“Erase/Rewind”: How transgender Twitter discourses challenge and (re)politicize lesbian identities
“Erase/Rewind”: How transgender Twitter discourses challenge and (re)politicize lesbian identities
Competing views on the in/compatibility of transgender status and lesbian identity is a source of conflict in the ongoing antagonism over transgender recognition. Many individuals with different transgender identities might lay claim to lesbian identity or lesbian discourse(s) more generally. However, this inclusion has been disputed in some circles insofar as it is seen to challenge or contradict characteristics of lesbianism. This paper explores how transgender discourses might challenge and (re)politicize lesbianism and lesbian identities. Given that social media platforms concentrate minority communities in one space and can serve to exacerbate antagonism over identities, I focus in this paper specifically on the Twitter context. This paper uses corpus-informed critical discourse studies to explore how cognitive models of lesbianism are articulated in transgender Twitter discourse/s. Findings indicate that transgender Twitter users (re)articulate sociohistorical narratives in lesbian discourse/s. At the same time, however, they also challenge and (re)politicize the essentialism of sex and gender in relation to lesbian identity and social practice. Hence, transgender Twitter discourse/s reflect potential explanations for contesting transinclusion in lesbianism, which may serve to reinforce transexclusionary claims for retaining lesbianism’s uniqueness as a female space and experience.
Corpus linguistics, Twitter, critical discourse studies, social media, transgender
174-191
Webster, Lexi
73920a7c-4aac-4188-81fb-b604c1dac45c
29 March 2022
Webster, Lexi
73920a7c-4aac-4188-81fb-b604c1dac45c
Webster, Lexi
(2022)
“Erase/Rewind”: How transgender Twitter discourses challenge and (re)politicize lesbian identities.
Journal of Lesbian Studies, 26 (2), .
(doi:10.1080/10894160.2021.1978369).
Abstract
Competing views on the in/compatibility of transgender status and lesbian identity is a source of conflict in the ongoing antagonism over transgender recognition. Many individuals with different transgender identities might lay claim to lesbian identity or lesbian discourse(s) more generally. However, this inclusion has been disputed in some circles insofar as it is seen to challenge or contradict characteristics of lesbianism. This paper explores how transgender discourses might challenge and (re)politicize lesbianism and lesbian identities. Given that social media platforms concentrate minority communities in one space and can serve to exacerbate antagonism over identities, I focus in this paper specifically on the Twitter context. This paper uses corpus-informed critical discourse studies to explore how cognitive models of lesbianism are articulated in transgender Twitter discourse/s. Findings indicate that transgender Twitter users (re)articulate sociohistorical narratives in lesbian discourse/s. At the same time, however, they also challenge and (re)politicize the essentialism of sex and gender in relation to lesbian identity and social practice. Hence, transgender Twitter discourse/s reflect potential explanations for contesting transinclusion in lesbianism, which may serve to reinforce transexclusionary claims for retaining lesbianism’s uniqueness as a female space and experience.
Text
Erase rewind How transgender Twitter discourses challenge and re politicize lesbian identities
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e-pub ahead of print date: 7 October 2021
Published date: 29 March 2022
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
The work conducted under the auspices of Lancaster University was funded by Lancaster University’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Postgraduate Studentship.
Funding Information:
The research and data collection underpinning this publication were conducted under the auspices of Lancaster University as part of a larger-scale doctoral project, though this paper was later written whilst the author was employed at Manchester Metropolitan University. The work conducted under the auspices of Lancaster University was funded by Lancaster University?s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Postgraduate Studentship.
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© 2021 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.
Keywords:
Corpus linguistics, Twitter, critical discourse studies, social media, transgender
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Local EPrints ID: 470291
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/470291
ISSN: 1089-4160
PURE UUID: 8377262c-298b-4ec3-890f-24f36401ca79
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Date deposited: 05 Oct 2022 16:53
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:14
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Author:
Lexi Webster
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