Dissertation supervised by Dr. James P. Purdy Just Between Us Girls charts the diffusion of queer... more Dissertation supervised by Dr. James P. Purdy Just Between Us Girls charts the diffusion of queer theory outside of the academy, using convergence theory to examine communication technologies like periodicals and the Web to argue for a conception of queer theory that includes discourse between queer women about queerness. In making this argument, this project creates a lineage of discursive spaces by, for, and about queer women, putting content from these spaces in conversation with canonical queer theorists like Judith Butler, Eve Sedgwick, and Jack Halberstam. Analyzing and contextualizing discursive spaces like Vice Versa (1947-1948), The Ladder (1956-1972), The Furies (1972-1973), AfterEllen, and Autostraddle demonstrates not only that queer women have depended on communication technologies for identity and community formation long before the Web but also that queer women v have historically invested in and theorized concepts significant to queer theory, like coming out, the relationship between gender and sexuality, and heteronormativity. vi DEDICATION For those who did and those who would have. To James and Doris Matthews. vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Every idea, every project has a community behind it, and Just Between Us Girls is no exception. This project would not have been possible without the support and guidance of my director, Dr. James P. Purdy, whose careful scholarship and intellectual openness have demonstrated the type of scholar and teacher I'd like to be. Thank you as well to Dr. Judy Suh and Dr. Kara Keeling for their time and feedback on this project. My gratitude also goes to the Duquesne English Department for the 2018-2019 Dissertation Fellowship and for the Department's financial support during my visit to the UCLA archives; the opportunity to focus on my scholarship has been invaluable. I am grateful to my students for having the courage to learn and for continuing to remind me of the classroom's potential. And, most of all, to my brilliant wife, Rebekah Lynn, whose insights, joy, and passion have enriched my project and my life beyond words. viii
Queer Studies in Media & Popular Culture, 2019
By constructing a lineage of mediated discourse in which queer women theorize their spaces and id... more By constructing a lineage of mediated discourse in which queer women theorize their spaces and identities, this article argues for the significant place of communication technologies as venues for queer women’s theoretical discussions. Specifically, it analyses content from AfterEllen, a website devoted to popular culture and media for lesbian and bisexual women, connecting the site to two twentieth-century lesbian periodicals, Vice Versa and The Ladder, ultimately arguing for a conception of the discourse produced in these spaces as a type of proto-queer theory. In each space, queer women reject the fictive wholeness proffered by systems of heteronormativity through their critiques of mainstream society and cultivation of representation and community. However, this article also analyses the dangers of theory, as spaces like AfterEllen theorize a lesbian subjectivity that denigrates and dismisses trans lesbians. Utilizing convergence theory, this article additionally argues that her...
Dissertation supervised by Dr. James P. Purdy Just Between Us Girls charts the diffusion of queer... more Dissertation supervised by Dr. James P. Purdy Just Between Us Girls charts the diffusion of queer theory outside of the academy, using convergence theory to examine communication technologies like periodicals and the Web to argue for a conception of queer theory that includes discourse between queer women about queerness. In making this argument, this project creates a lineage of discursive spaces by, for, and about queer women, putting content from these spaces in conversation with canonical queer theorists like Judith Butler, Eve Sedgwick, and Jack Halberstam. Analyzing and contextualizing discursive spaces like Vice Versa (1947-1948), The Ladder (1956-1972), The Furies (1972-1973), AfterEllen, and Autostraddle demonstrates not only that queer women have depended on communication technologies for identity and community formation long before the Web but also that queer women v have historically invested in and theorized concepts significant to queer theory, like coming out, the relationship between gender and sexuality, and heteronormativity. vi DEDICATION For those who did and those who would have. To James and Doris Matthews. vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Every idea, every project has a community behind it, and Just Between Us Girls is no exception. This project would not have been possible without the support and guidance of my director, Dr. James P. Purdy, whose careful scholarship and intellectual openness have demonstrated the type of scholar and teacher I'd like to be. Thank you as well to Dr. Judy Suh and Dr. Kara Keeling for their time and feedback on this project. My gratitude also goes to the Duquesne English Department for the 2018-2019 Dissertation Fellowship and for the Department's financial support during my visit to the UCLA archives; the opportunity to focus on my scholarship has been invaluable. I am grateful to my students for having the courage to learn and for continuing to remind me of the classroom's potential. And, most of all, to my brilliant wife, Rebekah Lynn, whose insights, joy, and passion have enriched my project and my life beyond words. viii
By constructing a lineage of mediated discourse in which queer women theorize their spaces and id... more By constructing a lineage of mediated discourse in which queer women theorize their spaces and identities, this article argues for the significant place of communication technologies as venues for queer women’s theoretical discussions. Specifically, it analyses content from AfterEllen, a website devoted to popular culture and media for lesbian and bisexual women, connecting the site to two twentieth-century lesbian periodicals, Vice Versa and The Ladder, ultimately arguing for a conception of the discourse produced in these spaces as a type of proto-queer theory. In each space, queer women reject the fictive wholeness proffered by systems of heteronormativity through their critiques of mainstream society and cultivation of representation and community. However, this article also analyses the dangers of theory, as spaces like AfterEllen theorize a lesbian subjectivity that denigrates and dismisses trans lesbians. Utilizing convergence theory, this article additionally argues that her...
