Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses Yearning to be Gay

• In Event: Landscapes of Nationalism: Scenes of American Identity and Heritage

Abstract

In this paper the author argues that the rhetoric that positions the US as a safe haven for the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free” is part of a broader discourse of narcissistic nationalism. Through a bridging of the rhetoric surrounding the Statue of Liberty with discourses surrounding asylum seekers, the author argues narratives of inclusiveness maintain a US white patriotic imaginary and preserve a standard of exceptionalism reinforced and constantly recreated by specific discourses.

Author

• Rachel Levitt, Arizona State University