Masculinity, Sexuality, and Identity in Three Queer Texts, 1900-1910
Date of Award
2007
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Social Sciences
First Advisor
Johnson, Robert
Keywords
Queer, American History, Gay, Identity, Men, Sexuality, Masculinity
Area of Concentration
History
Abstract
During the turn-of-the-twentieth century in America, both medical discourse and popular culture had established a specific homosexual identity. Homosexual men were the subjects of this discourse as well as actively engaged in its creation. How did these individuals interpret their own homosexual identity in relation to these discourses and what role did their sexual identity play in their overall conception of self? Three authors of the period, Earl Lind, Claude Hartland, and Edward Prime-Stevenson offer potential answers in their narrative. Close text analysis, historical research, and a theoretical framework borrowing from Judith Butler and Michael Foucault are methods used in this thesis to analyze three works written by the above-mentioned authors. Lind, Prime-Stevenson, and Hartland all supported and challenged the dominant discourse's theories on homosexuality. Their sexuality was used to interpret additional identities, namely gender and class as well as their social interactions with other men.
Recommended Citation
Mulkern, Kate, "Masculinity, Sexuality, and Identity in Three Queer Texts, 1900-1910" (2007). Theses & ETDs. 3831.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/3831
Rights
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