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A University of Sussex PhD thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details Making Queer Families: Identity, LGBTQ Parents, Media, and Cultural Representation Elizabeth Helen Reed PhD Gender Studies (Humanities) University of Sussex November 2016 I hereby declare that this thesis has not been and will not be, submitted in whole or in part to another University for the award of any other degree. Signature: Summary This thesis investigates how lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer parents interact with media representations. I identify two significant gaps in current scholarship on this topic. One between queer theory and LGBTQ sociology, where claims about the possibility of radical politics are disconnected from studies of everyday life. The other, between media studies and sociology of the family, where the central role of media in constituting identity drops out of discussions about everyday LGBTQ lives. As a result of this mapping of the field I formulated these key research questions: how do LGBTQ parents negotiate media culture? How do LGBTQ parents negotiate visibility and intelligibility for their families and how do they experience media invisibility? And, what conditions of family and what broader social possibilities are generated by the interactions LGBTQ parents have with media? These research questions framed the design of a project in which I conducted semi-structured interviews with thirty LGBTQ parents living in the UK. The thesis takes this primary empirical material together with reference to scholarship on media culture, family formation, and queerness, and posits that media representation is a core constituent of identity formation and central to how we can understand the making and maintenance of LGBTQ-parented families. I examine how ideas about what a ‘normal’ or heterosexual family looks like shape the experiences and quest for intelligibility, legitimacy and visibility; how parents conceptualise their families in relation to the possibility of articulating radical identities; and the notion of generational rupture and inheritance as it is managed through media and community. The key findings of this thesis are that LGBTQ parents employ a variety of strategies to tackle media invisibility; LGBTQ parents both conform to, and resist, narratives of family as intrinsically normative; LGBTQ parents negotiate new representations of family and produce new narratives of the meaning of radicalism. Finally, I show that media is central to the identity work of LGBTQ parents, and is strongly implicated in the construction of home and family life. I offer a thesis which contests the meaning of futurity and normativity in queer theory and interjects in the discussion on the cultural formation and meaning of family. Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the support – both practical and emotional – of many people. First of all I would like to thank my participants who opened their homes to me and shared their experiences. The various cups of tea, lifts to and from train stations, lunches, and above all, the time and candour, offered by these people made this project possible and I am grateful to them all. In addition I am thankful for the various networks who helped me distribute my call for participants, particularly Rainbow Families Edinburgh, Time 4 T, and the LGBT Ageing listserve. I must thank my supervisors, Sharif Mowlabocus and Kate O’Riordan, whose consistent, thoughtful, and detailed guidance and support for my project have provided clear routes forward and given me faith in my work when I was least sure of myself. The journey to having this thesis finished has been long, but the rich and welcoming PhD community in the School of Media, Film and Music has helped make that journey easier. I am grateful for the support I’ve received in the last 4 years and simply do not have space to individually list all those people who have helped in both small and large ways. As well as academic support, a whole village of friends and family have been my unwavering cheer squad. In particular I want to thank Becky Lucas, Sandra Duffy, Holly Chard, Hanna Cesek, Carrie Phillips, Richard Mills, David Bradford, Matt and Nic Baxter, and Kat Gupta, who variously provided advice and support during my research and as I concluded my writing up. Also, I offer a huge thank you to my massive ‘Manics family’, especially Sim Burton, who have provided love, belief, support, and pictures of Nicky Wire’s legs to get me through, when I most needed it. Finally I want to thank all the people who helped me believe it was possible to pursue this project, who made me proud to be queer, and who have inspired and encouraged me to study and push myself since I first embarked upon higher education. For this I am indebted to David Bowie, Manic Street Preachers (especially Nicky Wire’s politics degree), my peers on the 2007/2008 MA course in Sexual Dissidence in Literature and Culture, and my parents. Contents Chapter One Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 Context ...................................................................................................................................... 4 Scope of Thesis and Language Used ....................................................................................... 14 Research Questions ................................................................................................................ 16 Structure of the Thesis ............................................................................................................ 17 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 19 Chapter Two Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 20 Selecting the Research Tool .................................................................................................... 20 Participant Demographics, Recruitment, Challenges, Solutions, and Limitations .................. 23 Ethics and Participant Involvement ........................................................................................ 27 Managing Risk and Conflict ............................................................................................... 28 Participant Involvement ...................................................................................................... 29 My Role as Researcher ............................................................................................................ 30 Issues of Power ....................................................................................................................... 33 Reciprocity ........................................................................................................................... 33 Sharing Knowledge ............................................................................................................. 35 Gender and Rapport ............................................................................................................ 37 Locations and the Role of Place in Interviews ..................................................................... 38 Analysis ................................................................................................................................... 40 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 42 Chapter Three Looking ‘Normal’ ......................................................................................................................... 43 ‘Passing’ as Straight................................................................................................................. 45 Becoming Visible ..................................................................................................................... 48 Resisting Gender Norms and Gendered Roles ........................................................................ 52 Appropriate Visibility .............................................................................................................. 56 Reading Queerly ...................................................................................................................... 60 Not Fitting ............................................................................................................................... 67 Disidentification in Responses to Media................................................................................. 69 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 73 Chapter Four Being ‘Radical’ ............................................................................................................................
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