1887
Volume 6, Issue 1
  • ISSN 2211-3770
  • E-ISSN: 2211-3789
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Although queer linguistics has long acknowledged the playful use of potentially impolite utterances by LGBT people to build in-group solidarity these practices have not been analyzed from a sociopragmatic approach, nor have they been mentioned in the general pragmatics literature. Responding to these two gaps, the present study examines the functional use of the interactional practice ‘reading’ in the backstage talk of four drag queen performers. By employing a mock impoliteness analytical framework ( Haugh & Bousfield 2012 ) this study shows how these utterances, which could potentially be evaluated as genuine impoliteness outside of the appropriate context, are positively evaluated by in-group members who recognize the importance of “building a thick skin” to face a hostile environment from LGBT and non-LGBT people. This study also seeks to draw attention to the use of backstage talk, and supplemental interview data, to uncover drag queen cultural practices through language use.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/jls.6.1.04mck
2017-06-17
2024-12-04
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Barrett, Rusty
    1994 “She is NOT white woman!”: The appropriation of white women’s language by African American drag queens. InCultural Performances: Proceedings of the Third Berkeley Women and Language Conference, Mary Bucholtz , A. C. Liang , Laurel Sutton & Caitlin Hines (eds), 1–14. Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Women and Language Group.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. 1995 Supermodels of the world, unite! Political economy and the language of performance among African American drag queens. InBeyond the Lavender Lexicon: Authenticity, Imagination and the Appropriation in Lesbian and Gay Languages, William L. Leap (ed), 207–226. Newark: Gordon & Breach.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. 1998 Markedness and styleswitching in performances by African American drag queens. InCodes and Consequences: Choosing Linguistic Varieties, Carol Myers-Scotton (ed), 139–161. Oxford University Press: New York City.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. 1999 Indexing polyphonous identity in the speech of African American drag queens. InReinventing Identities: The Gendered Self in Discourse, Mary Bucholtz , A. C. Liang & Laurel A. Sutton (eds), 313–331. New York: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Berkowitz, Dana & Belgrave, Linda
    2010 “She works hard for the money”: Drag queens and the management of their contradictory status of celebrity and marginality. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography39: 159–186. doi: 10.1177/0891241609342193
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0891241609342193 [Google Scholar]
  6. Berkowitz, Dana , Belgrave, Linda & Halberstein, Robert A.
    2007 The interaction of drag queens and gay men in public and private spheres. Journal of Homosexuality52: 11–32. doi: 10.1300/J082v52n03_02
    https://doi.org/10.1300/J082v52n03_02 [Google Scholar]
  7. Bernal, María
    2008 Do insults always insult? Genuine impoliteness versus non-genuine impoliteness in colloquial Spanish. Pragmatics18(4): 775–802. doi: 10.1075/prag.18.4.10ber
    https://doi.org/10.1075/prag.18.4.10ber [Google Scholar]
  8. Bishop, C. J. , Kiss, Mark , Morrison, Todd G. , Rushe, Damien M. & Specht, Jacqueline
    2014 The association between gay men’s stereotypic beliefs about drag queens and their endorsement of hypermasculinity. Journal of Homosexuality61: 554–567. doi: 10.1080/00918369.2014.865464
    https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2014.865464 [Google Scholar]
  9. Boxer, Diana & Cortés-Conde, Florencia
    1997 From binding to biting: Conversational joking and identity display. Journal of Pragmatics27: 275–294. doi: 10.1016/S0378‑2166(96)00031‑8
    https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-2166(96)00031-8 [Google Scholar]
  10. Brown, Penelope & Levinson, Stephen C.
    1987Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Butler, Judith
    1990Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Crowly, Tony
    2007 When Saturday comes: The boundaries of football rudeness. InRude Britannia, Mina Gorji (ed), 115–126. London: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Culpeper, Jonathan
    1996 Towards an anatomy of impoliteness. Journal of Pragmatics25: 349–367. doi: 10.1016/0378‑2166(95)00014‑3
    https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-2166(95)00014-3 [Google Scholar]
  14. 2011Impoliteness: Using Language to Cause Offence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CBO9780511975752
    https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511975752 [Google Scholar]
  15. Daems, Jim
    (ed) 2014The Makeup of RuPaul’s Drag Race: Essays on the Queen of Reality Shows. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. DeWalt, Kathleen M. & DeWalt, Billie R.
