Over the course of this semester, we have read many novels following friendships, challenges, and identities in adolescence. I want to expand the conversation of intersectionality and diversity that we have touched on, specifically through the lens of friendship formation during childhood and adolescence. Through all of the friendships we have observed, the vast majority create the strongest friendships among others that share certain aspects of their identities. Let’s take a look at the closest friendships that we have read about this semester, most of them lacking in intersectionality and high in similarity: In The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Cameron finds the closest friendship with Adam and Joan, who both share deep understanding about their sexual identities and LGBTQIA+ oppression. In Dread Nation, Jane becomes close friends with Katherine and Jackson, who both face the prejudice Jane does as fellow people of color. In The House on Mango Street, Esperanza becomes friends with Rachel and Lucy, whom are living in poverty as well.
Though in nearly all of the novels we read, there were a few close friendships with characters that were very different in terms of sexuality, race, gender, socioeconomic status, etc. If these friendships were present, they were not as strong or long-lasting as the friendships that consisted of those with similar identities, morals, experiences, etc. Cameron remains friends with Jamie and Lindsey, both who only share a few similarities with Cam, but are still able to connect with her. Jamie differs from Cam in terms of sexuality and gender, yet is accepting of her sexuality and remains close to her. Lindsey seems to only share her sexuality and interest in swimming with Cam, and she has not faced the oppression of her sexuality that Cam has, yet they remain distant friends as well. Jane connects with Mr. Gideon, who is very different than her in terms of upbringing, race, gender, and socioeconomic status. Though with their similar goals in terms of tearing down the prejudice and enslavement, they work together throughout the novel and become friends and possible love interests. Esperanza is quite limited in terms of the friends that she can make, as she is young and is unable to travel very far to meet people different than her. She makes friends with Rachel and Lucy who are very similar to her as of gender, SES, race, etc. Esperanza does interact with those of differing SES and race in school, but they do not get along well, possibly due to racism and lifestyle differences.
In reference to the observations made above, a few questions must be posed: Why do friendships form amongst people with similarities? Why are there less friendships depicted with diversity and intersectionality amongst them? Is this because people and adolescents are drawn to connect with those similar to them? Or are they sheltered in a bubble that only allows them to connect with people that hold the same identities as them? Does this reflect reality in our lives as well? When considering all of these questions, I feel as if the reasoning behind making friendships lacking in intersectionality is a combination of many factors.
In my personal experience, my friend group up until high school consisted of white girls, who were all female-presenting, straight, christian, and middle class. When I arrived in high school, some of those friends came out as gay, I met a few people of color that I became acquaintances with, and met a few non-christian people. As soon as I went to college, a huge influx of people of different backgrounds, races, gender identities, sexualities, and religions came into my life. Most of my best friends are in the LGBTQIA+ community, a few of them are people of color, and the majority of them are very different from me. I feel as if on my personal journey for making friends, I began in a bubble where my small town only offered up friends that were exactly like me. As I grew older and met other people I expanded my horizons and made deep connections to people that were very different from me. I feel as if I was drawn to children like me to become friends with, but also was not presented with another option. As I met other people after I left my small town, my friendships became increasingly diverse and intersectional. Were the fictional characters mentioned above not given the same opportunity as I was to meet and connect with others that were different from them? I’d love to hear my classmates thoughts on how friendships form, and the reasoning behind who we chose to become friends with.
Word Count: 773
Alexa RIeger
Representing Adolescence @ Pitt 