Date of Graduation
Spring 2019
Degree
Master of Arts in Communication
Department
Communication
Committee Chair
Jake Simmons
Abstract
This thesis focuses on performativity of sexual minorities in interpersonal interactions. Specific attention is placed on concepts of privacy, performance, and face negotiation. This study not only focuses on how individuals who are open about their sexuality manage face, but also how individuals manage face while going through the process of coming out. Concepts of normative gender roles, heteronormativity, and homophobia are analyzed when considering privacy and face negotiation. Communication Privacy Management (CPM) Theory and Performative Face Theory are employed as theoretical foundations for this thesis work. I discuss how queer individuals may negotiate their face differently due to specific face-threatening acts, whether overt or covert, in interpersonal interactions. This study explains on how such interpersonal interactions affect communication and performativity of one’s identity.
Keywords
performative face theory, communication privacy management, critical interpersonal communication, queer autoethnography, sexual identity
Subject Categories
Critical and Cultural Studies | Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication | Interpersonal and Small Group Communication
Copyright
© Dominic A. Pecoraro
Recommended Citation
Pecoraro, Dominic A., "Queering Performative Face Theory: Analyzing Coming Out Narratives" (2019). MSU Graduate Theses. 3407.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/3407
Open Access
Included in
Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons
