Agnes Kang | Lingnan University (original) (raw)
Papers by Agnes Kang
Discourse & Society, Jan 21, 2014
A penchant for luxury brand-named goods, insistence on a boyfriend who carries her bag, and any o... more A penchant for luxury brand-named goods, insistence on a boyfriend who carries her bag, and any opportunity to look cute and be the center of attention have all been described as characteristic of a 'Kong girl' since the mid-2000s. In this paper, we analyze the publically created figure of the 'Kong Girl' by examining the role of stereotypes in constructing and contesting gender ideologies. At once a critique of (hetero-) normative femininity and 'modern' notions of gender equality, the Kong Girl stereotype defies established models of gender identity and demonstrates the consequences of selectively constructing one's femininity. Taking a view of stereotype formation as a process over time, we show how participants using new media actively shape ideologies of gender that are expressed in the form of anxieties in the heterosexual marketplace.
Language & Communication, May 1, 2018
In the context of what has been referred to as the 'Mainlandization' of Hong Kong since 2003 (Yew... more In the context of what has been referred to as the 'Mainlandization' of Hong Kong since 2003 (Yew & Kwong, 2014), I consider the affordances offered through different modalities by comparing the written linguistic mode to that of visual arguments used in a local political advertisement. The choice of modalities available as a means of expressing familiar topoi found in discriminatory texts provides alternative options for recontextualizing (van Leeuwen, 2008) discriminatory practices. I show that the affordances of specific modalities can be used to express certain topoi and/or support those expressed through other modalities.
Journal of language and sexuality, Sep 18, 2015
Focusing on a Hong Kong online discussion involving ‘Jenny’, who was later described as the ‘Kong... more Focusing on a Hong Kong online discussion involving ‘Jenny’, who was later described as the ‘Kong Girl’ prototype, we demonstrate a method to study gender stereotype as both semiotically and discursively constructed. We trace the perceivable signs in online posts as demeanor indexicals (Goffman 1956, Agha 2007), and discuss how forum participants collectively develop Jenny’s public persona as a woman who is materialistic and has an entitlement attitude, qualities that later become emblematic of the Kong Girl stereotype. Our analysis proposes a framework for how interpretive discourses mediate between the situated social media context and gender ideologies, and contributes to an understanding of the role of demeanor indexicals in the construction of a stereotype that is not associated with a linguistic register. We provide insights into local gender dynamics and illustrate how a private dispute becomes entangled in a public consensus building process that is necessarily selective, emergent, and positioned.
Journal of Sociolinguistics, Aug 1, 2003
Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, 2010
Third Text, 1998
In keeping with Goffman's approach of examining the interactional practices by which par... more In keeping with Goffman's approach of examining the interactional practices by which participants constitute a particular participation framework at any given moment, I analyze the instantiations of two different types of addressees in multi-party contexts. Using videotaped and ...
Gender and Language
The Kong Girl stereotype has been circulating in the media since the mid-2000s. The indexical pro... more The Kong Girl stereotype has been circulating in the media since the mid-2000s. The indexical process of associating social meanings to the Kong Girl label becomes heightened in situations of uncertainty and change. Kira Hall uses the term ‘indexical dissonance’ to explain the state of identity under globalisation. In this paper, we identify three strategies by which more ‘positive’ representations of Kong Girls emerge: (1) the Kong Girl label shifts in semantic meaning; (2) the specific Kong Girl qualities taken as stance objects shift; and (3) the Kong Girl label is reappropriated. Through these strategies, we show how the meanings associated with a gender stereotype may be co-opted in emerging discourses of social change.
Gender and Language, 2017
Acknowledgements This special issue presents articles based on presentations at the Sociolingui... more Acknowledgements This special issue presents articles based on presentations at the Sociolinguistics of Globalization conference that was held in Hong Kong in June of 2015. The conference was hosted by the Department of English at the University of Hong Kong. We thank the conference participants for useful feedback. Our sincere thanks also go to Tommaso Milani and Michelle Lazar for their invaluable assistance.
