My research provides an inquiry of Black southern queerness situated through the artistic performance of j-setting. I explore j-setting as a dance style created by Black gay men by mapping out its beginnings, and how it has (not) traveled through mainstream culture. With this in mind I interrogate how j-setting exists as a cultural scene for Black queer men in the South to celebrate who we are, while also representing a strategy for our survival against racism, heteronormativity, and other dominant forces that pathologize our realities. This project suggests that an exploration of j-setting exemplifies the resilience and vulnerabilities of Black gay men when engaging dominant/mainstream culture. I contend that j-setting represents a form of worldmaking that allows Black gay men to create new racial and gendered possibilities while grappling with the everyday experiences of anti-Black racism and homo/queerphobia.

Queer people and people of color are two groups that are exposed to much stereotyping and discrimination in the United States. When these two identity labels coincide they sometimes conflict. In this study, five queer persons of color were interviewed on their identities and their life stories, to find out how they create their identities through narratives, negotiating and rewriting the meanings of social categories. Using Johnson's Quare term as inspiration,and analyzing the data with the use of Riessman's performative narrative analysis and Muñoz's Disidentifications, I find several common tropes of identity creation and performance as well as practices of resistance and disidentification. I then discuss the word Queer as used by respondents to label practices and attitudes that can be considered disidentifying.

mother / me is a visual exploration and analysis of the biological and constructed maternal realms of artist Gray Swartzel’s life. Orienting and navigating childhood influences, Swartzel explains his desire to use Craigslist to seek out surrogates, or mother figures. Interrogating his queer body within the psychological space between himself and his biological and surrogate mothers, he challenges and interrogates conceptions of the nuclear family, critiquing heteronormative assumptions of family. Swartzel tasks himself as an agent to inspect family as a social construct within a larger Lacanian orientation, while seeking out the objet petit a, or cause of desire in such relationships. He details the influences of early twentieth century glamour photography and maternal theory and outlines how they manifest in performances of the self. mother / me is an experiment to investigate the queer relationship between camp and the twenty-first century dandy through the collaboration of a mother and a child to construct visual images.

Over the years, an increasing number of scholars have argued that a "coming out imperative" characterizes Western society, urging those who harbor hidden identities to make those identities visible for the greater good. A number of sources repeatedly remind queer-identified individuals, for example, that coming out of the closet results in crucial visibility that, among other things, can help lead to political advances for the GLBTQ community. Yet, the call to make the invisible visible also valorizes the gender and sexual binary system that queer theory seeks to dismantle. How might we view the closet--a location that we find ourselves in repeatedly over time, regardless of any and all coming out events--in queer terms? How might we queer common conceptualizations of its construction and its utility? While he does not technically identify as gay, the popular culture stalwart known as Superman provides a useful exemplar for engaging in such a task. Since his first appearance in the pages of comic books more than seventy years ago, consumers and critics have continually inscribed Superman with meanings other than those presumably intended by his authors, thus attesting to the figure's polysemy. These subtextual layers enable consumers to recognize aspects of his texts that they find especially salient, including cues that speak to queer experiences. For example, because Superman's identity is in constant flux, with Superman always masking Clark Kent and vice versa, queer audiences may view Superman as especially relatable given their own experiences with a sexual- and gender-based closet. Superman does not adhere to the "coming out imperative," though, since he constantly relies on his closet in order to perform his super-job efficiently and effectively. His narrative, by its very nature, valorizes some measure of invisibility as a viable approach to managing a life with difference, however super or terrestrial that difference may be. This project analyzes four Superman texts--the television series Smallville, the motion picture Superman Returns, and the animated films Superman: Brainiac Attacks! and Superman: Doomsday--to ponder a closet that may offer opportunity rather than blanket oppression. Through his own identity negotiation, Superman struggles with his difference in ways that are similar to his queer human counterparts, and his eventual embrace of that identity, costume and all, suggests that he achieves some measure of pride in that difference. Yet, his closet remains intact. He may not always appreciate its limitations, but he understands the opportunities it bestows, and I believe we can learn from him. In other words, rampant heteronormativity and heterosexist presumption ensure that we must live with our queer closets everyday. This project seeks to reclaim that space for its practical and critical utility.

