Photo from Unsplash.
On June 20, 2024, CENES will host a defence for Susanna Cassisa’s master’s thesis.
Cassisa’s current research interests include East German Studies, Queer Studies, and Media Studies. Her master’s thesis, “Groomer Rumor: The Trope of the Queer Child Predator in German and American Popular Media (1869–2024)”, is a podcast mini series that dives into the history and function of the current moral panic that labels LGBTQ+ people as “groomers.”
Abstract: Over the last four years, the term “groomer” has emerged as a political weapon against the LGBTQ+ community to conflate queerness with child abuse and “recruitment.” Although this particular iteration is new, the sentiment behind it has deep historical roots that can be traced to nineteenth-century Germany. Groomer Rumor is a podcast and experimental master’s thesis that explores the history and functions of this ongoing moral panic that labels queer people as sexual predators. The podcast uses historical examples from Germany and the United States to critically analyze the weaponization of this trope against the LGBTQ+ community. Incorporating archival audio footage, interviews with scholars, and original narration, Groomer Rumor traces a transnational genealogy of the “groomer” trope over the course of more than a century to highlight the deeply entangled queer histories of Germany and the United States, while illuminating the distinct characteristics and implications of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in unique political, cultural, and temporal contexts.
Listen to the trailer for the planned podcast here.
How to Attend:
Cassisa’s defence will be on June 20th at 10:00am PST, and held online via Zoom. Participants must register ahead of time.
About Susanna Cassisa:
Susanna Cassisa grew up in Oxford, Mississippi. She earned her B.A. in International Studies and German from the University of Mississippi and is completing an M.A. in German Studies at the University of British Columbia. It took (almost) two German degrees and a move to Canada to make her realize she’s mostly interested in writing about American culture, but German stuff usually finds its way into her writing anyway.
Her work generally focuses on gender, sexuality, and the way media tropes shape our understanding of the world around us. She’s also interested in the ways we talk about and understand violent crime and its perpetrators. She’s very into collaborative projects! Reach out on Twitter at @SusannaCassisa or email her at susannacassisa@gmail.com.
