On Lesbian Identity In Sarah Waters' Novels

Identity is an important issue that lesbian groups have been facing all along.In the long historical process,although lesbians existed,they were relegated to the edge of society.Up to now,their gender orientation has not been recognized.Therefore,for lesbians,it is an urgent problem to seek identity and position in society.As a lesbian writer,Sarah Waters continues to pay attention to and explore the issue of lesbian identity in her works.As a lesbian,Waters combined her own life experience to think and present the reasons why lesbians fall into identity dilemma in novels.In the novel,Waters reveals the patriarchal society's maintenance of the traditional heterosexual marriage system dominated by men,and points out that in such an environment,lesbians,as a gender identity that cannot be included in the category of marriage,are bound to be rejected.Waters noticed that lesbians have been under pressure from society.The gaze of others and the 19 th century sexual medical discourse,which has not completely lost its influence,have a very negative impact on lesbians' self-identification.At the same time,At the same time,Waters did not limit his eyes to the external environment,and she also reflected on the female group itself.On the one hand,Waters clearly realized that the disadvantaged female groups in the patriarchal society had a tendency to succumb to social norms to avoid risks and gain social benefits;on the other hand,Waters' lesbian identity made her deeply realize that when the whole female group caters to the requirements of the male-dominated society in order to enter marriage,the psychological pressure and self-doubt of the lesbian group as an undesirable alien always hinder the self-identity of lesbians.Waters reveals the negative influence of the traditional heterosexual marriage system in the process of lesbian identity,which does not mean that she wants to completely deconstruct heterosexuality or marriage system.In her novels,Waters is more inclined to advocate a multicultural inclusive attitude to understand love and gender,so as to counter the single interpretation of sex and gender identity in the traditional heterosexual marriage system.In the novel,Waters reveals that there is no inevitable consistency among physiological gender,social gender and sexual desire through the plot of "drag" and the writing of lesbians' passion.In Waters' view,love is love,and love is the communication of soul,which has nothing to do with gender.Waters regards love as a powerful force to break the lonely plight of lesbians.She encouraged lesbians to express their love bravely and make their voices heard in society.Under the current social background,the cultural value of Waters' novels lies in its advocacy of multiculturalism and its appeal to " every kind of love should have a place in society",which is of great significance for lesbians to get rid of their identity anxiety and find other survival possibilities.