Submitted by Eder Luis Santana (eder.santana@gmail.com) on 2017-05-23T17:43:54Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAO.pdf: 5063634 bytes, checksum: 7112d4dfbc2e64b7a169c5c600506c00 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Patricia Barroso (pbarroso@ufba.br) on 2017-05-23T21:16:56Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAO.pdf: 5063634 bytes, checksum: 7112d4dfbc2e64b7a169c5c600506c00 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-23T21:16:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAO.pdf: 5063634 bytes, checksum: 7112d4dfbc2e64b7a169c5c600506c00 (MD5) / Este trabalho promove a análise de conteúdo de dois jornais de ampla circulação em Salvador, o “A TARDE” e “Massa!”, ambos integrantes do Grupo A TARDE de comunicação. A análise é feita a partir da perspectiva teórica dos Estudos queer e dos Estudos das Subalternidades, com material coletado entre setembro de 2014 e setembro de 2015. Foram delimitados quatro eixos de pesquisa, que justificam a elaboração de igual número de capítulos da dissertação. O objetivo é mostrar como os conteúdos veiculados pelo Jornalismo contribuem para o processo de abjeção ligado aos LGBTs, sigla que abarca lésbicas, gays, bissexuais, transexuais, transgêneros, travestis, dentre outras denominações identitárias dissidentes do padrão heterossexual. É identificado como o modelo de Jornalismo implantado necessita do LGBT em posição de subalternidade, para que haja manutenção da produção noticiosa pautada por uma rotina que privilegia o modelo heteronormativo de vida em detrimento das possibilidades que fogem do padrão estabelecido pela heterossexualidade compulsória.

Submitted by Patrícia Conceição da Silva (patriciaconceicao@gmail.com) on 2013-08-19T20:41:21Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao_PatriciaConceicao.pdf: 5058813 bytes, checksum: 115e1b156ba58cea06bb6950d0c50096 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Alda Lima da Silva(sivalda@ufba.br) on 2013-08-20T21:09:47Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao_PatriciaConceicao.pdf: 5058813 bytes, checksum: 115e1b156ba58cea06bb6950d0c50096 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-08-20T21:09:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao_PatriciaConceicao.pdf: 5058813 bytes, checksum: 115e1b156ba58cea06bb6950d0c50096 (MD5) / Este trabalho analisa textos publicados por duas revistas brasileiras voltadas para adolescentes – Atrevida e Capricho - que tratam de temas relacionados a gênero e sexualidade. O intuito é compreender de que forma as revistas constroem as identidades sexuais de suas leitoras e, ainda, quais normas regulatórias dos corpos, desejos e comportamentos sexuais estão presentes nessas publicações. Para refletir até que ponto as abordagens sobre gênero e sexualidade estão inscritas numa perspectiva heteronormativa, as edições do ano de 2008 das duas revistas foram analisadas a partir de algumas reflexões fundamentais na Teoria Queer e de demais trabalhos inscritos nos chamados Estudos Gays e Lésbicos. Por meio da análise de quatro aspectos principais - as concepções de sexo, gênero, desejo e prática sexual nas revistas; a trajetória de vida construída para as adolescentes nas publicações; a construção e a legitimação do casal heterossexual em suas páginas; os ideais de corpo, aparência e vestuário – foi possível refletir sobre como a heterossexualidade atua como norma pela qual passa a própria constituição do “ser menina”. Os resultados da análise apontam os caminhos pelos quais as diversas normas regulatórias são abordadas e reforçadas nas publicações e, ainda, problematizam se a atuação dessas normas permite o surgimento de lacunas que funcionam como espaços de fuga do padrão heterossexual.

Master of Arts / Department Not Listed / Timothy J. Shaffer / This thesis explores experiences of mental health among some queer community members in the Flint Hills region of Kansas. This research specifically investigates how the queer community in the Flint Hills region of Kansas, i.e. anyone who identifies with a marginalized sexuality and/or gender identity, communicates their experiences with mental health through their pieces of body art and/or non-surgical body modifications, which are defined as tattoos, piercings, scarification, and intentional branding, to themselves and others. The Flint Hills region of Kansas is defined as the cities of Manhattan, Junction City, Fort Riley, Riley, Wamego, Ogden, and Abilene. Centered within multiple theoretical frameworks from critical and communication studies disciplines, this thesis examines the stories and experiences behind the imagery and adaptations to some of the queer bodies, in this specific location, as it communicates experiences with mental health. Body art/non-surgical body modifications are a road map to the traumas we have experienced; the scars show our resilience. Those who assist with this research vary in ages (from 18-46), marginalized sexualities (gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, and queer), marginalized gender identities (transgender, gender non-binary, gender queer, and androgynous), and racial identities/ethnicities (white, Black, Hispanic, Native/indigenous, and mixed race/ethnicities). The experiences and diagnoses with mental health range from depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and suicidality/suicidal ideation. Listening to these narratives through in-depth, open-ended questions and natural conversations, and taking photographs of all discussed pieces of body art/non-surgical body modifications it was clear that these pieces serve to communicate both to others and themselves. When communicating to others, it was to memorialize the loss of someone. Five themes surfaced when these individuals were communicating their experiences with mental health to themselves: 1. attempting to gain control of their lives, even if that control is temporary; 2. transgender and gender nonbinary folks transitioning and fighting for space; 3. experiences with and attempts to prevent self-harm and/or self-mutilation; 4. symbolizing failed suicide attempts; and 5. individual engagements with personal mental health diagnoses. The implications of this research ignite and further conversations about mental health among queer individuals in the Flint Hills region of Kansas and strives to reduce the stigma surrounding communicating about experiences with mental health, especially among marginalized communities.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Com a profusão de imagens fotográficas do mundo capitalista e o incentivo para que todos sejamos produtores, o modo de fruição das fotografias e a nossa relação com esses simulacros vão se alterando. A necessidade que a web traz de nos apresentarmos em imagens faz com que tenhamos que fabricá-las e através delas passamos a nos relacionar de maneira narcísica. Com o projeto artístico Rhiz'hommes vão se discutindo as construções desses avatares nos sites de relacionamento e a (des)construção da figura masculina heteronormativa como observadora ideal, ponto de fuga para onde deveriam convergir todas as representações. Junto à queda do homem cartesiano, a autoria e a originalidade artística foram se transformando e cedendo espaço a práticas mais permissivas e abrangentes. Essa diluição de fronteiras é o epíteto de tempos pós-orgânicos de relações telemáticas e rizomas de subjetividades / With the profusion of photographic images in the capitalist world and with the incentive for all of us to become photographic producers, the enjoyment of photography and our relations with it keep changing. The virtual need that web brings to present ourselves as images leads us to make them and is through then that we will relate to each other in a narcisistic way. With the artistic project called Rhiz'hommes it will be discussed the construction of avatars on social networking websites and the (de)construction of the heteronormative male figure as the ideal observer, the vanishing point where all representations should converge. After the fall of cartesian man, the authorship and the artistic originality will be changed, making room for more permissives and broad pratices. This boundaries dissolution is the epitet of post-organic times with telematic relations and subjectivities rhizomes

