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

Jones, Lucy

Abstract

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.

Citation

Jones, L. (2024). ‘You're not supposed to be gay, you're black’: Analysing race and LGBTQ+ youth identity through an intersectional lens. Journal of Sociolinguistics, https://doi.org/10.1111/josl.12676

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 17, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Oct 21, 2024
• Publication Date: Oct 21, 2024
• Deposit Date: Sep 18, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 18, 2024
• Journal: Journal of Sociolinguistics
• Print ISSN: 1360-6441
• Electronic ISSN: 1467-9841
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/josl.12676
• Keywords: intersectionality; LGBTQ+ identity; race; marginalised speakers
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/39720637
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/josl.12676