Language, gender, and sexual orientation: Gender-specific features of discursive styles of homosexual users of an internet forum

Sociologija

关键词: discursive style;    CMC;    gender identity;    sexual orientation;   

DOI  :  10.2298/SOC1301115S

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

This study seeks to determine whether and in which way homosexual people relyon gender-specific style characteristics when communicating in the internetenvironment. It is assumed that the basis of differences in languagepractices is not some identity category (either gender or sexual), that usesthese practices only as a means of expression. Instead, language is seen as aresource that allows us to respond to a variety of communication situations.The methodological framework for collecting and analyzing the samples ofverbal interaction is content analysis (relative frequencies of linguisticparameters are first calculated and then compared by using statisticaltechniques), and the results are then supplemented with a qualitativeanalysis of communication flow which further examines the mediating effect ofconversational context in the selection of gender-related discursivefeatures. The findings suggest that homosexual men and women differ when itcomes to the expression of gender-specific discursive style. In conclusion, Iargue in favor of the interpretation of these differences with respect to thespecificity of the communication context and existence of certain norms thatmodel the interaction among the participants in the discussion.

【 授权许可】

Unknown