Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

At the Intersection of Queer and Appalachia(n): Negotiating Identity and Social Support

Ross, Katy A.
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3160-9540
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1556902903038814

Abstract Details

2019, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Communication Studies (Communication).
I began this dissertation with two goals in mind: 1) to understand how queer Appalachians negotiate their intersectional identities to reframe our understanding of queers, Appalachians, queers in Appalachia, and queer Appalachians, and 2) to investigate the types of social support available to queer Appalachians as well as their awareness of and perceived access to these resources. Using grounded theory and an engaged scholarship approach, I examine how queer Appalachians in/from Central Appalachia negotiate their queer and Appalachian identities, and how they experience outlets of and access to social support. Drawing on 14 semi-structured interviews with individuals who self-identify as queer and live in or are from Central Appalachia, I explore how individuals navigate their identities and utilize various forms of social support. I utilized a constant comparative method to analyze the data (Charmaz, 2004) and report the findings in three chapters. First, I situate negotiations of a queer identity, and the identity itself, along a continuum between the public and the private where several contexts and factors influence identity negotiations. Then, I offer a participant-produced definition of “Appalachian” and describe identity negotiations within this definition. Finally, I highlight the ways in which queer Appalachians are resilient in a seemingly unsupportive region and I detail three major needs for queers in/from Central Appalachia. To conclude this project, I use the communication theory of identity (CTI) as a sensitizing framework and propose an extension to the theory. At a time when national conversations about Appalachians are abuzz, I strive to contribute new voices and queer narratives.
Brittany Peterson (Advisor)
Amy Chadwick (Committee Co-Chair)
Angela Hosek (Committee Member)
Risa Whitson (Committee Member)
219 p.
Communication
queer identity; Appalachian identity; grounded theory; queer theory; communication theory of identity; social support

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Ross, K. A. (2019). At the Intersection of Queer and Appalachia(n): Negotiating Identity and Social Support [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1556902903038814

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Ross, Katy. At the Intersection of Queer and Appalachia(n): Negotiating Identity and Social Support. 2019. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1556902903038814.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Ross, Katy. "At the Intersection of Queer and Appalachia(n): Negotiating Identity and Social Support." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1556902903038814

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1556902903038814
1,341
© 2019, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.