University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Queer: discourses of gender, sexuality, and normativity

Casar, Allison Theresa

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125710

Description

Title
Queer: discourses of gender, sexuality, and normativity
Author(s)
Casar, Allison Theresa
Issue Date
2024-07-11
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Smalls, Krystal A
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Smalls, Krystal A
Committee Member(s)
  • Bhatt, Rakesh M
  • Koven, Michele
  • Mendoza, Anna
Department of Study
Linguistics
Discipline
Linguistics
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • Slur reclamation
  • language ideology
  • metalinguistic
  • LGBT
  • Queer
  • Queer language
  • Sociolinguistics
  • Internet linguistics
  • discourse
Abstract
A significant amount of contemporary discourse within online LGBTQ spaces centers around the validity of the term queer as a personal and/or community identifier. On social media sites like Twitter, the use or deliberate, conspicuous non-use of the word queer in discourses about gender and sexuality indexes specific stances on slur reclamation and often coincides with political views on (homo/trans)normativity and gender. This dissertation presents two mixed methods studies investigating online and offline discourse surrounding the reclamation and resignification of “queer,” a word that has in recent history been used as a slur, an activist rallying cry, a symbol of anti-normative stance on gender and/or sexuality, and an identity category. In the first study I present interviews with twelve self-identified LGBTQ young adults (18-35) living in the American Midwest. Interview participants were asked about their preferred terms for their sexual orientation and gender, their preferred label for the community (“LGBT community”, etc), and their experiences as an LGBTQ person. In the second study I examine a small corpus of tweets containing the word queer or the avoidance term q-slur. In both studies I employ discourse analysis to analyze sentiment and stance-taking tactics towards queer as a slur and/or an identity label, and the connections between discourse on queer and broader discourses of transphobia, homonormativity, and heteronormativity.
Graduation Semester
2024-08
Type of Resource
Thesis
Handle URL
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125710
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2024 Allison T Casar

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