ABSTRACT

Our sons at first glance pass for normative. Perhaps it is because of our capacity to pass that we become so jarring in our daily performances of self and family. We take people by surprise. The fact that our seemingly familiar bodies in the photo I described at the beginning of this essay openly disrupt dominant performances of gender and sexuality is disconcerting to those who assume that everyone should strive to avoid the social consequences of deviance. My sons could indulge in able-bodied and heteronormative privilege, but they do not, and we do not ask them to. In the coming pages, I will introduce Tony, Vinny, and Nico, my three sons who surface the possibilities, hopes and dangers of childhood masculinity as they disrupt compulsory able-bodiedness and compulsory heterosexuality in daily performances.