Are queer and trans identities innate or constructed? What constitutes a queer or trans identity? What prompts a person to identify with a particular queer or trans identity category? Prominent queer theorist Judith Butler contends that “There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender; that identity is performatively constituted” (Butler, Gender Trouble 34). However, many scholars have claimed that Butler’s theory is “not compatible with lived experience” (McCann & Monaghan 134). This project utilizes the genre of memoir to gain insight into lived experiences to put this theory to the test. Through a mini historical archive of twelve queer and trans memoirs by authors born in the United States of America, this project uses theories of assemblage as its framework to identify characteristics of queer and trans identities in this context. Stivale defines an assemblage as follows: “A collection of things and their relations expresses something, a particular character…the elements that make up an assemblage also include the qualities present (large, poisonous, find, blinding, etc.)” (78). Through exploring what a queer or trans identity is by identifying characteristics present across twelve memoirs, this project simultaneously analyzes what a queer or trans identity does by examining the role that identity categories play in the lives of memoirists. How does the existence of identity labels shape reality in itself? How do these labels function as a mode of self-understanding and relationship building? What intersectional differences are present across the LGBTQIA+ community? The cross-analysis of this sample of twelve queer and trans memoirs provides insight into the lives of queer and trans individuals in the United States of America.
","abstract_html":"<p>Are queer and trans identities innate or constructed? What constitutes a queer or trans identity? What prompts a person to identify with a particular queer or trans identity category? Prominent queer theorist Judith Butler contends that “There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender; that identity is performatively constituted” (Butler, <em>Gender Trouble</em> 34). However, many scholars have claimed that Butler’s theory is “not compatible with lived experience” (McCann & Monaghan 134). This project utilizes the genre of memoir to gain insight into lived experiences to put this theory to the test. Through a mini historical archive of twelve queer and trans memoirs by authors born in the United States of America, this project uses theories of assemblage as its framework to identify characteristics of queer and trans identities in this context. Stivale defines an assemblage as follows: “A collection of things and their relations expresses something, a particular character…the elements that make up an assemblage also include the <em>qualities</em> present (large, poisonous, find, blinding, etc.)” (78). Through exploring what a queer or trans identity <em>is</em> by identifying characteristics present across twelve memoirs, this project simultaneously analyzes what a queer or trans identity <em>does</em> by examining the role that identity categories play in the lives of memoirists. How does the existence of identity labels shape reality in itself? How do these labels function as a mode of self-understanding and relationship building? What intersectional differences are present across the LGBTQIA+ community? The cross-analysis of this sample of twelve queer and trans memoirs provides insight into the lives of queer and trans individuals in the United States of America.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Warmerdam, Rhyan"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Ian Barnard","Renee Hudson","Morgan Read-Davidson"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:43Z","subjects":["Memoir","Queer","Trans","Embodied","History","Lived","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies","Queer Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/english_theses/83","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Ian Barnard","Renee Hudson","Morgan Read-Davidson"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Warmerdam, Rhyan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Memoir","Queer","Trans","Embodied","History","Lived","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies","Queer Studies"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/english_theses/83"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Are queer and trans identities innate or constructed? What constitutes a queer or trans identity? What prompts a person to identify with a particular queer or trans identity category? Prominent queer theorist Judith Butler contends that “There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender; that identity is performatively constituted” (Butler, Gender Trouble 34). However, many scholars have claimed that Butler’s theory is “not compatible with lived experience” (McCann & Monaghan 134). This project utilizes the genre of memoir to gain insight into lived experiences to put this theory to the test. Through a mini historical archive of twelve queer and trans memoirs by authors born in the United States of America, this project uses theories of assemblage as its framework to identify characteristics of queer and trans identities in this context. Stivale defines an assemblage as follows: “A collection of things and their relations expresses something, a particular character…the elements that make up an assemblage also include the qualities present (large, poisonous, find, blinding, etc.)” (78). Through exploring what a queer or trans identity is by identifying characteristics present across twelve memoirs, this project simultaneously analyzes what a queer or trans identity does by examining the role that identity categories play in the lives of memoirists. How does the existence of identity labels shape reality in itself? How do these labels function as a mode of self-understanding and relationship building? What intersectional differences are present across the LGBTQIA+ community? The cross-analysis of this sample of twelve queer and trans memoirs provides insight into the lives of queer and trans individuals in the United States of America.
"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Warmerdam, Rhyan. Queer x Trans Memoir: In Sight of an Embodied History. 2025. Chapman University, MA Thesis. Chapman University Digital Commons,https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000650"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Queer x Trans Memoir: In Sight of an Embodied History"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Ian Barnard","Renee Hudson","Morgan Read-Davidson"],"dc:creator":["Warmerdam, Rhyan"],"dc:description.abstract":["Are queer and trans identities innate or constructed? What constitutes a queer or trans identity? What prompts a person to identify with a particular queer or trans identity category? Prominent queer theorist Judith Butler contends that “There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender; that identity is performatively constituted” (Butler, Gender Trouble 34). However, many scholars have claimed that Butler’s theory is “not compatible with lived experience” (McCann & Monaghan 134). This project utilizes the genre of memoir to gain insight into lived experiences to put this theory to the test. Through a mini historical archive of twelve queer and trans memoirs by authors born in the United States of America, this project uses theories of assemblage as its framework to identify characteristics of queer and trans identities in this context. Stivale defines an assemblage as follows: “A collection of things and their relations expresses something, a particular character…the elements that make up an assemblage also include the qualities present (large, poisonous, find, blinding, etc.)” (78). Through exploring what a queer or trans identity is by identifying characteristics present across twelve memoirs, this project simultaneously analyzes what a queer or trans identity does by examining the role that identity categories play in the lives of memoirists. How does the existence of identity labels shape reality in itself? How do these labels function as a mode of self-understanding and relationship building? What intersectional differences are present across the LGBTQIA+ community? The cross-analysis of this sample of twelve queer and trans memoirs provides insight into the lives of queer and trans individuals in the United States of America.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/english_theses/83"],"dc:source":["Warmerdam, Rhyan. Queer x Trans Memoir: In Sight of an Embodied History. 2025. Chapman University, MA Thesis. Chapman University Digital Commons,https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000650"],"dc:subject":["Memoir","Queer","Trans","Embodied","History","Lived","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies","Queer Studies"],"dc:title":["Queer x Trans Memoir: In Sight of an Embodied History"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:43Z"}