Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Njambi, Wairimũ N.

Abstract

The contemporary Gay and Lesbian movement emphasizes “identity” in an effort to unify all people being marginalized based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. However, such an “identity” falls short of inclusion of all people of color, and becomes a tool for the oppression of those who do not fall within the contexts already defined. This paper will highlight parallels between the construction of racialized sexuality and the construction of “gay” and “lesbian” identities. Moreover, I will examine the ways in which Race Studies and Gay & Lesbian Studies are entangled in the context of American culture, particularly with regards to racialized bodies and the ways in which they have been marked as “sexually deviant." Utilizing my own experiences as a person of color, whose body does not match common conceptions of male and female, I argue that any identity formation denies the multiplicities present within a given body

Comments

Includes bibliography.

Extent

56 p.

Identifier

FA00003591

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