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Com a profusão de imagens fotográficas do mundo capitalista e o incentivo para que todos sejamos produtores, o modo de fruição das fotografias e a nossa relação com esses simulacros vão se alterando. A necessidade que a web traz de nos apresentarmos em imagens faz com que tenhamos que fabricá-las e através delas passamos a nos relacionar de maneira narcísica. Com o projeto artístico Rhiz'hommes vão se discutindo as construções desses avatares nos sites de relacionamento e a (des)construção da figura masculina heteronormativa como observadora ideal, ponto de fuga para onde deveriam convergir todas as representações. Junto à queda do homem cartesiano, a autoria e a originalidade artística foram se transformando e cedendo espaço a práticas mais permissivas e abrangentes. Essa diluição de fronteiras é o epíteto de tempos pós-orgânicos de relações telemáticas e rizomas de subjetividades / With the profusion of photographic images in the capitalist world and with the incentive for all of us to become photographic producers, the enjoyment of photography and our relations with it keep changing. The virtual need that web brings to present ourselves as images leads us to make them and is through then that we will relate to each other in a narcisistic way. With the artistic project called Rhiz'hommes it will be discussed the construction of avatars on social networking websites and the (de)construction of the heteronormative male figure as the ideal observer, the vanishing point where all representations should converge. After the fall of cartesian man, the authorship and the artistic originality will be changed, making room for more permissives and broad pratices. This boundaries dissolution is the epitet of post-organic times with telematic relations and subjectivities rhizomes

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T17:21:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo5278_1.pdf: 415062 bytes, checksum: 80c9d1a3e90d7b18c8f883feaae7dfaf (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Este trabalho investiga o posicionamento dos formandos em Licenciatura da UFRPE sobre a homofobia em sala de aula. A pesquisa, realizada primeiramente por meio de um questionário, procurou levantar dados sobre o que os formandos sabem e pensam a respeito da homossexualidade. Em seguida, por meio de entrevistas semidirigidas, buscou-se um aprofundamento das informações coletadas pelo questionário. Os resultados obtidos parecem evidenciar que a homofobia, entre esses formandos, encontra-se, na maioria das vezes, suavizada por um discurso de tolerância. Porém, em geral, suas atitudes perante manifestações de homofobia em sala de aula resultavam, por vezes involuntariamente, em ações de reforço à heteronormatividade. Tal observação, ao longo do percurso teórico-analítico desta pesquisa, ratificou a idéia de que a homofobia consiste numa manifestação de poder forjada pelas instituições dominantes aqui, no caso, a escola e a universidade , para manter a heterossexualidade como a única identidade sexual legítima. À luz da Teoria Queer, levanta-se, então, a discussão se a busca por uma educação livre de homofobia não deveria pressupor um empenho em prol da dissolução da demarcação das identidades sexuais. Nesse viés, é provável que a principal contribuição desta dissertação seja a própria reflexão sobre o seu processo de pesquisa de campo e seus desdobramentos, tanto no que diz respeito a questionamentos que partiram dos participantes da pesquisa, como no que se refere às reformulações ideológicas inferidas a partir da investigação teórica e da interpretação dos dados colhidos