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The struggle over naming: a case study of ‘queer’ in Toronto, 1990–1994
Author(s) -
Jacobs Greg
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
world englishes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.6
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1467-971X
pISSN - 0883-2919
DOI - 10.1111/1467-971x.00093
Subject(s) - queer , lesbian , mainstream , newspaper , ideology , gender studies , sociology , media studies , affect (linguistics) , politics , political science , law , communication
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.