language and sexuality

heteronormativity - assumption that heterosexuality is the norm, assumes gender binary

• socialisation is the main reason for masculinity and femininity.

• linguistic differences are because of gender not sex.

• same stereotypes of gender are not the same in different countries.

• masculinity and femininity comes in multiple varieties inflected by social identity.

• identity is a matter of individual choice and effort.

gay male language:

polari:

borrowed terms from Italian, Yiddish, cockney rhyming slang, slang from gay subculture.

mostly used in the 50s and 60s by gay men but some terms are still used today.

popular in theatres and travelling entertainers. on cruise lines in the 50s and 60s gay men joined the merchant navy as waiters and stewards. was a place of freedom from oppression. put on drag shows and called themselves queens.

• high pitch, vocal fry, up-talk, voice opinions, flamboyant, loud

• many features of gay men are typically used by women

• tend to pronounce vowels longer

• use Californian accent for stylistic affect

david crystal - correlated the use among men of an effeminate or simpering voice with a withered range of pitch

gay female language:

• femme and butch

• short hair

• femme wears dresses and pastels

• butch wears oversized masculine clothes

robin queen - lesbians can appropriate the stylistic features of women’s language or can consciously reject those features. there is the idea of femme and butch.

judith butler - gender performativity. the capacity of women’s language is the same as men’s. in china the ideas around a woman are different to in the UK. gender comes from social interaction and is not biological. questions the belief that certain gendered behaviours are natural, illustrating the ways that one’s learned performances of gendered behaviour.

coates and jordan - lesbian speech is marked by less distinct forms and a more collaborative conversational environment.

lal zimman - the normative framework created around gender and sexuality can be challenged by the use of language.

sometimes lesbians deliberately avoid stereotypical female speech in order to distance themselves from ‘normative’ heterosexual female speech patterns. divergence

as non-normative identities gain visibility, language changes and create new gender inclusive options.