Southern identities are undoubtedly influenced by the region's foodways. However, the South tends to neglect and even to negate certain peoples and their identities. Women, especially lesbians, are often silenced within southern literature. Where Tennessee Williams used literature to bridge gaps between gay men and the South, southern lesbian literature severely lacks a traceable history of such connections. The principal objective of this thesis is to explore the ways in which southern lesbians manipulate food metaphors to describe their sexual desires and identities. This thesis only begins to lay out a history of southern lesbian literature as many lesbian writers were unable to state their sexuality explicitly. They then used southern foodways and food metaphors as a way to express and discuss their sexuality. Understanding how lesbians utilize these metaphors helps us to understand better how female sexuality is constructed in the South. This thesis seeks to reveal the intricate lattice of being southern, being female, and being gay. It is about reconciling a person's roots with a sexual identity that is not always accepted or even acknowledged. A better understanding of food's connection to female identity will enable people to notice these repressed voices. Readers need to examine southern literature more closely for stifled female and lesbian voices and read beyond what is on the page.
","abstract_html":"<p>Southern identities are undoubtedly influenced by the region's foodways. However, the South tends to neglect and even to negate certain peoples and their identities. Women, especially lesbians, are often silenced within southern literature. Where Tennessee Williams used literature to bridge gaps between gay men and the South, southern lesbian literature severely lacks a traceable history of such connections. The principal objective of this thesis is to explore the ways in which southern lesbians manipulate food metaphors to describe their sexual desires and identities. This thesis only begins to lay out a history of southern lesbian literature as many lesbian writers were unable to state their sexuality explicitly. They then used southern foodways and food metaphors as a way to express and discuss their sexuality. Understanding how lesbians utilize these metaphors helps us to understand better how female sexuality is constructed in the South. This thesis seeks to reveal the intricate lattice of being southern, being female, and being gay. It is about reconciling a person's roots with a sexual identity that is not always accepted or even acknowledged. A better understanding of food's connection to female identity will enable people to notice these repressed voices. Readers need to examine southern literature more closely for stifled female and lesbian voices and read beyond what is on the page. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Lawrence, Jacqueline Kristine"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts in English (MA)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Cochran, Robert","Marren, Susan M."],"advisors":["Hinrichsen, Lisa A."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:59:58Z","subjects":["Literature","Social sciences","Food","Lesbian","Sexuality","Southern","American Literature","Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies","Literature in English, North America"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1021","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Cochran, Robert","Marren, Susan M."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Hinrichsen, Lisa A."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Lawrence, Jacqueline Kristine"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2014"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-09-29T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts in English (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Literature","Social sciences","Food","Lesbian","Sexuality","Southern","American Literature","Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies","Literature in English, North America"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1021"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Southern identities are undoubtedly influenced by the region's foodways. However, the South tends to neglect and even to negate certain peoples and their identities. Women, especially lesbians, are often silenced within southern literature. Where Tennessee Williams used literature to bridge gaps between gay men and the South, southern lesbian literature severely lacks a traceable history of such connections. The principal objective of this thesis is to explore the ways in which southern lesbians manipulate food metaphors to describe their sexual desires and identities. This thesis only begins to lay out a history of southern lesbian literature as many lesbian writers were unable to state their sexuality explicitly. They then used southern foodways and food metaphors as a way to express and discuss their sexuality. Understanding how lesbians utilize these metaphors helps us to understand better how female sexuality is constructed in the South. This thesis seeks to reveal the intricate lattice of being southern, being female, and being gay. It is about reconciling a person's roots with a sexual identity that is not always accepted or even acknowledged. A better understanding of food's connection to female identity will enable people to notice these repressed voices. Readers need to examine southern literature more closely for stifled female and lesbian voices and read beyond what is on the page.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Queer Tastes: An Exploration of Food and Sexuality in Southern Lesbian Literature"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Cochran, Robert","Marren, Susan M."],"dc:contributor.advisor":["Hinrichsen, Lisa A."],"dc:creator":["Lawrence, Jacqueline Kristine"],"dc:date":["2014"],"dc:date.available":["2017-09-29T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Southern identities are undoubtedly influenced by the region's foodways. However, the South tends to neglect and even to negate certain peoples and their identities. Women, especially lesbians, are often silenced within southern literature. Where Tennessee Williams used literature to bridge gaps between gay men and the South, southern lesbian literature severely lacks a traceable history of such connections. The principal objective of this thesis is to explore the ways in which southern lesbians manipulate food metaphors to describe their sexual desires and identities. This thesis only begins to lay out a history of southern lesbian literature as many lesbian writers were unable to state their sexuality explicitly. They then used southern foodways and food metaphors as a way to express and discuss their sexuality. Understanding how lesbians utilize these metaphors helps us to understand better how female sexuality is constructed in the South. This thesis seeks to reveal the intricate lattice of being southern, being female, and being gay. It is about reconciling a person's roots with a sexual identity that is not always accepted or even acknowledged. A better understanding of food's connection to female identity will enable people to notice these repressed voices. Readers need to examine southern literature more closely for stifled female and lesbian voices and read beyond what is on the page.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1021"],"dc:subject":["Literature","Social sciences","Food","Lesbian","Sexuality","Southern","American Literature","Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies","Literature in English, North America"],"dc:title":["Queer Tastes: An Exploration of Food and Sexuality in Southern Lesbian Literature"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts in English (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:59:58Z"}