Groomer rumor : the trope of the queer child predator in German and American popular media (1869–2024)
department or school: Arts, Faculty of
department or school: Central, Eastern, and Northern European Studies, Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Cassisa, Susanna Leigh
issued: 2024-07-30T21:24:25Z
issued: 2024
related degree: Master of Arts - MA
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Over the last four years, the term “groomer” has emerged as a political weapon against the LGBTQ+ community to conflate queerness with child abuse and “recruitment.” Although this particular iteration is new, the sentiment behind it has deep historical roots that can be traced to nineteenth-century Germany. Groomer Rumor is a podcast and experimental master’s thesis that explores the history and functions of this ongoing moral panic that labels queer people as sexual predators. The podcast uses historical examples from Germany and the United States to critically analyze the weaponization of this trope against the LGBTQ+ community. Incorporating archival audio footage, interviews with scholars, and original narration, Groomer Rumor traces a transnational genealogy of the “groomer” trope over the course of more than a century to emphasize the deeply entangled queer histories of Germany and the United States, while highlighting the distinct characteristics and implications of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in unique political, cultural, and temporal contexts.
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/88822
note: GROOMER RUMOR: THE TROPE OF THE QUEER CHILD PREDATOR IN GERMANAND AMERICAN POPULAR MEDIA (1869–2024)bySUSANNA LEIGH CASSISAB.A., The University of Mississippi, 2021A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THEDEGREE OFMASTER OF ARTSinTHE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES(Germanic Studies)THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA(Vancouver)July 2024© Susanna Leigh Cassisa, 2024iiThe following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduateand Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the thesis entitled:Groomer Rumor: The Trope of the Queer Child Predator in German and American PopularMedia (1869–2024)submitted by in partial fulfilment of the requirements forthe degree ofinExamining Committee:Kyle Frackman, Associate Professor, German Studies, UBCSupervisorErvin Malakaj, Associate Professor, German Studies, UBCSupervisory Committee MemberKamal Al-Solaylee, Professor, Journalism, UBCSupervisory Committee MemberSusanna Leigh CassisaMaster of ArtsGermanic StudiesiiiABSTRACTOver the last four years, the term “groomer” has emerged as a political weapon against theLGBTQ+ community to conflate queerness with child abuse and “recruitment.” Although thisparticular iteration is new, the sentiment behind it has deep historical roots that can be traced tonineteenth-century Germany. Groomer Rumor is a podcast and experimental master’s thesis thatexplores the history and functions of this ongoing moral panic that labels queer people as sexualpredators. The podcast uses historical examples from Germany and the United States to criticallyanalyze the weaponization of this trope against the LGBTQ+ community. Incorporating archivalaudio footage, interviews with scholars, and original narration, Groomer Rumor traces atransnational genealogy of the “groomer” trope over the course of more than a century toemphasize the deeply entangled queer histories of Germany and the United States, whilehighlighting the distinct characteristics an…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2024-11
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0444862
language: eng
degree discipline: Germanic Studies
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Frackman, Kyle
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/88822