Date of Award
Spring 5-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
First Advisor
Ian Barnard
Second Advisor
Renee Hudson
Third Advisor
Morgan Read-Davidson
Abstract
Are queer and trans identities innate or constructed? What constitutes a queer or trans identity? What prompts a person to identify with a particular queer or trans identity category? Prominent queer theorist Judith Butler contends that “There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender; that identity is performatively constituted” (Butler, Gender Trouble 34). However, many scholars have claimed that Butler’s theory is “not compatible with lived experience” (McCann & Monaghan 134). This project utilizes the genre of memoir to gain insight into lived experiences to put this theory to the test. Through a mini historical archive of twelve queer and trans memoirs by authors born in the United States of America, this project uses theories of assemblage as its framework to identify characteristics of queer and trans identities in this context. Stivale defines an assemblage as follows: “A collection of things and their relations expresses something, a particular character…the elements that make up an assemblage also include the qualities present (large, poisonous, find, blinding, etc.)” (78). Through exploring what a queer or trans identity is by identifying characteristics present across twelve memoirs, this project simultaneously analyzes what a queer or trans identity does by examining the role that identity categories play in the lives of memoirists. How does the existence of identity labels shape reality in itself? How do these labels function as a mode of self-understanding and relationship building? What intersectional differences are present across the LGBTQIA+ community? The cross-analysis of this sample of twelve queer and trans memoirs provides insight into the lives of queer and trans individuals in the United States of America.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Warmerdam, Rhyan. Queer x Trans Memoir: In Sight of an Embodied History. 2025. Chapman University, MA Thesis. Chapman University Digital Commons,https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000650