Committee Chair

Guy, Matthew W.

Committee Member

Stuart, Christopher J.; Palmer, Heather

Department

Dept. of English

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City is a turning point in homosexual literature in twentieth century America. This paper mainly examines the character of Mary Ann Singleton and the "queering" of her character. The writings of Michael Foucault, Judith Butlter, Adrienne Rich, Eve K. Sedgewich, and Simone de Beauvoir are vital in understanding how a straight woman journeys onto the lesbian continuum as a revolt against gender roles (defined by Butler and Beauvoir) and as a result of her friendship with Michael Tolliver. Michael's character provides a discourse (as defined by Foucault) on homosexuality and through this discourse, he provides a contrast to the dysfunctions of compulsory heterosexuality in Mary Ann's journey. The combination of these two characters intertwines feminism and queer rights in Maupin's narrative.

Degree

M. A.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts.

Date

12-2012

Subject

Homosexuality in literature; Singleton; Mary Ann (Fictitious character)

Name

Maupin, Armistead. Tales of the city series

Keyword

Homosexual literature

Discipline

Arts and Humanities | English Language and Literature | Literature in English, North America

Document Type

Masters theses

DCMI Type

Text

Extent

viii, 60 leaves

Language

English

Rights

https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

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