing, and new ways of thinking about the world” (Brendler 224). She argues that gendering

books is an outdated trend that no longer supports an increasingly gender-neutral society, and

only does more harm by attempting to reinforce polarity among young men and women. Author

Benjamin Saenz uses his characters to challenge these gender lines in his novel, Aristotle and

Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. In his novel, written specifically with LGBTQ

readers in mind, Saenz manages to portray a fiction that is both artistic and creative. Most young

adult literature portraying LBGTQ characters largely endorses commonly held beliefs about

homosexual social norms, glosses over homosexual intimacy, and concludes with a despairing

future, leaving the protagonists rejected and isolated. Saenz both reinforces and challenges this

current trend.
 Rich 2

Homosexuality has historically been tabooed in the United States and as a result, gay/

lesbian teens often feel marginalized by dominant society. Value is placed on heterosexual

relationships and it is often assumed that males/ females will choose a romantic interest based on

someone from the opposite sex. According to Brendler, this current generation has adapted to be

more “…inclusive, empathetic and tolerant in their social outlook” (Brendler 222). Although

society may be more accepting of one’s sexual preferences, there is still a great deal of

stereotyping concerning the behaviors and preferences of gay/ lesbian people. Professor Ralph J.

Poole, in “Boys Kissing Boys,” explains, “Christine Jenkins in 1988 confirmed certain lasting

stereotypes of the generic gay person such as being good-looking, artistically inclined, from a

troubled family, and sexually promiscuous. Largely missing are Asian, Hispanic, Black, or

Native American characters” (Poole 126). Although he references a dated source, the fact that

the stigmas are still so shockingly similar thirty years later cannot be overlooked. While Saenz

does portray both Ari and Dante as physically attractive and Dante as artistically inclined, he

does manage to challenge the commonly held belief that they are from a troubled family while

compensating for the cultural absence explained by Poole by making them Latino. Spanish

communities are especially notorious for having a homophobic mentality. Saenz is not the only

writer currently tackling the issue of Latino homophobia. Jay Asher, author of 13 Reasons Why,

portrays a character, Tony, who is very similar to Ari. They are both Latino, attractive, coming

from good homes, and demonstrating violent tendencies while remaining indifferent to the “jock

mentality” of their fellow peers. Because of their cultural place in society, they are expected to

adhere to the standards of “machismo” or male pride. Columnist John Brammer in “13 Reasons

Why Made Tony a Gay, Latinx, Catholic Teen, “outlines the importance of culturally challenging

this chauvinistic mentality:

 Rich 3

And few manifestations of toxic masculinity are as singularly coded as machismo, a trope
that Hollywood is fascinated with in nearly every movie that features Latinx people, but
rarely seems to want to address in a deeper way. 13 Reasons Why challenges that, and
dares to unpack the nuances of what Latinx characters struggle with it in ways that [only]
Latinx viewers can identify with (Brammer).
Currently, there is not much representation for Latino LGBTQ teens, but writers like Asher and

Saenz are confronting this deficiency.

Another commonly held belief about LGBTQ people is that they are victims, therefore

they are only capable of being the recipients of violence. While this is true in many cases, and

remains a problem, it does not allow us to overlook the possibility for LGBTQ people to

demonstrate violence. Clark and Blackburn, in their article, “Scenes of Violence and Sex,” argue,

“To ignore the truth that LGBTQQ people can also exhibit bullying behavior, like Ari and

Carlos, prevents adults from attending to the ways that young people get pushed to and over the

edge so that we can be there for them and help them to solve their problems in ways that serve

them well” (Clark & Blackburn 882). In Aristotle and Dante, Ari has a tendency to lash out at

people, particularly crude-behaving boys. In one incident, after Dante is put in the hospital for

being beaten for kissing his male partner in a public space, Ari actively seeks revenge on Dante’s

attackers. Society has established a belief that gay men are feminine and unable to defend

themselves. In reality, gay men are just as capable of violence as straight men. Even victims

sometimes act out in violence against their oppressors. This has been made unfortunately evident

in recent years with school shootings on the rise as a response to bullying. Realizing the

importance of teaching acceptance is critical for every students’ safety. LGBTQ people may

specifically use violence as a means of retaliation or as a response to their inability to accept

their own LGBTQ identity.

