I am a rhetoric scholar, which generally means that I am interested in how words and texts help shape the world, and my specific areas of focus are the digital humanities and queer and transgender archives. To start, can you explain a bit about your work? Rawson, who studies the rhetorical work of queer and transgender archival collections, situates Lil Nas X in the lineage of artists such as Sylvester, David Bowie, Janelle Monaé, and others, but his unapologetic approach to showcasing Black, queer stories in his music and music videos puts him in a league of his own. Rawson, associate professor of English and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies at Northeastern. His videos have been described by journalists and critics as “ radically queer, ” and they ’ve garnered a predictable backlash as such (including, perhaps surprisingly, from the governor of South Dakota).īut the pop-rap artist is breaking other ground, too: As a Black, gay man making wildly popular music, he’s transforming “the landscape of queer possibilities,” says K.J. Lil Nas X has collaborated with some of the biggest musicians of the day, including Megan Thee Stallion, Elton John, Jack Harlow, Doja Cat, and Miley Cyrus.