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Volume 1, Issue 1
  • ISSN 2950-578X
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Abstract

Abstract

Scouse and Scousers are highly recognisable within the UK, with research revealing longstanding associations with white, urban, working-class male speakers. However, Scouse identity is increasingly associated with a feminine persona: the . Research thus far focuses on recognisable gendered practices of this Scouse feminine identity but has not yet explored the link of such practices with dialect and class. This paper seeks to extend current research by analysing the enregisterment of the Scouse bird on Twitter and in interviews with participants from the Wirral. We take an intersectional approach that factors on gender as a crucial component to understanding the representation of enregistered dialect and class. We propose that the Scouse bird persona may achieve popularity online precisely because of her gender incongruence, which can be viewed as defiance against gender expectations and class hierarchies. We conclude that there are multiple enregistered and intersecting repertoires embedded into the online and offline representation of the Scouse bird, that encompass dialect, (white, working-)class and counterhegemonic femininity.

© John Benjamins Publishing Company
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2024-10-04
2025-04-30

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Pink rollers and fake tan
Journal of Language and Pop Culture 1, 50 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1075/jlpop.24011.mon
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): (counter)hegemonic femininity; indexicality; intersectionality; social media; sociolinguistics; working-class
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