The Rhetorics of Contemporary LGBTQ-BIPOC Memoirists: Perspectives of Narrative Writing

In this dissertation, I examine the rhetorical and cultural significance of LGBTQ-BIPOC memoirs as critical tools for resistance, empowerment, and transformative pedagogy. This project interrogates dominant cultural frameworks and amplifies historically marginalized voices by focusing on personal narratives at the intersection of race, gender, class, and sexuality. The study uses E Patrick Johnson's quare studies, Aja Martinez's counterstorytelling, and Kimberlé Crenshaw's intersectional theories to situate memoir as a form of storytelling transcending traditional forms of storytelling. This dissertation analyzes memoirs written by Saeed Jones, Janet Mock, Darnell Moore, Roxane Gay, George M. Johnson, and more to examine how rhetorical strategies such as allegory, narrative juxtaposition, genre-blending, and self-reflective criticism reimagine identity and community in a way that challenges systemic oppression. Memoirs such as these transform personal experiences into acts of social resistance aimed at critiquing racist, homophobic, and transphobic systems while being an act of empathy, coalition-building, and advocacy for social justice. This project also addresses the pedagogical implications of incorporating LGBTQ-BIPOC memoirs into rhetoric and composition classrooms. Reflective journaling, narrative analysis, and the creation of counterstories can help students interrogate dominant discourses and explore their own identities through memoirs as counternarratives. This pedagogical framework, rooted in Critical Race Theory (CRT), positions the classroom as a space for collective transformation and critical reflection, challenging exclusionary practices within traditional academic institutions. The purpose of this dissertation is to reimagine memoir as a dynamic site of resistance and innovation in the fields of cultural rhetoric, composition studies, and queer theory.