Date Awarded
2016
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Department
American Studies
Advisor
Leisa D Meyer
Committee Member
Charles F McGovern
Committee Member
Arthur L Knight
Committee Member
Christina B Hanhardt
Abstract
“Affective Economies of Activism: Reimagining Anti-LGBTQ Hate Crime” is a critique of racism and misogyny within the contemporary LGBTQ movement. I argue that the mainstream LGBTQ movement’s narrow focus on street crimes against white gay men has resulted in a hyperreality that distracts us not only from the effects of the actual racialized violence that takes place, but also denies meaningful discussion of structural violence. This dissertation traces the origins of this exclusive and harmful discourse since the late 1960s with each chapter describing different forms of active resistance and possibilities for finding solutions today. I analyze publications gathered from special collections across the country; oral histories I conducted with activists in the South; documentary films; and queer online culture. My scholarship combines theory with everyday lived experience in order to bring social justice to the center of our field of vision. I do not only discuss and theorize about social justice, but also practice what I preach by engaging in archive activism and contributing to a grassroots LGBTQ history.
DOI
http://doi.org/10.21220/S24S3C
Rights
© The Author
Recommended Citation
Sikk, Helis, "Affective Economies of Activism: Reimagining Anti-Lgbtq Hate Crime" (2016). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. William & Mary. Paper 1477068228.
http://doi.org/10.21220/S24S3C
