Queering Migration Studies: Sexuality and Immigration Status among Mexican Youth in the United States
Authors
Whistler, Rebecca
Issue Date
2013
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
In recent migration studies, scholars have started to consider the role that
sexuality plays in shaping identity among transnational subjects. Previous migration
research primarily focused on gender using a heteronormative frame, omitting large
populations of people who identified as non-heterosexual or participated in nonheterosexual
practices. By developing a queer theoretical perspective in migration
studies that includes a range of experiences, academics can provide a more holistic
view of migration patterns and experiences. Following recent work by queer
theorists, this project studies how sexuality shapes diverse migration flows. The
discussion can be further complicated, though, by including immigration status as
an interconnected factor that shapes Mexican migration. Including diverse
subjectivities in a queer theoretical perspective shows that ideas of self are
malleable and can change within a variety of contextual transitions in one’s life. In
addition, immigrant youth movements, such as the DREAMers and UndocuQueer,
work to bring these issues to light, since many of the undocumented youth leading
these movements are also part of the LGBTQ community. Through the lens of
emergent theoretical frameworks, and by researching current immigration and gay
rights movements, I have conducted ethnographic fieldwork with Mexican youth of
varying sexual identities and immigration statuses in the state of Nevada to consider
the ways that sexuality and immigration status affect personal experiences and
shape identity among Mexican immigrant youth in the United States.
Description
Citation
Publisher
License
In Copyright(All Rights Reserved)