The struggle over naming

A case study of 'queer' in Toronto, 1990-1994

Bibliographic Data

ID2254763
AuthorsGreg Jacobs (York University, corresponding author)
Year1998
Volume17
Issue2
Pages193-201
Publication date1998-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueWorld Englishes (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0883-2919 • E-ISSN: 1467-971X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1467-971x.00093
OpenAlexW2061973641
LanguageEN
Citations received7

Choice of appropriate terms of self-reference by oppressed groups is often the site of ideological struggle. In the 1990s, lesbians and gays in Toronto are debating the appropriateness of the term 'queer.' I document this controversy through a study of opinion pieces, articles, and letters-to-the-editor that appeared in XTRA! (Toronto's main lesbian and gay newspaper) from 1990-94. Second, I report on an experiment of how the use of 'queer' in the mainstream media may affect readers' attitudes towards gay men and lesbians. Finally, I compare the results with other researchers' findings on how linguistic meanings are defined as they travel through the dominant culture's speech community

Affect (linguistics · Ideology · Lesbian · Mainstream · Media studies · Newspaper · Political science · Politics · Queer · Sociology · Gender Studies · Gender Studies in Language · Law · Swearing, Euphemism, Multilingualism · Translation Studies and Practices

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