Queer Temporality and Literary Representation - A study on censorship, identity, and book bans in contemporary America
Authors
Mortensen, Rebecca Strunge ; Timmermann, Ninna Aalbæk
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2022
Submitted on
2022-05-28
Pages
97
Abstract
Book challenges and bans are increasing in the United States, with queer young adult literature often labeled as pornographic. This thesis examines two frequently challenged memoirs—Maia Kobabe’s graphic memoir Gender Queer (2019) and George M. Johnson’s memoir All Boys Aren’t Blue (2020)—and how U.S. media have covered them. Using critical discourse analysis—closely reading word choices, framing, and sources—in articles from the New York Post, CNN, TIME, and the Chicago Tribune, the study finds that coverage often favors the anti-banning side by presenting those voices as authoritative and credible. At the same time, by repeatedly centering “sexually explicit content” and amplifying pro-ban claims, the coverage spreads and sustains a harmful stereotype that queer people are inherently hypersexual. As a result, the overall media coverage harms the queer community. Analysis of the books shows that both memoirs use narrative techniques that create intimacy between narrator and reader, inviting reflection on the experiences and challenges of growing up queer. Both also incorporate visual elements that strengthen the sense that these are representative narratives of queer life. Their aim is not to provoke with sexual content, but to offer inclusive depictions of sex and sexual identity beyond the heteronormative imperative (the assumption that heterosexuality is the norm). Finally, the thesis places the moment in a wider context: It traces the current moral panic to Protestant-Puritan convictions that shape American society. The recent surge in book banning is driven by far-right organizations that present themselves as grassroots and is part of a broader backlash seeking to restrict information about alternative temporalities (different ways of organizing life and life stages) and about civil rights for minorities.
I USA er klager over bøger og egentlige bogforbud i vækst, og især queer ungdomslitteratur beskyldes for at være pornografisk. Denne afhandling undersøger to ofte anfægtede erindringsbøger – Maia Kobabes grafiske memoir Gender Queer (2019) og George M. Johnsons memoir All Boys Aren’t Blue (2020) – samt mediedækningen af dem. Gennem en kritisk diskursanalyse – en undersøgelse af, hvordan sprogbrug, kilder og vinkler skaber bestemte billeder – af artikler fra New York Post, CNN, TIME og Chicago Tribune viser afhandlingen, at dækningen ofte favoriserer modstanden mod bogforbud ved at fremstille anti-forbuds-stemmer som autoritative og troværdige. Samtidig medvirker dækningen, ved at centrere "seksuelt eksplicit indhold" og viderebringe forbudsfortalernes udsagn, til at sprede og fastholde en skadelig stereotype om, at queer personer er grundlæggende hyperseksuelle. Dermed er den samlede dækning skadelig for queer-miljøet. Analysen af de to memoirer viser, at begge bruger fortællergreb, der skaber intimitet mellem fortæller og læser og inviterer til at overveje unge queeres erfaringer og udfordringer. Begge bøger inddrager desuden visuelle elementer, som styrker oplevelsen af, at der gives repræsentative fortællinger om queer liv. Intentionen er ikke at provokere med seksualiseret indhold, men at give inkluderende skildringer af sex og køns-/seksuel identitet uden for det heteronormative imperativ (antagelsen om, at heteroseksualitet er normen). Afhandlingen placerer udviklingen i en bredere kontekst: Den aktuelle moralske panik spores til protestantisk-puritanske overbevisninger, der præger amerikansk samfundstænkning. Den eskalerende bøgeforbudsbevægelse udspringer af højreradikale organisationer, der fremstår som græsrodsinitiativer, og indgår i en større bølge af tilbageslag, som søger at begrænse viden om alternative temporaliteter (andre måder at leve og forløb i livet) og om minoriteters borgerrettigheder.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
Keywords