“Twist but don’t break:” Constellating past and present barriers in Black queer multimodal publishing that shift text into subtext; addressing acceptance into queer creative communities and the void of Black voices within

Author

• Kae Ann Dennert-Frederick, Cal Poly HumboldtFollow

Graduation Date

Summer 2026

Document Type

Project

Program

Master of Arts degree with a major in English, emphasis in Applied English Studies

Committee Chair Name

Janelle Adsit

Committee Chair Affiliation

Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff

Second Committee Member Name

Reneé Byrd

Second Committee Member Affiliation

Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff

Keywords

Queer studies, Black studies, Intersectional, Graphic novel, Close reading, Young adult fiction, Representation, Identity

Subject Categories

English

Abstract

What does it look like to reframe our understanding of intersectional work? Looking at multimodality I will walk through the multiple frameworks by asking how Black Queer publishing of Young Adult fiction uses visuals to describe what cannot be said and what choices are made to show community structure and language, while also having to adapt for publication standards. I have researched this by looking into examples of Queer publishing (any representation of queerness in a form of publishing—in the text and sometimes in the authors' identity), as well as authors’ use of visuals to say what cannot be said plainly using textual analysis. This project contributes to a larger conversation on Queer works and representation/identity finding within the community and brings awareness towards barriers that exist that force what could be said outright into the sub-text. I address my walk with citation justice—the journey it has taken to find a working list of sourceable authors within my framework: Black, and Queer. I acknowledge the conjunction of Black authors and Queer authors in genre sectioning and how there are often no subsections for Queer works by Black authors. I conclude by pushing for better citation justice and acknowledgement of LGBTQ+ and POC titles to let both have a place on their own (and each to have a place within each other).

Citation Style

MLA 8

Recommended Citation

Dennert-Frederick, Kae Ann, "“Twist but don’t break:” Constellating past and present barriers in Black queer multimodal publishing that shift text into subtext; addressing acceptance into queer creative communities and the void of Black voices within" (2026). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 2596.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/2596