Dissertation supervised by Dr. James P. Purdy Just Between Us Girls charts the diffusion of queer... more Dissertation supervised by Dr. James P. Purdy Just Between Us Girls charts the diffusion of queer theory outside of the academy, using convergence theory to examine communication technologies like periodicals and the Web to argue for a conception of queer theory that includes discourse between queer women about queerness. In making this argument, this project creates a lineage of discursive spaces by, for, and about queer women, putting content from these spaces in conversation with canonical queer theorists like Judith Butler, Eve Sedgwick, and Jack Halberstam. Analyzing and contextualizing discursive spaces like Vice Versa (1947-1948), The Ladder (1956-1972), The Furies (1972-1973), AfterEllen, and Autostraddle demonstrates not only that queer women have depended on communication technologies for identity and community formation long before the Web but also that queer women v have historically invested in and theorized concepts significant to queer theory, like coming out, the relationship between gender and sexuality, and heteronormativity. vi DEDICATION For those who did and those who would have. To James and Doris Matthews. vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Every idea, every project has a community behind it, and Just Between Us Girls is no exception. This project would not have been possible without the support and guidance of my director, Dr. James P. Purdy, whose careful scholarship and intellectual openness have demonstrated the type of scholar and teacher I'd like to be. Thank you as well to Dr. Judy Suh and Dr. Kara Keeling for their time and feedback on this project. My gratitude also goes to the Duquesne English Department for the 2018-2019 Dissertation Fellowship and for the Department's financial support during my visit to the UCLA archives; the opportunity to focus on my scholarship has been invaluable. I am grateful to my students for having the courage to learn and for continuing to remind me of the classroom's potential. And, most of all, to my brilliant wife, Rebekah Lynn, whose insights, joy, and passion have enriched my project and my life beyond words. viii
Queer Studies in Media & Popular Culture, 2019
By constructing a lineage of mediated discourse in which queer women theorize their spaces and id... more By constructing a lineage of mediated discourse in which queer women theorize their spaces and identities, this article argues for the significant place of communication technologies as venues for queer women’s theoretical discussions. Specifically, it analyses content from AfterEllen, a website devoted to popular culture and media for lesbian and bisexual women, connecting the site to two twentieth-century lesbian periodicals, Vice Versa and The Ladder, ultimately arguing for a conception of the discourse produced in these spaces as a type of proto-queer theory. In each space, queer women reject the fictive wholeness proffered by systems of heteronormativity through their critiques of mainstream society and cultivation of representation and community. However, this article also analyses the dangers of theory, as spaces like AfterEllen theorize a lesbian subjectivity that denigrates and dismisses trans lesbians. Utilizing convergence theory, this article additionally argues that her...
Dissertation supervised by Dr. James P. Purdy Just Between Us Girls charts the diffusion of queer... more Dissertation supervised by Dr. James P. Purdy Just Between Us Girls charts the diffusion of queer theory outside of the academy, using convergence theory to examine communication technologies like periodicals and the Web to argue for a conception of queer theory that includes discourse between queer women about queerness. In making this argument, this project creates a lineage of discursive spaces by, for, and about queer women, putting content from these spaces in conversation with canonical queer theorists like Judith Butler, Eve Sedgwick, and Jack Halberstam. Analyzing and contextualizing discursive spaces like Vice Versa (1947-1948), The Ladder (1956-1972), The Furies (1972-1973), AfterEllen, and Autostraddle demonstrates not only that queer women have depended on communication technologies for identity and community formation long before the Web but also that queer women v have historically invested in and theorized concepts significant to queer theory, like coming out, the relationship between gender and sexuality, and heteronormativity. vi DEDICATION For those who did and those who would have. To James and Doris Matthews. vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Every idea, every project has a community behind it, and Just Between Us Girls is no exception. This project would not have been possible without the support and guidance of my director, Dr. James P. Purdy, whose careful scholarship and intellectual openness have demonstrated the type of scholar and teacher I'd like to be. Thank you as well to Dr. Judy Suh and Dr. Kara Keeling for their time and feedback on this project. My gratitude also goes to the Duquesne English Department for the 2018-2019 Dissertation Fellowship and for the Department's financial support during my visit to the UCLA archives; the opportunity to focus on my scholarship has been invaluable. I am grateful to my students for having the courage to learn and for continuing to remind me of the classroom's potential. And, most of all, to my brilliant wife, Rebekah Lynn, whose insights, joy, and passion have enriched my project and my life beyond words. viii
By constructing a lineage of mediated discourse in which queer women theorize their spaces and id... more By constructing a lineage of mediated discourse in which queer women theorize their spaces and identities, this article argues for the significant place of communication technologies as venues for queer women’s theoretical discussions. Specifically, it analyses content from AfterEllen, a website devoted to popular culture and media for lesbian and bisexual women, connecting the site to two twentieth-century lesbian periodicals, Vice Versa and The Ladder, ultimately arguing for a conception of the discourse produced in these spaces as a type of proto-queer theory. In each space, queer women reject the fictive wholeness proffered by systems of heteronormativity through their critiques of mainstream society and cultivation of representation and community. However, this article also analyses the dangers of theory, as spaces like AfterEllen theorize a lesbian subjectivity that denigrates and dismisses trans lesbians. Utilizing convergence theory, this article additionally argues that her...
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