PUBLIC REACTIONS TO PRIVATE CONFESSIONS by KELSEY T. ABELE BA, Gustavus Adolphus ...

137 Pages·2016·1.19 MB·English

RHETORIC OF TRANS* IDENTITIES: PUBLIC REACTIONS TO PRIVATE
CONFESSIONS

by

KELSEY T. ABELE

B.A., Gustavus Adolphus College, 2014

A THESIS

submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Communication Studies
College of Arts and Sciences

KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Manhattan, Kansas

2016

Approved by:

Major Professor
Charles Griffin
Copyright
KELSEY T. ABELE
2016
Abstract
The year 2015 provided a hotbed of discussion about trans* identities. Caitlyn Jenner’s public
announcement of her identity as transgender shortly followed by Rachel Dolezal unveiling as a
woman with Caucasian heritage. Using publically accessible interviews such as the Diane
Sawyer interview with Bruce Jenner, both of Matt Lauer’s conversations with Dolezal and
Jenner, Melissa Harris-Perry’s interview with Dolezal, as well as two Vanity Fair stories provide
a space for a closer examination of how trans* identities are negotiated in a conversational
setting. Using Hecht’s (1993) communication theory of identity to investigate how the four
proposed frames (personal, enactment, relationship, and communal) operate under the lens of
trans* identities in flux. This thesis aims to explore the kinds of linguist framing motifs used by
both an exemplar of the transgender community and an individual treading the barrier between
Caucasian and black identities, ultimately leading to a discussion about how language confines
personal and socially structure identity and identification. The implications of this identity work
tangles with the reliance on personal experience as an expression of identity and its persuasive
power to impact discourse. The linguistic tropes that confine identity expression inherently
impact a community of individuals struggling to navigate trans* identity acceptance in a larger
sphere.
Keywords: trans*, identity, identification, race, gender, language, communication
theory of identity
Table of Contents
List of Figures..............................................................................................................................viii

Acknowledgements........................................................................................................................ix

Dedication.......................................................................................................................................x

Chapter 1 - Rationale......................................................................................................................1

Chapter 2 - Review of Literature....................................................................................................5

Race Identity...............................................................................................................................5

Sex Identity.................................................................................................................................8

Gender Identity.........................................................................................................................10

Identity......................................................................................................................................13

Identification.............................................................................................................................15

Complications in Identification.............................................................................................17

Identification in Language....................................................................................................18

Passing......................................................................................................................................20

Trans*.......................................................................................................................................24

Chapter 3 - Communication Theory of Identity...........................................................................27

Personal Frame.........................................................................................................................28

Enactment Frame......................................................................................................................29

Relationship Frame...................................................................................................................30

Communal Frame.....................................................................................................................32

Chapter 4 - Analysis......................................................................................................................36

Justification of Texts.................................................................................................................36

Personal Frame.........................................................................................................................36

Caitlyn Jenner.......................................................................................................................37

A move toward self-honesty.............................................................................................37

Born this way....................................................................................................................40

Soul...............................................................................................................................41

Body..............................................................................................................................42

Rejection of stuck.........................................................................................................44

Emergent self....................................................................................................................44

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Rachel Dolezal......................................................................................................................45

Race and cultural blackness..............................................................................................45

Complexity....................................................................................................................46

Experience and connection...............................................................................................47

Identity on a continuum....................................................................................................49

Physical portrayal..............................................................................................................51

Identity impact work credibility....................................................................................52

Enactment.................................................................................................................................53

Caitlyn Jenner.......................................................................................................................53

Familial interactions..........................................................................................................53

Wives............................................................................................................................53

Kids...............................................................................................................................57

Salvage relationships........................................................................................................60

Masculine/feminine different actions...............................................................................62

Sports now and then......................................................................................................63

Dress or appearance......................................................................................................64

Girls’ night....................................................................................................................65

Rachael Dolezal....................................................................................................................66

Roles.................................................................................................................................66

Professional...................................................................................................................67

Familial.........................................................................................................................68

Interacting with the in-group............................................................................................68

Authenticity of action.......................................................................................................70

Traditional actions and conflict....................................................................................71

Starting a conversation......................................................................................................71

Relationship..............................................................................................................................72

Caitlyn Jenner.......................................................................................................................73

Protect family from harm or emotional hurt.....................................................................73

Distance and Silence.........................................................................................................74

Assumed moratorium of discussion..............................................................................74

Internal struggle creates relational distance..................................................................75

v
Reconnection and relational growth.................................................................................77

Caitlyn as both different and improved Bruce..................................................................78

Choose friendships over romantic entanglements............................................................80

Interviewer connection......................................................................................................81

Rachel Dolezal......................................................................................................................83

Family definitions.............................................................................................................83

Mother to Izaiah and Franklin.......................................................................................84

Hereditary obligations.......................................................................................................86

The Howard case...........................................................................................................87

Changing identity to accommodate has repercussions.....................................................88

Communal.................................................................................................................................89

Caitlyn Jenner.......................................................................................................................89

Presentation.......................................................................................................................89

Out-group..........................................................................................................................91

Paparazzi and the media................................................................................................92

Reaction to jokes...........................................................................................................93

Popular reactions...........................................................................................................94

In-group.............................................................................................................................94

Conflicts with the transgender community...................................................................94

Spokesperson................................................................................................................95

Common experience.....................................................................................................96

National Conversation......................................................................................................98

Rachel Dolezal......................................................................................................................98

Visible identification.........................................................................................................98

Passing............................................................................................................................100

Others actions validate....................................................................................................101

Backlash in the black community...................................................................................102

Definitions of race.......................................................................................................104

Chapter 5 - Discussion and Implications....................................................................................105

Implications............................................................................................................................111

Language.............................................................................................................................111

vi
Categories are persistent through language confines......................................................111

Non-binary identity does not fit structures.....................................................................112

Community.........................................................................................................................113

LGBTQ+ in communicating with the out-group............................................................113

Identity relegates attraction binary..................................................................................114

Identity has historical baggage........................................................................................114

Metaphor.............................................................................................................................115

True versus new self.......................................................................................................115

Stability of identity comes into question........................................................................116

Rhetorical impact of self-held truth................................................................................116

Credibility of actions.......................................................................................................117

Methodological design........................................................................................................118

Reliability of interviews in rhetorical lens......................................................................118

Hecht’s influence on rhetorical investigation.................................................................118

Interpersonal...................................................................................................................119

Communal frame for identity and identification............................................................120

Limitations and Future Research........................................................................................120

Conclusion..........................................................................................................................121

References...................................................................................................................................122

vii
List of Figures
Figure 1: Communication Theory of Identity...............................................................................28

Figure 2: The Relationship Frame................................................................................................31

Figure 3: Relationship Frame Explanation...................................................................................32

Figure 4: Communal Frame, Aligned Identity..............................................................................34

Figure 5: Communal Frame, Unaligned Out-Group Identification..............................................35

Figure 6: Communal Frame, Unaligned In-Group Identification.................................................35

viii
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Dr. Charlie Griffin for unending patience and laughing at my mildly witty
comments. Thank you to committee members Dr. Sarah Riforgiate and Dr. Colene Lind for the
sage life advice and commitment to making me a better scholar and student.

ix
Dedication
For those who taught me how to SPEAK, I would not be here without you.

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