 Rich 4

While stereotypes abound in LGBTQ literature, another common criticism is that these

novels often “… shy away from describing sexual activity, ‘and details are often foggy beyond the

first kiss. […] The effect of these books is to either trivialize or mystify gay sexuality for their

readers. If readers are looking for sexual information, they get very little,’” (Poole 126). In

Aristotle and Dante, there is a build-up of intimacy and longing between the main characters, but

the novel carries the readers through the process of the realization of these feelings, follows it up

with a kiss, and then ends. Besides this closing kiss, there is not much in the way of physical or

sexual intimacy. Some critics may point out that this reiterates the stigma concerning gay sexual

relations, but Poole inserts “the gay kiss, ‘which usually functions as the intensification of desire

and the initiator of sexual activity, operates metaphorically as the progenitor of the gay-themed

young adult novel,’ and is ‘an intimate, social, and political act in the struggle for recognition’”

(Poole 126). Because of the limited reception current society has demonstrated for gay sexual

intimacy, the “gay kiss” scenes are just as potent as straight sex scenes.

The final trend in LGBTQ literature is the underrepresentation of characters coming from

families that are willing to accept them. Clark and Blackburn point out that overlooking the

reality “…that LGBTQQ people can make friends and create families who love and respect them

…prevents adults from assisting LGBTQQ young people in accessing these support networks or

imagining ways that their lives will… “get better,” and how they might work with others to make

it happen” (Clark & Blackburn 882). Saenz, however, presents Ari and Dante with families that

are accepting and supportive. What was so intriguing about this novel was that it challenges the

notion of fear of “coming out” that is usually accompanied with disappointment and even

outright rejection from family members. Saenz provides an alternative ideal scenario where

families are supportive of one another, and parents are intuitive and genuinely concerned about
 Rich 5

their children. The novel offers hope to the readers that there can be a happy ending for LGBTQ

people and that sometimes the biggest struggle is in not being honest with yourself and your

family. Ari often escapes to the desert to embrace the loneliness that encapsulates and defines

him, but it is also a place of transition between the “here” being now and “there” being the

unpredictable future. Poole comments, “It is in this sense of the desert that Saenz envisions a

queer utopia as an imaginable ideality of the future that reaches beyond the prison house of the

here and now” (Poole 127). This is critical because imagining a functional and happy future as

an open LGBTQ person is often not seen as a legitimate possibility in YA literature.

In conclusion, Saenz’s novel was able to dismantle some of the common conventions used

in LGBTQ literature. His creative use of imagery and metaphors effectively capture the

imagination of readers while inviting them into the realm of higher-level philosophical thinking.

One reviewer describes, “The ultra-short chapters, dialogue and text conversations make the

philosophical discussions easy to digest and give this a teenage focused feel despite its length”

(Worley 63). Although Saenz followed the inclination, common in LGBTQ literature, to avoid

integrating sexual intimacy between the characters, he defies other expectations by

unconventionally using gay Latino characters, demonstrating that gay men have the capacity to be

masculine and even violent, and providing the backdrop of a supportive and accepting family who

even helps Ari discover for himself, his feelings for Dante. Although another reviewer claimed,

“…there is little real conflict…” within the novel, it can be argued that Saenz was focusing on the

conflict that comes from within when LGBTQ people struggle with their own identity (Coats 370).

Through Ari’s journey of self-discovery, Saenz offers a wealth of hope to Latinos who have been

consistently underrepresented in LGBTQ literature, and anyone else who may be experiencing the

same internal struggle, as this is an experience that transcends cultural barriers.

 Rich 6

Works Cited
Brammer, John. “'13 Reasons Why' Made Tony a Gay, Latinx, Catholic Teen: Here's Why That

Matters.” Teen Vogue, 21 April 2017, www.teenvogue.com. Accessed 18 Oct. 2018.

Brendler, Beth M. "Blurring Gender Lines in Readers' Advisory for Young Adults." Reference &

User Services Quarterly, vol. 53, no. 3, 2014, pp. 221.

Coats, Karen. "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Review)." Bulletin of

the Center for Children's Books, vol. 65, no. 7, 2012, pp. 370-371.

Clark, Caroline T., and Mollie V. Blackburn. "Scenes of Violence and Sex in Recent Award-

Winning LGBT-Themed Young Adult Novels and the Ideologies They Offer their

Readers." Discourse, vol. 37, no. 6, 2016, pp. 867.

Poole, Ralph J. "Boys Kissing in the Desert: Benjamin Alire Sáenz's Aristotle and Dante Explore

the Secrets of the Universe." The Explicator, vol. 74, no. 2, 2016, pp. 125.

Worley, Wendy. Saenz, Benjamin Alire: The Inexplicable Logic of My Life. vol. 66, The School

Library Association, 2018.