Identity Crisis
“It has taken away my armor my shield/ But I hadn’t realized how strong I had become” Doc 4
A deadly epidemic has created both controversy and a stronger sense of identity. The AIDS epidemic caused a huge polarization among the gay community; there were those who became more courageous and those who grew fearful and became the biggest attackers of the gay community. There were those who responded by urging safe sex practices and those who responded by vehemently supporting freedom of sexual activity despite its risk as demonstrated by the bathhouse controversy.
In Act One Scene 9 Roy Cohn describes the intricacies of identity in the eyes of the public by calling himself a “heterosexual who fucks around with guys”. To him homosexuality is an expression of power and not sexual orientation. Roy Cohn views himself as the alpha male who cannot be classified as a minority and therefore separates himself from the class of homosexuals. In order to reinforce this identity he strongly opposes the homosexual party because it poses such a huge threat to his own status as a politician. At the time homosexuality completely defied to the public this idea of “manhood” and Roy Cohn, being a “man” wants to have it all: his status and his boyfriend. The two goals strongly contradict each other in terms of being such a powerful figure in society and yet they can be considered closer to each other than they appear as forces that only support Cohn’s ego and clout. He manages to satisfy both needs, which is impressive but treacherous. He cannot outrun death however and while he can exercise much influence over the sphere of the material world; it is the supernatural manifested through AIDS that undermines him.
Belize acts as the guardian angel in this play and is in direct opposition to Roy in character. Roy’s power is externalized but Belize has the strongest character apart from the others in the play. He is a strong presence in the novel as Prior’s only true friend and as a siren for the gay community. We never truly get to know Belize in a personal sense the way we do other characters and yet Belize stands out as a true individual; perhaps because he proudly represents what is so condemned and refuses to remain silent. He is somehow less human in the way that he is extremely moralistic and principled, being able to forgive Roy Cohn. On all spectrums the other major characters are portrayed as weak; Louis for leaving Prior, Prior for being a victim of all forces, Joe for not embracing his sexuality, Harper for being betrayed. Belize has to put up with Roy Cohn who represents the ridicule of the world but he does it with strength and dignity and although he is a supporting character to the others, he stands alone with opinions that are in striking opposition to the other characters. The most pivotal scene for Belize is his conversation with Louis in Act 3 Scene 2 where Belize connects the AIDS epidemic to deeper issues dealing with race and politics in America. He upheaves the plays structure that had so far only dealt with white middle-class Americans.
