"Why is straight the default?": Translating queerness in Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Abstract

This thesis examines the representations of queerness in the Finnish edition of the 2015 young adult novel Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, translated into Finnish by Lotta Sonninen and published in 2017 under the name Minä, Simon, homo sapiens. The purpose of the study is to provide insight into how queerness is translated for Finnish-speaking adolescent readers. The central research questions are: Do the representations of queerness in Minä, Simon match those in Simon Vs.? In case of differences, are there unjustified negative undertones or outright mistakes in them?

The data was gathered from the first 20 chapters out of a total 35 chapters of both the English and the Finnish editions of the novel. The data includes all instances in which the novel uses queer-specific language, including subtextual references to queerness. For the analysis, a framework built by the author is used. The framework details all differences between the source text and the target text, categorising on the basis of correspondence, apparent reasons for non-correspondence and the context in which the instance appears in the novel. The entirety of the data is then considered in relation to the research questions as well as the theoretical models for translated queer texts as proposed by Donato, Epstein and Démont.

The results of the analysis are largely positive or neutral: only 8 instances out of a 107 receive criticism for the way they represent queerness in the translation. However, these 8 contain some significant negative undertones, and as such, affect the otherwise queer-positive results negatively. Compared to a similar study by Epstein some years prior, this is nevertheless a positive result. For more conclusive results about the representations of queerness in translated young adult literature, wider research is required.

Academically, queer translation and especially queer young adult translation is still under-researched, and more nuanced frameworks for analysing queer translations are needed. Even so, the field has significant social value in determining the attitudes towards queerness held by translators and conveyed to the public via their work, the examination of which can contribute to determining future best practices on the field.