    2002Participant Observation: A Guide for Fieldworkers. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Edgar, Eir-Anne
    2011 “Xtravaganza!”: Drag representation and articulation in “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Studies in Popular Culture34(1): 133–146.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Goffman, Erving
    1959The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Doubleday.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. 1967Interaction Ritual. Chicago: Aldine Publishing.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Grainger, Karen
    2004 Verbal play on the hospital ward: Solidarity or power?Multilingua23: 39–59. doi: 10.1515/mult.2004.007
    https://doi.org/10.1515/mult.2004.007 [Google Scholar]
  21. Haugh, Michael
    2010 Jocular mockery, (dis)affiliation, and face. Journal of Pragmatics42: 2106–2119. doi: 10.1016/j.pragma.2009.12.018
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2009.12.018 [Google Scholar]
  22. 2011 Humour, face and im/politeness in getting acquainted. InSituated Politeness, Bethan Davies , Michael Haugh & Andrew John Merrison (eds), 165–184. London: Continuum.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Haugh, Michael & Bousfield, Derek
    2012 Mock impoliteness, jocular mockery and jocular abuse in Australian and British English. Journal of Pragmatics44: 1099–1114. doi: 10.1016/j.pragma.2012.02.003
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2012.02.003 [Google Scholar]
  24. Heisterkamp, Brian L. & Alberts, Jess K.
    2000 Control and desire: Identity formation through teasing among gay men and lesbians. Communication Studies51(4): 388–403. doi: 10.1080/10510970009388533
    https://doi.org/10.1080/10510970009388533 [Google Scholar]
  25. Holmes, Janet
    2006 Sharing a laugh: Pragmatic aspects of humor and gender in the workplace. Journal of Pragmatics38: 26–50. doi: 10.1016/j.pragma.2005.06.007
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2005.06.007 [Google Scholar]
  26. Hopkins, Steven J.
    2004 “Let the drag race begin”: The rewards of becoming a queen. Journal of Homosexuality46: 135–149. doi: 10.1300/J082v46n03_08
    https://doi.org/10.1300/J082v46n03_08 [Google Scholar]
  27. Johnson, E. Patrick
    1995 SNAP! Culture: A different kind of “reading.”Text and Performance Quarterly15: 122–142. doi: 10.1080/10462939509366110
    https://doi.org/10.1080/10462939509366110 [Google Scholar]
  28. Jones, Richard G.
    2007 Drag queens, drama queens and friends: Drama and performance as a solidarity-building function in a gay male friendship circle. Kaleidoscope6: 61–84.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Kádár, Dániel Z. & Haugh, Michael
    2013Understanding Politeness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CBO9781139382717
    https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139382717 [Google Scholar]
  30. Keltner, Dacher , Young, Randall C. , Heerey, Erin A. , Oemig, Carmen & Monarch, Natalie D.
    1998 Teasing in hierarchical and intimate relations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology75(5): 1231–1247. doi: 10.1037/0022‑3514.75.5.1231
    https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.75.5.1231 [Google Scholar]
  31. Kirk, Mary
    2004 Kind of a drag: Gender, race, and the ambivalence in The Birdcage and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. Journal of Homosexuality46: 169–180. doi: 10.1300/J082v46n03_10
    https://doi.org/10.1300/J082v46n03_10 [Google Scholar]
  32. Kochman, Thomas
    1983 The boundary between play and nonplay in black verbal dueling. Language in Society12: 329–337. doi: 10.1017/S0047404500009970
    https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500009970 [Google Scholar]
  33. Labov, William
    1972aLanguage in the Inner City: Studies in Black English Vernacular. Oxford: Blackwell.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Labov William
    1972b Some principles of linguistic methodology. Language in Society1: 97–120. doi: 10.1017/S0047404500006576
    https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500006576 [Google Scholar]
  35. Lampert, Martin , Ervin-Tripp, Susan
    2006 Risky laughter: Teasing and self-directed joking among male and female friends. Journal of Pragmatics38: 51–72. doi: 10.1016/j.pragma.2005.06.004
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2005.06.004 [Google Scholar]
  36. Leap, William L.
    1996Word’s Out: Gay Men’s English. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Leech, Geoffrey N.
