Negotiating Sexual Identities PDF Download

This dissertation explores the phenomenon of negotiating sexual identity in the composing processes of self-identified gay men. This study uses transcribed, verbal interviews to answer the following question: What is the experience of negotiating sexual identity in the composing processes of gay men? Using both composition theory and Queer Theory as its basis, this study examines constructions of identity and culture in language and writing. It follows the science of phenomenological inquiry as outlined in both Giorgi's Phenomenology and Psychological Research and Moustakas' Phenomenological Research Methods for data analysis and presentation. the primary interest of this study is in how the men in this study negotiate their sexual identity in composing processes. These processes are defined by this study as the nebulous processes through which writing acts are produced by speech transcription. Speech transcription, as defined by Vygotsky, is the process of moving private thoughts into the public domain of text. These composing processes are explored both inside and outside of academic contexts. the study imparts the experience of the gay men in this study as they describe how they negotiate their sexual identity in writing acts and composing processes from both past and current perspectives; speculates about the impact of their sexual identity on composing processes, from both lived and hypothetical experience; and presents premises as to how writing is shaped in relation to their sexual identities. Analysis of the data reveals seven emergent themes. Together, these themes form the collective experience of negotiating sexual identity in composing processes for the gay men in this study. the essential experience of the phenomenon was described as "transformation," wherein the qualities of engaging sexual identity in composing processes provided avenues of change as described by the men in this study. It is important to engage transformation in the texts of students as negotiating knowledge and meaning within writing acts is a core component of engaging composing processes. This study shows that writing is an innately transformative act, in which the process of negotiating sexual identity transforms both the writing and the writer. Thus, facilitating writing from a more liberatory praxis will help students transform their own ways of knowing and provide more solid avenues of engaging academic literacies.