Journal of Language and Sexuality - Current Issue

Abstract

Language representing diverse sexual orientations and gender identities has evolved rapidly over recent decades, with many gay/lesbian organizations rebranding as LGBT+ or queer groups. This study presents the first corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis of a major LGBT+ organization’s discourse. It examines how COC Netherlands, the world’s oldest continuing organization, negotiated inclusivity in its annual reports (2008–2023). Word frequencies, keyness, collocation and concordance analyses reveal uneven progress. LGBTI+ has replaced GLBT/LGBT, derogatory terms (e.g., transsexuality) disappeared and transgender and intersex identities gained visibility. Yet hierarchies persist: bisexual and lesbian identities remain marginalized, homo and gay continue as shorthand for the LGBT+ community and the plus sign lacks substantive content. The prevalence of an acronym (consecutively LGBT, LGBTI and LGBTI+) over specific identities highlights ongoing tensions between projecting unity and movement-internal diversity. These findings advance queer linguistics by showing how language both reflects and shapes inclusion, exclusion and social-movement internal hierarchies.

Abstract

This study examines how certain U.S. gay men, who identify as fans of female vocalists, engage with the feminist ideologies found in pop diva culture and with the gay male stereotype of diva-worship. Previous studies investigated how the discourses of female empowerment are formulated in divas’ song lyrics. However, little empirical literature on gay men’s perceptions toward divas’ lyrics and personae has been explored. To bridge this gap, my research utilizes the tools of critical discourse analysis in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Interviews were recorded from 21 gay male participants who were categorized into three age groups — 25–34, 35–45, and 45+. The data were then transcribed and uploaded to the software MAXQDA for coding. Using a combination of discourse analysis approaches, gay male subjectivity, and post-feminism, data were compared to formulate conceptual themes. The findings suggest that certain gay men deploy the discourse of diva-worshipping to move beyond a generalized fandom conversation to engage with the discussions of U.S. gender politics. The findings also indicated insightful ways of how these gay men came to their novel understandings of womanhood through the diva-worship practice while also seeking meaningful and self-empowering ways to identify with their divas and what they represent.

Abstract

In April 2023, the Supreme Court of India heard opening statements on marriage equality. This study focuses on the statement made by one of the litigants, Menaka Guruswamy, a publicly gay advocate. Many queer anti-caste activists have pointed out the myopic scope of gay representation in Indian legal work, and the politics of respectability that permeate it. Here, I conduct a multimodal discourse analysis of two video segments of Guruswamy’s statement. The study shows four things. First, moves to homonormativity are made through verbal and embodied gestalts. Second, Guruswamy ‘manualizes’ a forward vector into a neoliberal future. Third, this future is linguistically expressed through demonstrations of closeness to power and resemblance to power. Fourth, by (re)presenting her body as an emblem of all gay experience, Guruswamy excludes those who cannot afford her prerogatives. Overall, the study presents an immediate historical critique of representation in South Asian LGBTQI+ legal discourse.

Abstract

This article examines how Chinese gay male influencers on Douyin recontextualise sajiao — a hyper-feminine speech style associated with cuteness, emotional expressiveness, and relational submission (Yueh 2012) — to construct a stylised queer persona within a conservative socio-political environment. Drawing on a dataset of 203 videos, the analysis identifies a multimodal repertoire of sajiao performances, including phonetic, lexical, embodied, and platform-specific visual features. While sajiao is conventionally linked to heterosexual femininity, these performers strategically appropriate and exaggerate its indexical features while distancing themselves from its normative gender associations. The result is a recognisable yet queered figure: a stylistically, relationally, and affectively submissive gay male persona that leverages culturally familiar scripts to navigate visibility without overt politicisation. This paper argues that such performances offer a powerful example of how stylised language can function as both compliance and subversion, highlighting the complex interplay between sexuality, digital performance, and vernacular agency in non-Western digital spaces.

This article reviews Language and Mediated Masculinities

This article reviews Speaking of Rape: The Limits of Language in Sexual Violations