Masculinity, Sexuality, and Identity in Three Queer Texts, 1900-1910

Kate Mulkern

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.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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