A closet full of shame

Abstract

In this thesis, I argue that the gay closet is a shaping feature in the lives of many homosexual people and, most importantly, I argue that it is a place full of shame. This place only draws meaning in a heteronormative society in which the labels feminine and masculine define who we are. Being witnessed in our failure to live up to these social gender conventions, we hide in this place full of shame and play the ideal self. By relying on my own experience, and by using contemporary art examples, I have explored the world of ‘feeling bad’ and stressed the fact that shame plays an important role in remaining the homosexual-heterosexual and the private-public binary. Finally, I underlined that shame is not necessarily only negative, and that it possesses potential, as in shame we truss ourselves more firmly to ourselves. If one is able to go through the effortful process of coming-out, one might end up with a more authentic and prideful life.