Identity emergence in gay immigrants’ definitions of coming out in the US
Presenter Title/Affiliation
Georgetown University
Start Date
21-5-2021 2:30 PM
Event Name
Panel discussion
Panel Number
5
Panel Chair Name
Ben Papadopolous
Zoom URL to Join
https://ciis.zoom.us/j/92667737905
Zoom Meeting ID
926 6773 7905
Abstract
The telling of coming-out narratives presents a paradox: while coming out is a process, each time it marks a disjuncture, or “discursive incoherence” (Sedgwick, 1990) in queer subjects’ lives when their presumed heterosexual identities are subverted. When narrating their coming-out experiences, they are expected to re-create coherence, a textual property Linde (1993) identifies in life stories. How, then, do gay immigrants’ in the US linguistically overcome this discursive incoherence in their narratives when their lived experiences are complicated by migration? In this paper, I argue that this is achieved by adopting two strategies: repetition and constructed dialogue (Tannen, 2007). This allows for relational positioning, whereby their identities emerge in interaction (Bucholtz & Hall, 2005). Methodologically, microlevel narrative analysis reveals the interactional details, which are often lost when coming-out narratives are employed to formulate models. Drawing from a corpus of sociolinguistic interviews conducted in Washington DC, this paper examine three gay Indian immigrants’ definitions of coming out. Building on Bamberg’s three-level narrative positioning (1997), the analysis show how they create narrative coherence by relationally positioning themselves vis-à-vis other story characters (level 1), the interviewer (level 2), and the discourses around coming out (level 3). This paper answers the call for studies on the cross-cultural dimension of language and sexuality (Cameron & Kulick, 2003). The findings show that coming out to self and coming out to others are inseparable for their gay identities to emerge. Also, while their relational positioning contributes to the emergence of gay identities, their immigrant identities do not gain as much saliency due to the lack of cultural reference to their own backgrounds. This suggests that, first, identities are emergent and not always present even when participants can be ascribed to certain categories, and that, secondly, coming out may remain to them a Western social construct that does not directly reflect their immigrant status. This study adds to positioning theory and the research on coming out as a communicative act through an interactional level of narrative analysis, thereby complementing the tradition of formulating coming-out models.
Presenter Contact
pw433@georgetown.edu
Identity emergence in gay immigrants’ definitions of coming out in the US
The telling of coming-out narratives presents a paradox: while coming out is a process, each time it marks a disjuncture, or “discursive incoherence” (Sedgwick, 1990) in queer subjects’ lives when their presumed heterosexual identities are subverted. When narrating their coming-out experiences, they are expected to re-create coherence, a textual property Linde (1993) identifies in life stories. How, then, do gay immigrants’ in the US linguistically overcome this discursive incoherence in their narratives when their lived experiences are complicated by migration? In this paper, I argue that this is achieved by adopting two strategies: repetition and constructed dialogue (Tannen, 2007). This allows for relational positioning, whereby their identities emerge in interaction (Bucholtz & Hall, 2005). Methodologically, microlevel narrative analysis reveals the interactional details, which are often lost when coming-out narratives are employed to formulate models. Drawing from a corpus of sociolinguistic interviews conducted in Washington DC, this paper examine three gay Indian immigrants’ definitions of coming out. Building on Bamberg’s three-level narrative positioning (1997), the analysis show how they create narrative coherence by relationally positioning themselves vis-à-vis other story characters (level 1), the interviewer (level 2), and the discourses around coming out (level 3). This paper answers the call for studies on the cross-cultural dimension of language and sexuality (Cameron & Kulick, 2003). The findings show that coming out to self and coming out to others are inseparable for their gay identities to emerge. Also, while their relational positioning contributes to the emergence of gay identities, their immigrant identities do not gain as much saliency due to the lack of cultural reference to their own backgrounds. This suggests that, first, identities are emergent and not always present even when participants can be ascribed to certain categories, and that, secondly, coming out may remain to them a Western social construct that does not directly reflect their immigrant status. This study adds to positioning theory and the research on coming out as a communicative act through an interactional level of narrative analysis, thereby complementing the tradition of formulating coming-out models.
https://digitalcommons.ciis.edu/lavlang/2021/friday/4
