Public sexuality: a contemporary history of gay images and identity

This study is an examination of the public imaging of gay men and lesbians during the latter part of the twentieth and early part of the twenty-first centuries. The study looks at public imaging as it is performed in the service of the political aims of gay people, with an eye towards the kinds of tensions and erasures that occur when one monolithic identity is promoted. Through these examinations, I create a kind of contemporary history of the gay political rights movement. In the study, I examine theoretical approaches to identity from several postmodern theorists and then use these approaches to support my work in the three chapters. In each chapter I focus on one site of gay identity performances: Southern Decadence in New Orleans, the murder of Matthew Shepard, and the decriminalization of sodomy. At each site, I examine the event, the various identities presented, and the tensions and erasures that result from the specific identity performances. In conclusion, I envision a political movement which is inclusive of multiple identities – not just those which fit a predetermined conservative public presentation.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Theatre and Performance Studies

Grantor

Theatre

Year dc:date.available

2005

Author dc:creator

• Sewell, Shaun Erwin

• identity
• public
• history
• imaging
• gay

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Identifier

etd-01212005-212501
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1489

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.lsu.edu:gradschool_dissertations-2488