Intervention: (Re)Articulating LGBT Social-Movement Identities

206 Pages·2011·2.32 MB·English

by  Margaret MacGregor Werner

INTERVENTION: (RE)ARTICULATING LGBT SOCIAL-MOVEMENT IDENTITIES

by

Margaret MacGregor Werner

_____________________
Copyright © Margaret M. Werner 2011

A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
WITH A MAJOR IN RHETORIC, COMPOSITION, AND THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH

In the Graduate College

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

2011
UMI Number: 3450768

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THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
GRADUATE COLLEGE

As members of the Dissertation Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation
prepared by Margaret M. Werner entitled Intervention: (Re)Articulating LGBT Social-
Movement Identities, and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation
requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

____________________________________________________________Date: 3/23/11
Thomas P. Miller

____________________________________________________________Date: 3/23/11
Adela C. Licona

____________________________________________________________Date: 3/23/11
Theresa J. Enos

Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate’s
submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College.

I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and
recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement.

____________________________________________________________Date: 3/23/11
Dissertation Director: Thomas P. Miller
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STATEMENT BY AUTHOR

This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an
advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library
to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library.

Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided
that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended
quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by
the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his or her
judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other
instances, however, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder.

SIGNED: Margaret MacGregor Werner
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to The Marshall Foundation for its generous support of this dissertation. I
would not have made it this far without it. I am profoundly appreciative.

Thank you to Tom Miller for supporting me every step of the way, for giving me many
opportunities to work and grow, and for believing in me; I am indebted to you. Thank
you to Adela C. Licona. You constantly remind me of the value of the work that we do
and pushed me to take my work further than I wanted to. Thank you to Theresa Enos. I
learned more about the craft of writing from you than anyone else, despite my persistent
inability to use commas correctly.

Thank you to Roxanne Mountford for encouraging my ethnographic when nobody else
did, for teaching me the craft of rhetorical analysis, and for pushing me to analyze Prop
107. Thank you to Julie Jung for introducing me to the discipline of rhetoric and
composition, for telling me that I was good enough to get a PhD, and for saying “Of
course you could go to the University of Arizona! Why couldn’t you?” I wouldn’t be here
without you. Thank you to Jerry Savage for teaching me articulation theory and for
mentoring me throughout my time at Illinois State.

Thank you to Kendal Washington White, Stephanie Balzer, and Katie Johnson
Gindlesparger for giving me the chance to work with students who made me learn to love
teaching.

Thank you to Fatemma Rashwan-Soto and Jessica Mejia for keeping in touch and letting
me see the amazing things you are doing with your lives and reminding me that teachers
can make a difference.

Thank you to Star Medzerian for commenting on drafts, sharing ideas, caring about the
discipline, talking to me five times a day, and making me a better teacher. You are like a
sister to me, and I heart you.

Thank you to Veronica Virgen for making me laugh and to Alethea, Jasmin, Jr., and Vivi
Virgen for sharing your lives with me.

Thank you to Mary Beth Werner. You are my best friend, and I love you.

Thank you to John Werner and Katie Pearson for setting the bar high. Thank you to
Justine, Zane, and Angela for inspiring me. I love you all.

Thank you to Penny Hankins for always being by my side, no matter how much I don’t
deserve it. I love you. Thank you to Alex, Ellie, Jackie, and Sampson for loving me and
bringing me joy every day. Thank you to Milo and P.K., you are gone but not forgotten. I
love you.
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DEDICATION
This is for my parents Donna and John Werner. Thank you for giving me a love of books
and learning. Thank you for loving me well and taking care of me always.
I love you.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................8

ABSTRACT .........................................................................................................................9

1. ARTICULATING IDENTITY IN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: ANALYZING
ACTIVIST RHETORICS ..................................................................................................10

Social-Movement Theory: A Brief Encounter ...............................................................14

Articulating Identity in Social Movement .....................................................................21

(Re)Articulation as Strategic Intervention .....................................................................26

LGBT Social-Movement Identities as Revolving Articulata ........................................29

Articulata: Identity .....................................................................................................33

Articulata: Strategy ....................................................................................................36

Articulata: Kairos ......................................................................................................38

Rearticulating Articulata ................................................................................................40

Rearticulating Social-Movement Identities ...................................................................41

Overview of Dissertation ...............................................................................................55

2: MOMENTS IN MOVEMENTS AND ITERATIONS OF IDENTITY ........................58

Signs O’ the Times: A Note on Rhetorical Context ......................................................61

The Homophile Movement: Sowing the Seeds of (self) Love ......................................68

The Times They Are A-Changing: The Militant Turn ..................................................75

Gay Liberation: The Queerest of the Queer ...................................................................77

Illusion of Conclusion ....................................................................................................86

3: GAY SEX, LESBIAN LUST, AND THE RHETORIC OF ALTERITY .....................89
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TABLE OF CONTENTS—Continued

Rhetorics of Alterity – Defining the “Not I” .................................................................92

Ushering in Alterity – Larry Kramer’s 1,112 and Counting ..........................................93

Finally. Feminists .........................................................................................................105

Concluding Thoughts on Rhetorics of Alterity ............................................................118

4: WE ARE EVERYWHERE: THE RHETORIC OF NORMALITY ............................120

Let’s Begin Again ........................................................................................................123

Agitation in the 80s ......................................................................................................126

Rhetorics of Normality ................................................................................................133

The Route to Power .....................................................................................................139

Mainstreaming ≈ Marriage ..........................................................................................147

The Commercialized, Commodified Conclusion ........................................................153

5: THE FAILURE OF SUCCESS: RHETORIC, IDENTITY, AND THE
(IM)POSSIBILITIES OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE ACTIVISM .................................157

The “Most Bang for Their Buck”: The Arizona Together Brand ................................160

Taking a “Pass” on Gay Marriage: Synecdochal Representation and
Strategic Avoidance .....................................................................................................167

Articulation, Deviance, and Social-Movement Identity ..............................................172

Outcomes of Arizona Assimilation ..............................................................................176

CONCLUSION: MOO WITH ME PEOPLE OR RHETORICS OF RESISTANCE AND
THE METHODOLOGY OF THE OPPRESSED............................................................182

WORKS CITED ..............................................................................................................192
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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 – The Human Rights Campaign logo ................................................................146

Figure 2 – Nice Old Couple .............................................................................................167
.
Figure 3 – “No on Prop 107” Home Page........................................................................168
..
Figure 4 – “How Does it Effect You?” [sic] ....................................................................172
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ABSTRACT

In this dissertation I use rhetorical analysis and draw on articulation theory,
primarily as it is conceived by Stuart Hall, to analyze the ways that LGBT social
movements constitute and strategically deploy macro-level identities. This research
focuses on the ways that movement identities—from the gay liberation of Stonewall
through the current movements for marriage and military service—are rhetorically
constructed. By tracking national LGBT social-movement organizations through such
dynamic changes, my analyses reveal the ways that rearticulating the identity of a social
movement can help groups change strategies and identifications when activist practices
are failing. This scholarship adds to existing research on the ways that social movements
constitute and reconstitute their shared sense of identity in the midst of evolving social
contexts and also suggests some ways that multimodal rhetorics shape the development
of movements.