Language and the Gay Identity

Paper Summary:

This paper deals with the importance of language in the formation and establishment of a gay identity. It first follows Foucault's argument (language is a place of power where social norms are constructed) and then tries to identify how language can be subverted so that gays can reassess their own sense of identity.

From the Paper:

"So as to fully comprehend how a 'same-sex attracted' person can establish his/her own identity as s/he feels and senses it, we first need to see how language works, especially for those who do not seem to belong to the 'mainstream'. Indeed, what are at work within language are relations of power. What can thus be witnessed is the cultural, social and linguistic domination of one group over another. It seems that, from the beginning of humanity, men are the ones who dominate and it has been proven by feminists that women have been maintained under a linguistic yoke, among others. Suffice to think of the host of derogatory terms that can be used against women. And if we turn to 'homosexuals', we note the same phenomenon. An identity, i.e. a category, is created as less powerful - through the use of language as a system of representation - for heterosexual (men) to maintain their position of power. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Baker, Paul, Polari - the Lost Language of Gay Men. London: Routledge, 2002.
• Barker, Christopher and Galasi ski, Dariusz, Cultural Studies and Discourse Analysis, a Dialogue on Language and Identity. London: SAGE, 2001.
• Hall, Stuart (ed.), Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: SAGE in association with The Open University, 1997.
• Leap, William L., Beyond the Lavender Lexicon: Authenticity, Imagination and Appropriation in Lesbian and Gay Language. Luxembourg: Gordon & Breach, 1995.
• Trudgill, Peter, Sociolinguistics, an Introduction to Language and Society. Penguin Books, 2000.

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