Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0009-7070-9078

Date Available

5-16-2025

Year of Publication

2025

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

College

Arts and Sciences

Department/School/Program

Linguistic Theory & Typology

Faculty

Dr. Edward Barrett

Faculty

Dr. Allison Burkette

Faculty

Dr. Julien Carrier

Abstract

Media consumption reflects aspects of identity while also assisting in identity formation (Koller, 2008; Zemmels, 2012; Wu, 2006). This thesis examines the phenomenon of lesbians who engage with men-loving-men (MLM) media. The practice seems odd due to the contrast of lesbians desiring women for their social, platonic, romantic, and sexual relationships, but this thesis finds that repeated consumption of media that display men and their desires can index lesbianism. This practice helps lesbians construct their identities through three processes of indexicality: indexical disjuncture, indexical bleaching, and indexical denial (Barrett & Hall, 2024). Through a discourse analysis of five semi-constructed interviews with lesbians, I argue that MLM media engagement indexes a lesbian identity, and lesbians use the media as a safe space to explore identity and desire.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2025.85

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