Rewriting a Discursive Practice: Atheist Adaptation of Coming Out Discourse

Written Communication Apr 2017

Rewriting a Discursive Practice: Atheist Adaptation of Coming Out Discourse

Doug Cloud Colorado State University

Abstract

Coming out is a powerful way for individuals to disclose, constitute, and perform membership in stigmatized identity categories. The practice has now spread far beyond its LGBTQ origins. In this essay, I examine how atheists and other secularists have taken up and adapted coming out discourse to meet their situational and rhetorical needs. Through an analysis of 50 narratives about coming out atheist, I show that atheist writers use coming out discourse to claim both high and low agency over their identities. They both follow and resist a low-agency approach that has sometimes characterized LGBTQ uses of coming out discourse. Furthermore, I argue that the attribution of high personal agency in coming out discourse and other discourses of identity can introduce themes of deliberation, choice, and uncertainty, leading to a richer public discussion of identity category membership.

Journal: Written Communication
Published: 2017-04-01
DOI: 10.1177/0741088317695079
Open Access: Closed
Topics: gender and writing

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

Lee (2020)

Theistnormativity and the Negation of American Atheists in Presidential Inaugur…

Rhetoric & Public Affairs
Hesse (2019)

Journals in Composition Studies, Thirty-Five Years After

College English

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Rhetoric & Public Affairs
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College Composition and Communication
Miller (2007)

What Can Automation Tell Us About Agency?

Rhetoric Society Quarterly

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