Issues in Applied Linguistics, Dec 30, 1998
Attention to multi-part}' talk has revealed that shifts in participation frameworks can be used t... more Attention to multi-part}' talk has revealed that shifts in participation frameworks can be used to sene social functions in interaction. This paper gives a sequential analysis of a videotaped interaction from an organizational meeting, where participants use a particular interactional exchange to display and even create the personal relationships that exist between them. This is done by using a particular participation framework in wfmt I call a triadic exchange in accomplishing particular social acts that are potentiallyface-threatening. I argue that this display contributes to how in-group membership is developed in these organizations. The use of triadic exchanges makes public the display of the participants' relationships to each other, making participation more accessible to a general audience and building in-group memberships that can develop over time through interaction. Interest in multi-party interaction has shifted the focus of interactional studies from the canonical dyadic interaction to the diverse possibilities introduced by more than two participants in an interaction (e.g., Goodwin, 1981; Duranti, 1986; Lerner, 1993; Schegloff, 1995). Attention to multi-party talk has highlighted the complex nature of multiple audiences and the fact that it is quite possible that no individual addressees can be delineated at any one time. The diversity of audiences available provides a setting in which interactional strategies can be used toward social goals. The meeting context, for example, provides a site in which interactional strategies can be used for building in-group membership. In organizations in which the personal rapport between participants influences the strength of the organization, the interactional possibilities of face to face interactions provided by the meeting context can serve to strengthen (or weaken) the ties within the organization. Even within the somewhat constrained context of an organizational meeting, participants still have access to the personal relationships they share with one another. The displaying of these relationships allows the participants to gauge, share in, or display inclusion in the group, both as an organizational body on one level, and as a social group on another. In these face to face encounters, participants share what Goffman calls a similar "access to the encounter"([1979] 1981, p. 132). In the social service organization discussed in this paper, the personal relationships between the participants are highlighted in the context of the meetings to establish and display in-group membership. Participants use interactional strategies involving shifting participation frameworks to accomplish this, especially when it involves potentially face-threatening acts (Brown & Levinson, 1987). Brown and Levinson (1987) define face-threatening acts as "those acts that by their nature run contrary to the face wants of the addressee and/or of the speaker" (p. 65).
The Handbook of Korean Linguistics, 2015
This chapter outlines research in sociolinguistic competence that can make a contribution to unde... more This chapter outlines research in sociolinguistic competence that can make a contribution to understanding the needs of the Korean heritage language (KHL) learner. The close relationship of language to ethnic identity has been the focus of a great deal of research in HL acquisition. It also discusses the attitudes and motivations of KHL students, including the role of parents attitudes and motivations in KHL learning. The chapter overviews of the studies on these three intersecting categories of language ideologies are 1) ideologies of heritage speakers (or how they value the HL), 2) ideologies circulating in the society (either mainstream society or the society of the target language), and 3) ideologies linked to the language itself (or values/beliefs that are associated with speaking Korean). Korean encodes hierarchical relationships based on power, age, and solidarity in various aspects of the grammar, notably in the use of honorifics
Femininity Feminism and Gendered Discourse a Selected and Edited Collection of Papers from the Fifth International Language and Gender Association Conference, 2010
Pragmatics. Quarterly Publication of the International Pragmatics Association (IPrA), 2004
In this paper, I demonstrate how Korean American camp counselors locally construct ethnic identit... more In this paper, I demonstrate how Korean American camp counselors locally construct ethnic identity through the practice of self-categorization in discourse. Self-categorization, or the identification of oneself in terms of ethnic identity, serves to position counselors in terms of Korean ethnicity and to associate that identity with one’s personal goals in participating in the Korean camp. Using videotaped data of counselors’ meetings, I show that while debating their views on what a Korean camp should be and their motivations for participating in the camp, counselors make relevant their ethnic identities by describing themselves as more ‘American’, more ‘Korean American’, or more ‘Korean’. In addition, the counselors discuss whether the teaching of Korean heritage or the mentorship of the campers should be the primary objective of the camp. This opposition between ‘heritage’ and ‘mentorship’ is cast as a source of tensions that map onto ideologies of identity, whereby ‘Korean Ameri...
Journal of Language and Sexuality, 2015
Focusing on a Hong Kong online discussion involving ‘Jenny’, who was later described as the ‘Kong... more Focusing on a Hong Kong online discussion involving ‘Jenny’, who was later described as the ‘Kong Girl’ prototype, we demonstrate a method to study gender stereotype as both semiotically and discursively constructed. We trace the perceivable signs in online posts as demeanor indexicals (Goffman 1956, Agha 2007), and discuss how forum participants collectively develop Jenny’s public persona as a woman who is materialistic and has an entitlement attitude, qualities that later become emblematic of the Kong Girl stereotype. Our analysis proposes a framework for how interpretive discourses mediate between the situated social media context and gender ideologies, and contributes to an understanding of the role of demeanor indexicals in the construction of a stereotype that is not associated with a linguistic register. We provide insights into local gender dynamics and illustrate how a private dispute becomes entangled in a public consensus building process that is necessarily selective, em...
