First Advisor

CharLee Toth

Thesis Committee Member(s)

Dr. Lara Narcisi, Dr. Amy Schreier

Reader

Dr. Tim Trenary

College

Regis College

Degree Name

BS

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Comments

Honors Thesis

Number of Pages

97 pages

Abstract

This thesis explores how LGBTQ+ people find joy and community in the world of Middle-earth despite there being no explicit queer representation in J.R.R. Tolkien’s works. I will take readers through viewing Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books through a queer lens to show what details LGBTQ+ people pick up on as they read the story. Then based on our knowledge of the books, I will bring readers along with me to view Peter Jackson’s films for these same works to see the effects that adaptation had on the queer subtext present in the original stories. One of the main reasons for taking readers through this process is to encourage people to foreground queerness in their readings of media whether they are queer or not because not only will we understand the perspective of queer individuals more, we will learn more about the stories and the characters within them than we previously thought. Queer readings of Tolkien’s works create home and community for LGBTQ+ individuals as well as create a roadmap for queer representation in future media that does not rely on stereotypes and trauma that follow queer people in the real world. This type of representation not only heals LGBTQ+ people but normalizes queerness in society as well.

Date of Award

Spring 2023

Location (Creation)

Colorado (state); Denver (county); Denver (inhabited place)

Rights Statement

All content in this Collection is owned by and subject to the exclusive control of Regis University and the authors of the materials. It is available only for research purposes and may not be used in violation of copyright laws or for unlawful purposes. The materials may not be downloaded in whole or in part without permission of the copyright holder or as otherwise authorized in the “fair use” standards of the U.S. copyright laws and regulations.

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