The Rights Fight: Examining 1980s Mississippi Anti-LGBT Laws in the Wake of HB 1523

• In Event: Queering the Past

Abstract

There has been a massive wave of anti-queer bills that have reemerged in the wake of Donald Trump’s presidency and the revival of the Religious Right. This paper demonstrates that these laws have not emerged from thin air, and that they are a continuation of a legacy of rights-restricting laws supported and uplifted by the Religious Right. In particular, I examine how Christian-religious rhetoric influences anti-LGBT laws in Mississippi from 1980-1986 via discourse analysis. In looking at this time period, scholars can better understand the historical foundation on which the current wave of anti-LGBT laws stands.

Presenter

• Alexis Schwartz, Northwestern University