Journal of Asian American Studies, 2004
Discourse & Society, Jan 21, 2014
A penchant for luxury brand-named goods, insistence on a boyfriend who carries her bag, and any o... more A penchant for luxury brand-named goods, insistence on a boyfriend who carries her bag, and any opportunity to look cute and be the center of attention have all been described as characteristic of a 'Kong girl' since the mid-2000s. In this paper, we analyze the publically created figure of the 'Kong Girl' by examining the role of stereotypes in constructing and contesting gender ideologies. At once a critique of (hetero-) normative femininity and 'modern' notions of gender equality, the Kong Girl stereotype defies established models of gender identity and demonstrates the consequences of selectively constructing one's femininity. Taking a view of stereotype formation as a process over time, we show how participants using new media actively shape ideologies of gender that are expressed in the form of anxieties in the heterosexual marketplace.
Language & Communication, May 1, 2018
In the context of what has been referred to as the 'Mainlandization' of Hong Kong since 2003 (Yew... more In the context of what has been referred to as the 'Mainlandization' of Hong Kong since 2003 (Yew & Kwong, 2014), I consider the affordances offered through different modalities by comparing the written linguistic mode to that of visual arguments used in a local political advertisement. The choice of modalities available as a means of expressing familiar topoi found in discriminatory texts provides alternative options for recontextualizing (van Leeuwen, 2008) discriminatory practices. I show that the affordances of specific modalities can be used to express certain topoi and/or support those expressed through other modalities.
Journal of language and sexuality, Sep 18, 2015
Focusing on a Hong Kong online discussion involving ‘Jenny’, who was later described as the ‘Kong... more Focusing on a Hong Kong online discussion involving ‘Jenny’, who was later described as the ‘Kong Girl’ prototype, we demonstrate a method to study gender stereotype as both semiotically and discursively constructed. We trace the perceivable signs in online posts as demeanor indexicals (Goffman 1956, Agha 2007), and discuss how forum participants collectively develop Jenny’s public persona as a woman who is materialistic and has an entitlement attitude, qualities that later become emblematic of the Kong Girl stereotype. Our analysis proposes a framework for how interpretive discourses mediate between the situated social media context and gender ideologies, and contributes to an understanding of the role of demeanor indexicals in the construction of a stereotype that is not associated with a linguistic register. We provide insights into local gender dynamics and illustrate how a private dispute becomes entangled in a public consensus building process that is necessarily selective, emergent, and positioned.
Journal of Sociolinguistics, Aug 1, 2003
Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, 2010
Third Text, 1998
In keeping with Goffman's approach of examining the interactional practices by which par... more In keeping with Goffman's approach of examining the interactional practices by which participants constitute a particular participation framework at any given moment, I analyze the instantiations of two different types of addressees in multi-party contexts. Using videotaped and ...
Gender and Language
The Kong Girl stereotype has been circulating in the media since the mid-2000s. The indexical pro... more The Kong Girl stereotype has been circulating in the media since the mid-2000s. The indexical process of associating social meanings to the Kong Girl label becomes heightened in situations of uncertainty and change. Kira Hall uses the term ‘indexical dissonance’ to explain the state of identity under globalisation. In this paper, we identify three strategies by which more ‘positive’ representations of Kong Girls emerge: (1) the Kong Girl label shifts in semantic meaning; (2) the specific Kong Girl qualities taken as stance objects shift; and (3) the Kong Girl label is reappropriated. Through these strategies, we show how the meanings associated with a gender stereotype may be co-opted in emerging discourses of social change.
Gender and Language, 2017
Acknowledgements This special issue presents articles based on presentations at the Sociolingui... more Acknowledgements This special issue presents articles based on presentations at the Sociolinguistics of Globalization conference that was held in Hong Kong in June of 2015. The conference was hosted by the Department of English at the University of Hong Kong. We thank the conference participants for useful feedback. Our sincere thanks also go to Tommaso Milani and Michelle Lazar for their invaluable assistance.
