Queering the French Académie

Reclaiming Linguistic Authority for Trans and Non-Binary People

Bibliographic Data

ID21778740
AuthorsJordan J Tudisco (0000-0003-0940-7627, University of California, Santa Barbara, corresponding author), Jordan Tudisco
Year2021
Volume43
Issue1
Publication date2021-06-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueToronto Working Papers in Linguistics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1718-3510 • E-ISSN: 1718-3510
PublisherUniversity of Toronto Libraries - UOTL (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.33137/twpl.v43i1.35952
OpenAlexW3180447900
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited7

Trans and non-binary communities have long known the importance of linguistic practices and the power that determining the meaning of words and which words fit has over one’s feelings of validation, visibility, acceptance and existence. In the French-speaking context, and in France, especially, trans and non-binary people not only have to construct their identities within a strongly binary language but also face the gatekeeping and constraining power of the French Académie. This article examines the linguistic practices of trans users on two online forums and highlights three main strategies used by French-speaking trans and non-binary individuals: (1) the non-normative use of binary grammatical gender to index non-binary identities, (2) the reframing of body parts as either non-indexical of sex/gender or as indexing only one’s self-identified sex/gender, and (3) the use of English terminology

Cognitive reframing · Epistemology · French · Gatekeeping · Indexicality · Linguistics · Normative · Political science · Sociology · Terminology · Computer Science · Gender Studies in Language · History · Linguistics and Discourse Analysis · Psychology · Social Psychology · Translation Studies and Practices

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