In And Out Of The Toolbox Of Language: Reading Marginality In Sexist And Heterosexist Language (original) (raw)
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Inclusive Language and Non-Binary Identities: Towards a Paradigm Change in Argentina
Revista de Estudios de Género, La ventana
In this paper we propose to address the problem of the traditional use of the masculine as 'unmarked' gender in Argentina, in relation to the urgent need to make visible those identities that self-perceive themselves sexually as non-binary, and that have the right to be recognized and named as such. For this purpose, we will put in dialogue hegemonic discourses, among which stands out that of the Real Academia Española [Royal Spanish Academy] (an institution that has openly and on more than one occasion pronounced itself against the use of inclusive language) with the theorizations of different authors who argue in favor of it and the importance of embracing a paradigm shift that leads us to position ourselves in a more inclusive way in the face of a reality in which we live with dissident identities that are outside the male/female binomial. Finally, we will propose a reflection on the importance of thinking about the transmission of knowledge in the educational field in ou...
Relocating Power: The Feminist Potency of Language, Gender and Sexuality Research
Gender and Language, 2021
This editorial introduces issue 15(1) of the journal Gender and Language by reflecting on the theorization of power in language, gender, and sexuality research over the last thirty years. Drawing on the recent work of Argentine theoretician and activist Verónica Gago, the editorial calls for more attention to the role of feminist "potencia" in challenging the interrelated practices of misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia. The issue features papers by Joyhanna Yoo Garza on gender and racialized appropriations in K-pop, Stephen Turton on deadnaming practices at Urban Dictionary, and Maeve Eberhardt on “raucous feminisms" in Broad City. The issue also includes the first installment of its "Thirty-year Retrospective on Language, Gender and Sexuality Research,” with essays by Robin Tolmach Lakoff, Susan Gal, Alice F. Freed, Sally McConnell-Ginet, and Norma Mendoza-Denton. In addition, Amy Kyratzis pays homage to the groundbreaking work of Susan Ervin-Tripp (1927-2018).
Resignifications: Linguistic Resistance and Queer Expressions of Latinidad
The Oxford Handbook of Language and Sexuality, 2021
The resignification of language practices among LGBTQIA+ communities has seen the reclamation of terms like queer, dyke, and faggot enter mainstream discourse. Marginalized communities who view the reclamation of language as a form of empowerment also have a long history of resignifying certain forms of pejorative language to revalorize meanings along ethnic and racial lines. This chapter provides an overview of contributions from queer theory, queer studies, and queer linguistics that center the reclamation of historically pejorative terms used for queer communities, but situates these queer resignifications within the context of linguistic reclamations enacted around ethnic and racial affiliations. The chapter specifically focuses on the reclamation of the Spanish terms joto/a/x and jotería by Latinx communities in the United States—terms that have historically been used to denigrate men performing traits associated with femininity—to illustrate how linguistic reclamation provides an avenue for resistance by creating and maintaining new worlds of possibility.
Frontiers in Sociology, 2021
In Argentina, the so-called “inclusive language” aims at avoiding the bias for a particular sex or gender and objects to a grammatical binary system (feminine – masculine). Although in most Spanish-speaking countries, inclusive language has been limited to the realms of activism, gender studies and a certain type of public administration, in Argentina, its use has been extended to different social spheres, mostly urban. Considering such context, this work aims to investigate the inclusive language in Spanish and characterize its most relevant resources in a series of public texts that circulated in Argentina between 2018 and 2020. On the one hand, its origin is explained, differentiating it from non-sexist language and the different theoretical positions around inclusive language are exposed. On the other hand, from the Dialogical Approach to Argumentation and Polyphony, this paper proposes to address inclusive language resources as subjectivity and polyphony marks which evidence ce...
Michaela Koch explains the development of a new line of research in sociolinguistics called queer linguistics. Rooted in poststructuralist approaches to gender as a social construction, queer linguistics offers a critical framework for sociolinguistic analysis that values diversity and avoids over-generalization and stereotyping. Koch describes the history of language and gender research from the 1920's up to today and analyzes different shifts of perspectives of research. Critically, she reflects the concept of performativity, which was originally introduced by J.L. Austin and reframed by Judith Butler into the concept of gender performativity in the 1990's. In addition to theoretical basics and methodology, this book introduces several model analyses and shows insistently the advantages of the queer linguistic framework. With its comprehensive overview of the development of language and gender research and its critical introduction to queer linguistics the book addresses linguistic scholars and students as well as scholars and students interested in gender studies.
Gender, Sexuality, and Meaning: Linguistic Practice and Politics by Sally McConnell-Ginet
American Anthropologist, 2013
Reviewed by Corinne Seals With Gender, Sexuality, and Meaning, Sally McConnell-Ginet offers readers a self-selected compilation of some of her foundational pieces on the topics of language, gender and sexuality. The volume is divided into five parts, beginning with the prelude, which McConnell-Ginet authored specifically for this book. Gender, Sexuality, and Meaning then moves on to the first section, titled 'Politics and Scholarship'. Following this are the second section-'Social Practice, Social Meanings, and Selves' ,-and the third, 'Constructing Content in Discourse'. She then concludes the volume with a coda discussing the future of linguistic research in studies of language, gender and sexuality. While at times repetitive across chapters, Gender, Sexuality, and Meaning provides a useful one-stop resource for scholars, teachers, and students of gender, sexuality, and language. Beginning with the prelude, 'Gender, Sexuality, and Meaning: An Overview' , McConnell-Ginet provides the reader with an in-depth background on research involving gender, sexuality, identity, ideologies and meaning. While a seasoned scholar familiar with these topics may find little new information in this section, readers less familiar with these fields of study will find this thorough introduction of great assistance in understanding the rest of the book. Additionally, given McConnell-Ginet's academic background in first formal linguistics and then later sociolinguistics, scholars of either linguistic subfield may find the prelude helpful in understanding how the two can be intertwined.