Constructing the Queer Christian: A Counterdiscourse Analysis of Queer Exvangelicalism on Twitter

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dc.contributor.advisorThrift, Samantha
dc.contributor.authorO'Brien, Claire Elizabeth
dc.contributor.committeememberKeller, Jessalynn
dc.contributor.committeememberJohnston, Dawn
dc.date2023-11
dc.date.accessioned2023-06-16T16:01:50Z
dc.date.available2023-06-16T16:01:50Z
dc.date.issued2023-06-13
dc.description.abstractThis thesis examines the counterdiscourses created by “queer exvangelical” communities on Twitter in response to the queer-exclusionary discourses of fundamentalist Christianity. The queer exvangelical community is comprised of former and questioning queer Christians who use digital platforms to share their experiences of leaving or reforming their faith due to the homophobia and LGBTQIA2+ exclusion that takes place within many Christian communities. Using Foucauldian discourse analysis, this research identifies and examines the counterdiscourses constructed and disseminated within these online networks and considers the ways in which Twitter’s affordances facilitate their creation, circulation, and levels of engagement. Ultimately, this case study finds that these communities construct a counterdiscursive figure of a “queer-Christian,” who challenges the exclusionary and hateful theology and beliefs that has long denied sanctity and “goodness” to queer identities. Through acts of storytelling, solidarity, and support, the “queer-Christian” facilitates personal and community healing within the exvangelical community. This project views the de- and reconstruction of anti-queer fundamentalist Christian discourse as a necessary step in creating new, inclusive knowledges about sex, sexuality, and gender in the Western context.
dc.identifier.citationO'Brien, C. E. (2023). Constructing the queer Christian: a counterdiscourse analysis of queer exvangelicalism on Twitter (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1880/116625
dc.identifier.urihttps://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/41468
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisher.facultyGraduate Studies
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgary
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subjectQueer media
dc.subjectReligious deconstruction
dc.subjectSocial Media
dc.subjectTwitter
dc.subject.classificationMass Communications
dc.titleConstructing the Queer Christian: A Counterdiscourse Analysis of Queer Exvangelicalism on Twitter
dc.typemaster thesis
thesis.degree.disciplineCommunication and Media Studies
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgary
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Arts (MA)
ucalgary.thesis.accesssetbystudentI do not require a thesis withhold – my thesis will have open access and can be viewed and downloaded publicly as soon as possible.
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