1887
image of Translation and queer audiovisual culture
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

This paper analyzes the music video of the parody song “Es una pasiva,” the Spanish interlingual cover of “Boy Is a Bottom,” released by drag performer Willam in 2015. The first stage of the analysis examines how the Spanish version, through its linguistic material, constructs a distinct representation of passive or receptive sexual positionality in male homosexual relationships, differing from the portrayal in the English source song. The second stage focuses on the translated text to explore how the linguistic elements are “amplified” and recontextualized through visual components that draw from both Latin American and globalized queer cultural frameworks. Building on these analyses, the study highlights the relevance of the concept of “embodiment” to expand the conceptual repertoire of audiovisual translation studies, particularly in relation to semiotic interaction.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/ts.25012.vil
2025-10-06
2025-11-14
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Ahmed, Sara
    2014The Cultural Politics of Emotion. 2nd ed.Edinburgh University Press. 10.1515/9780748691142
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9780748691142 [Google Scholar]
  2. Attride-Stirling, Jennifer
    2001 “Thematic Networks: An Analytic Tool for Qualitative Research.” Qualitative Research (): –. 10.1177/146879410100100307
    https://doi.org/10.1177/146879410100100307 [Google Scholar]
  3. Bakhtin, Mikhail
    1984Rabelais and His World. Translated byHelene Iswolsky. Indiana University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Baldry, Anthony, and Paul Thibault
    2006Multimodal Transcription and Text Analysis. A Multimedia Toolkit and Coursebooks with Associated On-Line Course. Equinox.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Barthes, Roland
    1977 “Rhetoric of the Image.” InImage, Music, Text, –. Translated byStephen Heath. Fontana Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Belli, William
    . “Es una pasiva.” [Video]. Song produced byMarkaholic. Video produced byAnthony Torrez and Beth Wheatley. ReleasedJanuary 13, 2015. YouTube, 3:54. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HAGYeWgkZc&ab_channel=willambelli
  7. . “Boy Is a Bottom.” [Video]. Featuring Detox and Vicky Vox. Song produced byMarkaholic. Video directed byShawn Adeli. ReleasedJanuary 28, 2013. YouTube, :. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0kqobQRcUo&ab_channel=willambelli
  8. Burns, Lori
    2018 “Interpreting Transmedia and Multimodal Narratives. Steven Wilson’s ‘The Raven That Refused to Sing.’” InThe Routledge Companion to Popular Music Analysis, edited byCiro Scotto, Kenneth M. Smith, and John Brackett, –. Routledge. 10.4324/9781315544700‑7
    https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315544700-7 [Google Scholar]
  9. Burns, Lori, and Stan Hawkins
    2019 “Introduction: Undertaking Music Video Analysis.” InThe Bloomsbury Handbook of Popular Music Video Analysis, edited byLori Burns and Stan Hawkins, –. Bloomsbury. 10.5040/9781501342363.ch‑001
    https://doi.org/10.5040/9781501342363.ch-001 [Google Scholar]
  10. Chahbane, Sarra
    2023 “Framing Gender in Moroccan Contemporary Pop Music Videos: A Content Analysis of Gender Portrayals.” Women’s Studies International Forum ():. 10.1016/j.wsif.2023.102759
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2023.102759 [Google Scholar]
  11. Chaume, Frederic
    2004Cine y Traducción. Cátedra.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. 2012Audiovisual Translation: Dubbing. Routledge. 10.4324/9781003161660
    https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003161660 [Google Scholar]
  13. Cover, Rob, Rosslyn Prosser, and Duc Dau
    2022 “The Corporeality of Sound: Drag Performance, Lip-Synching and the Popular Critique of Gendered Theatrics in Australian Film and Television.” Media International Australia (): –. 10.1177/1329878X211031582
    https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X211031582 [Google Scholar]
  14. De Beaugrande, Robert
    1991Linguistic Theory. The Discourse of Fundamental Works. Longman.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Díaz Cintas, Jorge, and Aline Remael
    2021Subtitling. Concepts and Practices. Routledge. 10.4324/9781315674278
    https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315674278 [Google Scholar]
  16. Dyer, Richard
    1998Stars. British Film Institute Publishing. 10.5040/9781838710934
    https://doi.org/10.5040/9781838710934 [Google Scholar]
  17. 2004 “Judy Garland and Gay Men.” InHeavenly Bodies. Film Stars and Society, –. Routledge. 10.4324/9780203605516‑4
    https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203605516-4 [Google Scholar]
  18. Halliday, Michael A. K., and Ruqaiya Hasan
