{"id":{"repo_id":"mississippi","oai_identifier":"oai:egrove.olemiss.edu:etd-1873"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mississippi/oai:egrove.olemiss.edu:etd-1873","repository":{"repo_id":"mississippi","name":"University of Mississippi","base_url":"https://egrove.olemiss.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Object Of Your Rejection: The Symbolic Annihilation And Recuperation Of Queer Identities In Country Music","abstract":"This thesis addresses the double-marginalization of white queers living in Bible Belt communities by examining the symbolic annihilation of queer identities in country music. Bible Belt queers face unique obstacles and have different needs than queer communities elsewhere due to the cultural context of their communities. The urban-centric (“metronormative”) standards of queer identity and visibility presented in the media do not translate to their lived experiences. Moreover, while white, non-urban southerners possess a source of popular-media expression through country music, queer identities are noticeably absent. The invisibility of Bible Belt queers in the media perpetuates a cycle of hostility and sexual stigma that negatively affects queer individuals, most notably those living in the American South. I argue that, due to the socializing function of media representations, an openly queer country artist could be a powerful vehicle for negotiating -- or perhaps changing -- the social atmosphere of sexual stigma in the Bible Belt. However, the value systems that propagate sexual stigma and hostility towards queerness are also replicated in country music. Using questionnaires and secondary literature, I examine such value systems and the experiences of queer individuals in the country music industry and contextualize the production-content-audience chain, thereby revealing possible points of intervention for successfully introducing queer expressions. The results of this thesis confirm the prevalence of sexual stigma in the region and genre and the potential benefits of an openly queer country artist.","abstract_html":"This thesis addresses the double-marginalization of white queers living in Bible Belt communities by examining the symbolic annihilation of queer identities in country music. Bible Belt queers face unique obstacles and have different needs than queer communities elsewhere due to the cultural context of their communities. The urban-centric (“metronormative”) standards of queer identity and visibility presented in the media do not translate to their lived experiences. Moreover, while white, non-urban southerners possess a source of popular-media expression through country music, queer identities are noticeably absent. The invisibility of Bible Belt queers in the media perpetuates a cycle of hostility and sexual stigma that negatively affects queer individuals, most notably those living in the American South. I argue that, due to the socializing function of media representations, an openly queer country artist could be a powerful vehicle for negotiating -- or perhaps changing -- the social atmosphere of sexual stigma in the Bible Belt. However, the value systems that propagate sexual stigma and hostility towards queerness are also replicated in country music. Using questionnaires and secondary literature, I examine such value systems and the experiences of queer individuals in the country music industry and contextualize the production-content-audience chain, thereby revealing possible points of intervention for successfully introducing queer expressions. The results of this thesis confirm the prevalence of sexual stigma in the region and genre and the potential benefits of an openly queer country artist.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Veline, Lauren"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A. in Southern Studies","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Southern Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Darren Grem","Simone Delerme","Kathryn McKee"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2017-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:06:07Z","subjects":["Bible Belt","Country Music","Lgbtq","Lgbtq Country Music","Southern Lgbtq","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/874","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Darren Grem","Simone Delerme","Kathryn McKee"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Veline, Lauren"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-06-20T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Southern Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A. in Southern Studies"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Bible Belt","Country Music","Lgbtq","Lgbtq Country Music","Southern Lgbtq","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/874"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis addresses the double-marginalization of white queers living in Bible Belt communities by examining the symbolic annihilation of queer identities in country music. Bible Belt queers face unique obstacles and have different needs than queer communities elsewhere due to the cultural context of their communities. The urban-centric (“metronormative”) standards of queer identity and visibility presented in the media do not translate to their lived experiences. Moreover, while white, non-urban southerners possess a source of popular-media expression through country music, queer identities are noticeably absent. The invisibility of Bible Belt queers in the media perpetuates a cycle of hostility and sexual stigma that negatively affects queer individuals, most notably those living in the American South. I argue that, due to the socializing function of media representations, an openly queer country artist could be a powerful vehicle for negotiating -- or perhaps changing -- the social atmosphere of sexual stigma in the Bible Belt. However, the value systems that propagate sexual stigma and hostility towards queerness are also replicated in country music. Using questionnaires and secondary literature, I examine such value systems and the experiences of queer individuals in the country music industry and contextualize the production-content-audience chain, thereby revealing possible points of intervention for successfully introducing queer expressions. The results of this thesis confirm the prevalence of sexual stigma in the region and genre and the potential benefits of an openly queer country artist."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Object Of Your Rejection: The Symbolic Annihilation And Recuperation Of Queer Identities In Country Music"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Darren Grem","Simone Delerme","Kathryn McKee"],"dc:creator":["Veline, Lauren"],"dc:date.available":["2019-06-20T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis addresses the double-marginalization of white queers living in Bible Belt communities by examining the symbolic annihilation of queer identities in country music. Bible Belt queers face unique obstacles and have different needs than queer communities elsewhere due to the cultural context of their communities. The urban-centric (“metronormative”) standards of queer identity and visibility presented in the media do not translate to their lived experiences. Moreover, while white, non-urban southerners possess a source of popular-media expression through country music, queer identities are noticeably absent. The invisibility of Bible Belt queers in the media perpetuates a cycle of hostility and sexual stigma that negatively affects queer individuals, most notably those living in the American South. I argue that, due to the socializing function of media representations, an openly queer country artist could be a powerful vehicle for negotiating -- or perhaps changing -- the social atmosphere of sexual stigma in the Bible Belt. However, the value systems that propagate sexual stigma and hostility towards queerness are also replicated in country music. Using questionnaires and secondary literature, I examine such value systems and the experiences of queer individuals in the country music industry and contextualize the production-content-audience chain, thereby revealing possible points of intervention for successfully introducing queer expressions. The results of this thesis confirm the prevalence of sexual stigma in the region and genre and the potential benefits of an openly queer country artist."],"dc:identifier":["https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/874"],"dc:subject":["Bible Belt","Country Music","Lgbtq","Lgbtq Country Music","Southern Lgbtq","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies"],"dc:title":["Object Of Your Rejection: The Symbolic Annihilation And Recuperation Of Queer Identities In Country Music"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Southern Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A. in Southern Studies"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:06:07Z"}