Eastern boys and girls! Comparative linguistic anthropologies of lesbian and gay communities, Kuala Lumpur and Sorwool
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Michael Dimitrios Hadzantonis
Abstract
Motivated by social inclusion, lesbian and gay communities have long attempted to negotiate languages and connected discourses. Social ascriptions act to oppress these communities, thus grounding Cameron’s (1985) Feminism and Linguistic theory. This practice of language negotiation significantly intensifies in regions where religious piety (Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam) interacts with rigid social structure (Confucianism, Interdependency), mediating social and cultural positioning. Consequently, members of LG communities build linguistic affordances, thus (re)positioning selves so to negotiate ascribed identities and marginalizations. Paradoxically, these communities model, or draw from, discourses and dynamics of those larger sociocultural networks with which intercommunal boundaries exist, so to contest or alleviate marginalizations, thus repositioning self and other in sociocultural interstices. Through a comparative framework, the current study employs ethnography, as well as conversation and discourse analyses, of LG communities, to explore ways in which these communities in Kuala Lumpur and Sorwool (Seoul) develop and employ adroit language practices to struggle within social spaces, and to contest positivist ascriptions.
Abstract
Motivated by social inclusion, lesbian and gay communities have long attempted to negotiate languages and connected discourses. Social ascriptions act to oppress these communities, thus grounding Cameron’s (1985) Feminism and Linguistic theory. This practice of language negotiation significantly intensifies in regions where religious piety (Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam) interacts with rigid social structure (Confucianism, Interdependency), mediating social and cultural positioning. Consequently, members of LG communities build linguistic affordances, thus (re)positioning selves so to negotiate ascribed identities and marginalizations. Paradoxically, these communities model, or draw from, discourses and dynamics of those larger sociocultural networks with which intercommunal boundaries exist, so to contest or alleviate marginalizations, thus repositioning self and other in sociocultural interstices. Through a comparative framework, the current study employs ethnography, as well as conversation and discourse analyses, of LG communities, to explore ways in which these communities in Kuala Lumpur and Sorwool (Seoul) develop and employ adroit language practices to struggle within social spaces, and to contest positivist ascriptions.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Periphery, gender, language 1
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I. Undoing grammatical gender
- Trying to change a gender-marked language 25
- Gender marking and the feminine imaginary in Arabic 47
- A poststructuralist approach to structural gender linguistics 65
- A hermeneutical approach to gender linguistic materiality 89
- Gender bias in Bantu languages 129
- The representation of gender in Bajjika grammar and discourse 165
- The lexical paradigm based on sex distinction and the semantics of its constituents in English and Belarusian 195
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II. Intersectional peripheries
- When She and He become It 227
- Lakota men’s and women’s speech 257
- “Moldovan” and feminist language politics 285
- Eastern boys and girls! Comparative linguistic anthropologies of lesbian and gay communities, Kuala Lumpur and Sorwool 323
- Harlots and whores but not lovers 353
- About the contributors 381
- Language index 387
- Name index 389
- Subject index 395
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Periphery, gender, language 1
-
I. Undoing grammatical gender
- Trying to change a gender-marked language 25
- Gender marking and the feminine imaginary in Arabic 47
- A poststructuralist approach to structural gender linguistics 65
- A hermeneutical approach to gender linguistic materiality 89
- Gender bias in Bantu languages 129
- The representation of gender in Bajjika grammar and discourse 165
- The lexical paradigm based on sex distinction and the semantics of its constituents in English and Belarusian 195
-
II. Intersectional peripheries
- When She and He become It 227
- Lakota men’s and women’s speech 257
- “Moldovan” and feminist language politics 285
- Eastern boys and girls! Comparative linguistic anthropologies of lesbian and gay communities, Kuala Lumpur and Sorwool 323
- Harlots and whores but not lovers 353
- About the contributors 381
- Language index 387
- Name index 389
- Subject index 395
