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¿QUÉ ES GAY?: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF SEXUALITY AND GENDER EXPRESSION IN SOUTHERN MANABÍ PROVINCE, ECUADOR

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Date Issued:
2021
Summary:
This thesis explores how gender and sexuality are expressed in southern Manabí Province, Ecuador. The study employs ethnographic methods to recruit local people who identify as LGBTQ (called LGBTI regionally) to participate in interviews on sexuality and gender identity/expression. Based on this research, I explore the construction of “gay” in this part of Ecuador as identity and performance; additionally, reflective viewpoints of those who self-identify as “gay” are thematically incorporated. The term “gay” is used to describe a spectrum of identities that include: homosexual, transformista, travestí, transexual, and transgénero. These identities are not necessarily static, as many individuals traverse categories in a culturally specific progression that I describe. I propose that coastal Ecuadorians utilize a structuring of sexualities and genders within the region that challenges Western LGBTQ+ labels. This research suggests a new regional depiction of non-conforming identities and their manifestations through language, shared strife, communal beliefs, and individual experience.
Title: ¿QUÉ ES GAY?: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF SEXUALITY AND GENDER EXPRESSION IN SOUTHERN MANABÍ PROVINCE, ECUADOR.
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Name(s): Adorisio, Alessandra, author
Harris, Michael S., Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Department of Anthropology
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2021
Date Issued: 2021
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 207 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: This thesis explores how gender and sexuality are expressed in southern Manabí Province, Ecuador. The study employs ethnographic methods to recruit local people who identify as LGBTQ (called LGBTI regionally) to participate in interviews on sexuality and gender identity/expression. Based on this research, I explore the construction of “gay” in this part of Ecuador as identity and performance; additionally, reflective viewpoints of those who self-identify as “gay” are thematically incorporated. The term “gay” is used to describe a spectrum of identities that include: homosexual, transformista, travestí, transexual, and transgénero. These identities are not necessarily static, as many individuals traverse categories in a culturally specific progression that I describe. I propose that coastal Ecuadorians utilize a structuring of sexualities and genders within the region that challenges Western LGBTQ+ labels. This research suggests a new regional depiction of non-conforming identities and their manifestations through language, shared strife, communal beliefs, and individual experience.
Identifier: FA00013733 (IID)
Degree granted: Thesis (MA)--Florida Atlantic University, 2021.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Subject(s): Ecuador
Sex
Gender identity
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013733
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.