‘You're not supposed to be gay, you're black’: Analysing race and LGBTQ+ youth identity through an intersectional lens

In this article, I build upon calls for an intersectional approach in sociocultural linguistic research – particularly in the context of language, gender and sexuality – which attends robustly to the question of race. Through the analysis of four moments of discourse between young LGBTQ+ people, I s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of sociolinguistics 2024-10
Main Author: Jones, Lucy
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:In this article, I build upon calls for an intersectional approach in sociocultural linguistic research – particularly in the context of language, gender and sexuality – which attends robustly to the question of race. Through the analysis of four moments of discourse between young LGBTQ+ people, I show how their queer positionality is informed and shaped by their experience as white or racialised youths. In doing so, I demonstrate the intra‐categorical nature of identity and the benefits of a ‘thick’ analytical approach which pays close attention to individual speakers’ positionalities. Furthermore, I argue for sociocultural linguistic research which honours the origins of intersectionality theory by accounting explicitly for the role of systemic racism and white privilege on speakers’ identity constructions.
ISSN:1360-6441
1467-9841
DOI:10.1111/josl.12676