Chapter 2: II. The Variants – Summary and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Chapter 2 opens with Juan and the narrator in his dim room, where Juan begins to unravel the history behind the two blacked‑out volumes. He explains that the Sex Variants study, published in 1941, was spearheaded by Dr. George W. Henry but originated with Jan Gay, an amateur researcher who interviewed over three hundred women. Gay had studied under sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld, co‑founded a nudist colony with her wife Zhenya, and written a book and film on naturism. When she could not find a publisher for her lesbian histories, she helped form the Committee for the Study of Sex Variants. Another key figure, Thomas Painter, recruited hustlers for the committee and later focused on Puerto Rican men. The committee selected eighty case studies—forty men and forty women—to publish, emphasizing pathology rather than the activists’ original aims. Juan draws a parallel to the biblical “forty” (the flood, Moses, Jesus, Sodom) and jokes about finding ten righteous queers. He describes how he discovered the Sex Variants books in a box labeled “I’m yours now” and was drawn to the blacked‑out testimonies. In the present, the narrator watches his health decline; Juan sleeps deeply and struggles in his dreams. The narrator shares a story from his own past: he worked for a wealthy man (“Mad Man”) who kept a basenji dog crated and silent, and he eventually quit. Juan then recounts Robert Browning’s “The Ring and the Book,” comparing the poet’s use of an “old yellow book” to the way he wants the narrator to alloy fact with imagination. Juan extracts a promise that after his death the narrator will tell three stories: his own “whore stories,” the Sex Variants story, and Juan’s own story. The chapter ends with a rehearsal of A Streetcar Named Desire outside the Palace; Juan identifies the flower seller as Edna Thomas, a lesbian actress who was also one of the variants.

Key Events

Juan introduces the Sex Variants study and Jan Gay’s role.
Jan Gay’s background: born 1902, studied under Hirschfeld, co‑founded a nudist colony, wrote On Going Naked, conducted hundreds of interviews.
Thomas Painter recruits hustlers for the study, later focuses on Puerto Rican men and works with Kinsey.
The committee selects 40 men and 40 women for publication; Dr. Henry controls the narrative, emphasizing pathology.
Juan explains the biblical resonance of “forty” (flood, Moses, Jesus, Sodom) and jokes about haggling down to ten righteous.
The narrator describes Juan’s worsening health and dreams.
The narrator recounts his time as a paid “jack of all trades” for a wealthy man, including walking a crated basenji dog.
Juan retells Browning’s The Ring and the Book as a model for alloying fact with imagination.
Juan reveals the three stories he wants the narrator to tell after his death.
Outside the Palace, townspeople rehearse A Streetcar Named Desire; Juan identifies Edna Thomas.

Character Development

The Narrator: Reveals his past economic precarity and his ability to find community among tough queers. His story about the dog shows his suppressed rage and his desire to give voice to the voiceless. He accepts Juan’s charge to become a storyteller.
Juan: Deepens as a guardian of queer memory. He is dying yet fiercely alive in his storytelling. His willingness to admit he lied about the Sodom bargain shows his playfulness and his resistance to fixed narratives. He entrusts the narrator with his life’s work.
Jan Gay (offstage): Emerges as a pioneering researcher whose work was co‑opted and erased. Her activism and nudist philosophy are contrasted with the committee’s pathologizing lens.
Thomas Painter (offstage): Portrayed as an “amateur” whose research was personal and embodied; his later work with Kinsey suggests an alternative path for documenting queer lives.
Edna Thomas (mentioned): A real‑life Black lesbian actress who performed in Voodoo Macbeth and was a variant; her brief mention ties theatre, race, and queerness together.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Erasure and Archival Power: The blacked‑out pages of the Sex Variants books are a central symbol. The committee’s selection and omission of testimonies reveal how institutions curate queer history. Juan prefers the blacked‑out copy because it becomes a “counternarrative” that invites imaginative reconstruction.
Storytelling as Survival: Juan’s stories keep him alive; the narrator stretches his own tales to prolong Juan’s life. The chapter frames storytelling as an alloy of truth and invention, echoing Browning’s goldsmith metaphor.
The Biblical Forty: The number forty signals trial, purification, and the search for righteousness. Juan reappropriates the Sodom story to argue that “perverts” might be the righteous ones who save the city.
The Cratered Dog / Suppressed Voice: The narrator’s story of the basenji that cannot bark mirrors the silenced variants. The fantasy of the dog finally barking becomes a camp, bluesy lament—a call to break free from enforced silence.
Anarchist Ethics: Juan identifies as an anarchist and admires Jesús Colón’s vignette‑based, anti‑dogmatic writing. The narrator’s memory of mutual aid among his friends echoes this collective spirit.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter establishes the historical heart of Blackouts. It introduces the Sex Variants study, its actors, and the politics of erasure that define the novel’s project. The three‑story framework (the narrator’s, the study’s, Juan’s) gives structure to the rest of the book. Juan’s call to “bend, and lie, and invent” becomes the narrator’s—and the reader’s—ethical directive. The chapter also deepens the emotional bond between Juan and the narrator, showing that listening and remembering are acts of love and resistance.

Study Questions and Answers

What does Juan mean when he calls the forty subjects “the righteous”?
He references Abraham’s negotiation with God in Sodom: God agrees to spare the city if ten righteous people are found. Juan playfully proposes that the forty men and forty women in the study are those righteous perverts who might redeem humanity.
Why does the narrator’s story about the basenji dog resonate with the chapter’s themes?
The dog is kept in a crate, unable to bark—a direct parallel to the silenced queer subjects whose testimonies were blacked out. The narrator’s fantasy of the dog finally barking is a wish for suppressed voices to be heard, transformed into a camp and bluesy song.
How does the Browning anecdote shape the narrator’s promise to Juan?
Browning described alloying “the pure hard metal of fact” with the imagination of a goldsmith. Juan asks the narrator to do the same with the Sex Variants story—to “bend, and lie, and invent” rather than simply regurgitate facts. This becomes the novel’s creative manifesto.

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