Issues in Applied Linguistics, Dec 30, 1998
Attention to multi-part}' talk has revealed that shifts in participation frameworks can be used t... more Attention to multi-part}' talk has revealed that shifts in participation frameworks can be used to sene social functions in interaction. This paper gives a sequential analysis of a videotaped interaction from an organizational meeting, where participants use a particular interactional exchange to display and even create the personal relationships that exist between them. This is done by using a particular participation framework in wfmt I call a triadic exchange in accomplishing particular social acts that are potentiallyface-threatening. I argue that this display contributes to how in-group membership is developed in these organizations. The use of triadic exchanges makes public the display of the participants' relationships to each other, making participation more accessible to a general audience and building in-group memberships that can develop over time through interaction. Interest in multi-party interaction has shifted the focus of interactional studies from the canonical dyadic interaction to the diverse possibilities introduced by more than two participants in an interaction (e.g., Goodwin, 1981; Duranti, 1986; Lerner, 1993; Schegloff, 1995). Attention to multi-party talk has highlighted the complex nature of multiple audiences and the fact that it is quite possible that no individual addressees can be delineated at any one time. The diversity of audiences available provides a setting in which interactional strategies can be used toward social goals. The meeting context, for example, provides a site in which interactional strategies can be used for building in-group membership. In organizations in which the personal rapport between participants influences the strength of the organization, the interactional possibilities of face to face interactions provided by the meeting context can serve to strengthen (or weaken) the ties within the organization. Even within the somewhat constrained context of an organizational meeting, participants still have access to the personal relationships they share with one another. The displaying of these relationships allows the participants to gauge, share in, or display inclusion in the group, both as an organizational body on one level, and as a social group on another. In these face to face encounters, participants share what Goffman calls a similar "access to the encounter"([1979] 1981, p. 132). In the social service organization discussed in this paper, the personal relationships between the participants are highlighted in the context of the meetings to establish and display in-group membership. Participants use interactional strategies involving shifting participation frameworks to accomplish this, especially when it involves potentially face-threatening acts (Brown & Levinson, 1987). Brown and Levinson (1987) define face-threatening acts as "those acts that by their nature run contrary to the face wants of the addressee and/or of the speaker" (p. 65).
The Handbook of Korean Linguistics, 2015
This chapter outlines research in sociolinguistic competence that can make a contribution to unde... more This chapter outlines research in sociolinguistic competence that can make a contribution to understanding the needs of the Korean heritage language (KHL) learner. The close relationship of language to ethnic identity has been the focus of a great deal of research in HL acquisition. It also discusses the attitudes and motivations of KHL students, including the role of parents attitudes and motivations in KHL learning. The chapter overviews of the studies on these three intersecting categories of language ideologies are 1) ideologies of heritage speakers (or how they value the HL), 2) ideologies circulating in the society (either mainstream society or the society of the target language), and 3) ideologies linked to the language itself (or values/beliefs that are associated with speaking Korean). Korean encodes hierarchical relationships based on power, age, and solidarity in various aspects of the grammar, notably in the use of honorifics
Femininity Feminism and Gendered Discourse a Selected and Edited Collection of Papers from the Fifth International Language and Gender Association Conference, 2010
Pragmatics. Quarterly Publication of the International Pragmatics Association (IPrA), 2004
In this paper, I demonstrate how Korean American camp counselors locally construct ethnic identit... more In this paper, I demonstrate how Korean American camp counselors locally construct ethnic identity through the practice of self-categorization in discourse. Self-categorization, or the identification of oneself in terms of ethnic identity, serves to position counselors in terms of Korean ethnicity and to associate that identity with one’s personal goals in participating in the Korean camp. Using videotaped data of counselors’ meetings, I show that while debating their views on what a Korean camp should be and their motivations for participating in the camp, counselors make relevant their ethnic identities by describing themselves as more ‘American’, more ‘Korean American’, or more ‘Korean’. In addition, the counselors discuss whether the teaching of Korean heritage or the mentorship of the campers should be the primary objective of the camp. This opposition between ‘heritage’ and ‘mentorship’ is cast as a source of tensions that map onto ideologies of identity, whereby ‘Korean Ameri...
Journal of Language and Sexuality, 2015
Focusing on a Hong Kong online discussion involving ‘Jenny’, who was later described as the ‘Kong... more Focusing on a Hong Kong online discussion involving ‘Jenny’, who was later described as the ‘Kong Girl’ prototype, we demonstrate a method to study gender stereotype as both semiotically and discursively constructed. We trace the perceivable signs in online posts as demeanor indexicals (Goffman 1956, Agha 2007), and discuss how forum participants collectively develop Jenny’s public persona as a woman who is materialistic and has an entitlement attitude, qualities that later become emblematic of the Kong Girl stereotype. Our analysis proposes a framework for how interpretive discourses mediate between the situated social media context and gender ideologies, and contributes to an understanding of the role of demeanor indexicals in the construction of a stereotype that is not associated with a linguistic register. We provide insights into local gender dynamics and illustrate how a private dispute becomes entangled in a public consensus building process that is necessarily selective, em...
Journal of Asian American Studies, 2004