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ABSTRACT
Evangelical Christian groups have forwarded ex-gay rhetorics since the 1970s, shaping grand narratives of LGBTQIA+ exclusion within Christian spaces. Using a dialectic approach to organizational resistance, the current study traces the textual discursive interplay between narratives of the ex-gay Christian organization, CHANGED, and of the parody pro-LGBTQIA+ Christian organization UNCHANGED to uncover how LGBTQIA+ Christians resist exclusionary heteronormative grand narratives. We conducted a microstoria analysis of 108 personal narratives from both groups and found four emergent themes central to UNCHANGED members’ resistance processes: (a) narrated identity dissonance, (b) proclamation of God’s Truth, (c) mechanisms for resistance, and (d) rewards for living out God’s Truth. This study advances two important theoretical considerations: the utility of parody as an online resistance strategy and a reconceptualization of resistance as chronic (i.e., organizational resisting). Further implications, limitations, and future directions for research are discussed.
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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
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Katie Kassler
Katie Kassler is a Ph.D. student in the department of Communication Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her research focuses on LGBTQIA+ identity considerations in interpersonal and family contexts.
Amorette Hinderaker
Amorette Hinderaker (Ph.D. North Dakota State University) is an Associate Professor and the Convener of Debates in the Department of Communication Studies at Texas Christian University. Her research focuses on organizational identities, assimilation, and religious memberships.