Defense Date
2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts
Department
Painting and Printmaking
First Advisor
Jacob Broussard
Second Advisor
Holly Morrison
Third Advisor
Cara Benedetto
Fourth Advisor
Pia Bakala
Abstract
This thesis interrogates the heterosexist bias inherent in historical narratives by recontextualizing myth, biblical accounts, folklore, and art history through a dedicated lesbian lens. Utilizing oil painting as my primary medium, I construct a metafictional world–a pseudo-historical space where the foundational assumption is that every figure is a lesbian until proven otherwise. This inversion serves as a direct counter-narrative to the default lens of cis heteronormativity typically applied to the past. Within this world, I “lesbianize” the traditional icons of Western culture: the heroes, the symbols, and the deities.
My practice navigates the tension between reinvention and extinction, viewing both as essential strategies for advancing queer and lesbian representation in art and art history. By creating these works, I participate in the reclamation of lesbian existence throughout time, treating documentation as a form of liberation. This approach is deeply informed by Cheryl Dunye’s cinematic “fictional archives” in The Watermelon Woman, and the linguistic subversions of Monique Wittig’s Lesbian Peoples: Material for a Dictionary. Ultimately, this body of work serves to codify an alternative history, establishing a permanent foundation for a world defined by lesbian presence.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
5-5-2026