    1983Principles of Pragmatics. London: Longman.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Maíz-Arévalo, Carmen
    2015 Jocular mockery in computer-mediated communication: A contrastive study of a Spanish and English Facebook community. Journal of Politeness Research11(2): 289–327. doi: 10.1515/pr‑2015‑0012
    https://doi.org/10.1515/pr-2015-0012 [Google Scholar]
  39. Mann, Stephen L.
    2011 Drag queen’s use of language and the performance of blurred gendered and racial identities. Journal of Homosexuality58: 793–811. doi: 10.1080/00918369.2011.581923
    https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2011.581923 [Google Scholar]
  40. McKinnon, Sean & Prieto, Pilar
    2014 The role of prosody and gesture in the perception of mock impoliteness. Journal of Politeness Research10(2): 185–219. doi: 10.1515/pr‑2014‑0009
    https://doi.org/10.1515/pr-2014-0009 [Google Scholar]
  41. Mills, Sara
    2003Gender and Politeness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CBO9780511615238
    https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511615238 [Google Scholar]
  42. Murphy, Scott Patrick
    2017 Humor orgies as ritual insult: Putdowns and solidarity maintenance in a corner donut shop. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography46(1): 108–132.
    [Google Scholar]
  43. Murray, Stephen O.
    1979 The art of gay insulting. Anthrophological Linguistics21(5): 211–223.
    [Google Scholar]
  44. Perez, Justin
    2011 Word play, ritual insult, and volleyball in Peru. Journal of Homosexuality58: 834–847. doi: 10.1080/00918369.2011.581926
    https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2011.581926 [Google Scholar]
  45. Schacht, Steven P. & Underwood, Lisa
    2004 The absolutely fabulous but flawlessly customary world of female impersonators. Journal of Homosexuality46: 1–17. doi: 10.1300/J082v46n03_01
    https://doi.org/10.1300/J082v46n03_01 [Google Scholar]
  46. Simmons, Nathaniel
    2014 Speaking like a queen in RuPaul’s Drag Race: Towards a speech code of American drag queens. Sexuality & Culture18: 630–648. doi: 10.1007/s12119‑013‑9213‑2
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-013-9213-2 [Google Scholar]
  47. Sinkeviciute, Valeria
    2014 “When a joke’s a joke and when it’s too much”: Mateship as a key to interpreting jocular FTAs in Australian English. Journal of Pragmatics60: 121–139. doi: 10.1016/j.pragma.2013.11.004
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2013.11.004 [Google Scholar]
  48. Spencer-Oatey, Helen
    2002 Managing rapport in talk: Using rapport sensitive incidents to explore the motivational concerns underlying the management of relations. Journal of Pragmatics34: 529–545. doi: 10.1016/S0378‑2166(01)00039‑X
    https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-2166(01)00039-X [Google Scholar]
  49. 2005 (Im)politeness, face and perceptions of rapport: Unpacking their bases and interrelationships. Journal of Politeness Research1: 95–119. doi: 10.1515/jplr.2005.1.1.95
    https://doi.org/10.1515/jplr.2005.1.1.95 [Google Scholar]
  50. 2008Culturally Speaking: Managing Rapport through Talk Across Cultures (2nd edition). London: Continuum.
    [Google Scholar]
  51. Stanley, Julia P.
    1970 Homosexual slang. American Speech45(1): 45–59. doi: 10.2307/455061
    https://doi.org/10.2307/455061 [Google Scholar]
  52. Stenström, Anna-Brita & Jörgensen, Annette Myre
    2008 A matter of politeness? A contrastive study of phatic talk in teenage conversation. Pragmatics18(4): 635–657. doi: 10.1075/prag.18.4.04ste
    https://doi.org/10.1075/prag.18.4.04ste [Google Scholar]
  53. Taylor, Verta & Rupp, Leila J.
    2003Drag Queens at the 801 Cabaret. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  54. 2004 Chicks with dicks, men in dresses: What it means to be a drag queen. Journal of Homosexuality46: 113–133. doi: 10.1300/J082v46n03_07
    https://doi.org/10.1300/J082v46n03_07 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/jls.6.1.04mck
Loading
/content/journals/10.1075/jls.6.1.04mck
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error