Y'all come back now: negotiating geography, identity, and subjectivity in the queer American South

This project is concerned with the relationship between the American South and queer identity and subjectivities. This project is particularly interested in the situatedness of the South within the nation, how narratives about the South pervade and operate in the American imaginary, as well as the ways in which the region often functions as an internal other. Due to these constructions, this project is interested in the ways in which the Southern United States is frequently painted as unhinhabitable for queer folks and queer and trans folks of color. As such, this project engages with representations of queerness in the American South through the analysis of Viceland's show Gaycation, as well as provides intervention into these narratives by centering interviews with queer Southerners and Southern-based queer organizations. Finally, this project considers the role of affect in relation to the South, orientation, and (dis)identificaitons.