Performative and autoethnographic possibilities: Re-envisioning stigmatization communicatively

This thesis employs two methodological approaches to topics related to performativity and stigmatization. Each approach was originally written as an individual research article and will be separated into the chapters of this thesis. The purpose of this research as a whole is to critically examine the stigmatization and normalization of marginalized communities through different methods of analysis, and to investigate the communicative implications of the aforementioned criteria. The first piece utilizes an autoethnographic approach to examine the stigmatization of mental illness through an intersectional lens, focusing specifically on the author’s experience with ADHD and anxiety and communication involving the disclosure of mental health. The second piece is a rhetorical criticism of the reality show RuPaul’s Drag Race, utilizing Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity to analyze the shows’ normalization of drag and LGBTQ culture in the mainstream media.