“I Needed to Remind Myself Never to Go Back to That Dark of A
“I needed to remind myself never to go back to that dark of a place:” Queer community members in the Flint Hills region of Kansas communicating challenges of/with mental health through body art and non-surgical body modifications by Jacquelyn Ann Mattson B.S., Kansas State University, 2016 B.S., Kansas State University, 2016 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 2019 Approved by: Major Professor Timothy J. Shaffer, Ph.D. Copyright © Jacquelyn Ann Mattson 2019 Abstract This thesis explores experiences of mental health among some queer community members in the Flint Hills region of Kansas. This research specifically investigates how the queer community in the Flint Hills region of Kansas, i.e. anyone who identifies with a marginalized sexuality and/or gender identity, communicates their experiences with mental health through their pieces of body art and/or non-surgical body modifications, which are defined as tattoos, piercings, scarification, and intentional branding, to themselves and others. The Flint Hills region of Kansas is defined as the cities of Manhattan, Junction City, Fort Riley, Riley, Wamego, Ogden, and Abilene. Centered within multiple theoretical frameworks from critical and communication studies disciplines, this thesis examines the stories and experiences behind the imagery and adaptations to some of the queer bodies, in this specific location, as it communicates experiences with mental health. Body art/non- surgical body modifications are a road map to the traumas we have experienced; the scars show our resilience.
[Show full text]