'It Was Literally a Trauma Narrative': Distances/Disavowals and Guides/Gospels in Queer Postsecondary Readings of LGBTQ+ Young Adult Literature
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| Title: | 'It Was Literally a Trauma Narrative': Distances/Disavowals and Guides/Gospels in Queer Postsecondary Readings of LGBTQ+ Young Adult Literature |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Kyle P. Smith |
| Source: | English Teaching: Practice and Critique. 2025 24(4):436-450. |
| Availability: | Emerald Publishing Limited. Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley, West Yorkshire, BD16 1WA, UK. Tel: +44-1274-777700; Fax: +44-1274-785201; e-mail: emerald@emeraldinsight.com; Web site: http://www.emerald.com/insight |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 15 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | LGBTQ People, Undergraduate Students, Self Concept, Reader Response, Books, Gender Issues, Gender Identity, Adolescent Literature, Young Adults, Literature, Novels, Trauma, Student Attitudes |
| DOI: | 10.1108/ETPC-02-2025-0023 |
| ISSN: | 1175-8708 |
| Abstract: | Purpose: Even amidst rampant efforts to censor and legislatively regulate queer-identifying people and books about them, many LGBTQ+ adults never had opportunities to see themselves reflected in classroom curriculum. In an effort to use emotions as a lens to understand discursive identity construction, this paper aims to explore how one gay-identifying undergraduate student positioned his own identity in relation to a series of queer-themed young adult (YA) texts. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing from a larger practitioner-inquiry project at a Northeastern university, the author focus on the emotional reading responses of one student, naming this participant as a critical instance case. Findings: Engaging with theories of identity and reader-response, findings underscore promises and precarities of using LGBTQ+ YA literature as mirrors for queer readers through one participant's emotional positioning of his personal histories alongside and counter to larger narratives of LGBTQ+ pasts. Originality/value: By centering the emotional responses of a queer-identifying reader to LGBTQ+ books, this paper contributes to research on queer literacy studies. Previous research has often focused on secondary or teacher-readers rather than postsecondary students. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1491637 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Purpose: Even amidst rampant efforts to censor and legislatively regulate queer-identifying people and books about them, many LGBTQ+ adults never had opportunities to see themselves reflected in classroom curriculum. In an effort to use emotions as a lens to understand discursive identity construction, this paper aims to explore how one gay-identifying undergraduate student positioned his own identity in relation to a series of queer-themed young adult (YA) texts. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing from a larger practitioner-inquiry project at a Northeastern university, the author focus on the emotional reading responses of one student, naming this participant as a critical instance case. Findings: Engaging with theories of identity and reader-response, findings underscore promises and precarities of using LGBTQ+ YA literature as mirrors for queer readers through one participant's emotional positioning of his personal histories alongside and counter to larger narratives of LGBTQ+ pasts. Originality/value: By centering the emotional responses of a queer-identifying reader to LGBTQ+ books, this paper contributes to research on queer literacy studies. Previous research has often focused on secondary or teacher-readers rather than postsecondary students. |
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| ISSN: | 1175-8708 |
| DOI: | 10.1108/ETPC-02-2025-0023 |
