Student: I’m a Duke Freshman. Here’s Why I Refused to Read ‘Fun Home.’
It's not about being uncomfortable. It's about being asked to do something that is immoral.
As a Christian, I knew that my beliefs and identity would be challenged at a progressive university like Duke.
My first challenge came well before I arrived on campus, when I learned that all first years were assigned “Fun Home,” a graphic novel by Alison Bechdel. The book includes cartoon drawings of a woman masturbating and multiple women engaging in oral sex.
After researching the book’s content and reading a portion of it, I chose to opt out of the assignment. My choice had nothing to do with the ideas presented. I’m not opposed to reading memoirs written by LGBTQ individuals or stories containing suicide. I’m not even opposed to reading Freud, Marx or Darwin. I know that I’ll have to grapple with ideas I don’t agree with, even ideas that I find immoral.
Read the article “Student: I’m a Duke Freshman. Here’s Why I Refused to Read ‘Fun Home.’” on washingtonpost.com.
