Queering communication studies: a Journal of Applied Communication Research forum

ABSTRACT

Genders and sexualities continue to remain underexplored in the field of communication studies and the academy in general. This essay examines possibilities for incorporating queer perspectives into communication studies. At the invitation of the Journal of Applied Communication Research editor, 9 communication scholars who use queer theory or queer perspectives in their own work responded to a series of questions addressing how queer theory and perspectives can be used in the discipline, both by those who are new to queer theorizing and those who are looking to expand their knowledge and practices. The answers to these questions provide an understanding of what queer theory is and its relationship with LGBT studies; allow practical considerations for incorporating queer perspectives into communication scholarship in multiple methodological areas; offer considerations for welcoming queer voices in the classroom, the communication discipline, and the larger academy; and indicate several scholarly resources for those who want to learn more about queer theory and LGBT studies.

KEYWORDS:

• Lesbian
• gay
• bisexual
• and transgender
• inclusivity
• pedagogy
• queer theory
• sexuality

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 See, also, Manning (2019) for another take on queering social penetration theory.

2 And ‘LGBT’ or ‘LGBTQ’ are also often used inappropriately when perhaps only one of the lettered identities is relevant (e.g. a study about lesbians being labeled as ‘LGBT’ even though it is only lesbians; or a study with multiple sexual identities but only one trans participant or even no trans participants at all being labeled ‘LGBT’).

3 For how to incorporate Anzaldúa to communication studies today see This Bridge We Call Communication: Anzaldúan Approaches to Theory, Method, and Praxis by Leandra Hinojosa Hernandez and Robert Gutierrez-Perez (2019).