    1976Cohesion in English. Longman.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Horkheimer, Max, and Theodor Adorno
    2013La Industria Cultural. El Cuenco de Plata.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Hutcheon, Linda
    1985A Theory of Parody. The Teachings of Twentieth-Century Art Forms. Metheun.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. 2006A Theory of Adaptation. Routledge. 10.4324/9780203957721
    https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203957721 [Google Scholar]
  22. Jahnukainen, Markku
    2010 “Extreme Cases.” InEncyclopedia of Case Study Research, edited byAlbert Mills, Gabrielle Durepos, and Elden Wiebe, –. Sage.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Keys, Alicia
    . “Girl on Fire.” [Video]. Song co-produced withJeff Bhasker and Salaam Remi. Video directed bySophie Muller. ReleasedOctober 19, 2012. YouTube, :. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J91ti_MpdHA&ab_channel=aliciakeysVEVO
  24. Kress, Gunther, and Theo Van Leeuwen
    2006Reading Images. The Grammar of Visual Design. Routledge. 10.4324/9780203619728
    https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203619728 [Google Scholar]
  25. McNealy, Grace
    2021 “Queering the Gaze: Visualizing Desire in Lacanian Film Theory.” Whatever. A Transdisciplinary Journal of Queer Theories and Studies (): –. 10.13131/2611‑657X.whatever.v4i1.106
    https://doi.org/10.13131/2611-657X.whatever.v4i1.106 [Google Scholar]
  26. O’Connell, Rachel
    2020 “‘Labouring in the Image’: Celebrity, Femininity, and the Fully Commodified Self in the Drag of Willam Belli.” Celebrity Studies (): –. 10.1080/19392397.2020.1765085
    https://doi.org/10.1080/19392397.2020.1765085 [Google Scholar]
  27. Osborn, Brad
    2021Interpreting Music Video Popular Music in the Post-MTV Era. Routledge. 10.4324/9781003037576
    https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003037576 [Google Scholar]
  28. Pérez-González, Luis
    2014Audiovisual Translation: Theories, Methods and Issues. Routledge. 10.4324/9781315762975
    https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315762975 [Google Scholar]
  29. Saldaña, Johnny
    2021The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. 4th ed.SAGE Publications.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Schippert, Claudia
    2007 “Can Muscles Be Queer? Reconsidering the Transgressive Hyper-Built Body.” Journal of Gender Studies (): –. 10.1080/09589230701324702
    https://doi.org/10.1080/09589230701324702 [Google Scholar]
  31. Schuckmann, Patrick
    1998 “Masculinity, the Male Spectator and the Homoerotic Gaze.” Amerikastudien / American Studies (): –.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Susam-Sarajeva, Şebnem
    2008 “Translation and Music. Changing Perspectives, Frameworks and Significance.” The Translator (): –. 10.1080/13556509.2008.10799255
    https://doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2008.10799255 [Google Scholar]
  33. 2019 “Interlingual Cover Versions: How Popular Songs Travel Round the World.” The Translator (): –. 10.1080/13556509.2018.1549710
    https://doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2018.1549710 [Google Scholar]
  34. Toury, Gideon
    2012Descriptive Translation Studies and Beyond. John Benjamins Publishing Company. 10.1075/btl.100
    https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.100 [Google Scholar]
  35. Vernallis, Carol
    2004Music Video. Aesthetics and Cultural Context. Columbia University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Villanueva-Jordán, Iván
    2024Traducción audiovisual y teleficción queer. Teoría y metodología. Editorial UPC. 10.19083/978‑612‑318‑516‑9
    https://doi.org/10.19083/978-612-318-516-9 [Google Scholar]
  37. Villanueva-Jordán, Iván, and Antonio Martínez Pleguezuelos
    2025 “Radical bottomhood: a critical translational analysis of the songs ‘Boy is a Bottom’ and ‘Es una pasiva’.” InTranslating Spanglish in US Latinx Audiovisual Stories, edited byRemy Attig and Attig, R. and Roshawnda Derrick, –. Routledge. 10.4324/9781003488057‑13
    https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003488057-13 [Google Scholar]
  38. Wallis, Cara
    2011 “Performing Gender: A Content Analysis of Gender Display in Music Videos.” Sex Roles (): –. 10.1007/s11199‑010‑9814‑2
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9814-2 [Google Scholar]
  39. Zabalbeascoa, Patrick
    2024Audiovisual Translation. Routledge. 10.4324/9781003433439
    https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003433439 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/ts.25012.vil
Loading
/content/journals/10.1075/ts.25012.vil
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keywords: homoeroticism ; embodiment ; drag queen ; sexuality ; multimodality
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