Like lesbian separatism, but for straight dudes”: Comparing the language of lesbian separatist and Men Going Their Own Way manifestos
Presenter Title/Affiliation
Lancaster University
Start Date
22-5-2021 11:00 AM
Event Name
Panel discussion
Panel Number
10
Panel Chair Name
Juliana Friend
Zoom URL to Join
https://ciis.zoom.us/j/91565534637
Zoom Meeting ID
915 6553 4637
Abstract
In this talk, we analyse ten manifestos, five historical ones written by lesbian separatists and five contemporary ones posted online by men who seek to limit their interactions with women (a community known as Men Going Their Own Way, or MGTOW). Our aim is to determine how the language used in the two sets of texts is similar or different, to show to what extent two seemingly opposed groups share more similarities than may be assumed at first sight.
The texts were chosen for their character as manifestos: they spell out the group’s core beliefs and argue what actions do or should follow from them. The selection of the lesbian separatist texts was based on previous research (Author, 2008), while the MGTOW data set comprises the five texts with manifesto characteristics that were top-rated on the r/MGTOW subreddit on the online platform Reddit.
The analysis proceeded in two steps: first, we did a close reading of the texts to identify linguistic features and discursive functions that the two sets have in common, e.g. absolute quantifiers and interdiscursivity. Next, we systematically analysed these features and functions in the data to ascertain similarities and differences within them.
For example, we found that both communities use absolute quantifiers (‘our oppressors … have hated … us in every culture in patriarchal history’, ‘a woman will always … define male maturity as being ready to submit to marriage’) to present their statements as factual truth and homogenise the respective out-group. On the other hand, interdiscursivity, while featuring in both data sets, show different ideological influences, such as socialism vs neoliberalism.
Despite the similarities in language, a crucial difference between the two groups is that lesbian separatism embraces a communal ethos and seeks to realise community goals, while MGTOWs are notably more indivdualistic and can best be described as an “affective public” (Papacharissi, 2015) rather than as a political movement. Our study therefore suggests that persuasive features and functions in texts can be used by groups that are different in character and organisation, and be used to express diametrically opposed ideologies.
Presenter Contact
v.koller@lancaster.ac.uk
a.krendel@lancaster.ac.uk
Like lesbian separatism, but for straight dudes”: Comparing the language of lesbian separatist and Men Going Their Own Way manifestos
In this talk, we analyse ten manifestos, five historical ones written by lesbian separatists and five contemporary ones posted online by men who seek to limit their interactions with women (a community known as Men Going Their Own Way, or MGTOW). Our aim is to determine how the language used in the two sets of texts is similar or different, to show to what extent two seemingly opposed groups share more similarities than may be assumed at first sight.
The texts were chosen for their character as manifestos: they spell out the group’s core beliefs and argue what actions do or should follow from them. The selection of the lesbian separatist texts was based on previous research (Author, 2008), while the MGTOW data set comprises the five texts with manifesto characteristics that were top-rated on the r/MGTOW subreddit on the online platform Reddit.
The analysis proceeded in two steps: first, we did a close reading of the texts to identify linguistic features and discursive functions that the two sets have in common, e.g. absolute quantifiers and interdiscursivity. Next, we systematically analysed these features and functions in the data to ascertain similarities and differences within them.
For example, we found that both communities use absolute quantifiers (‘our oppressors … have hated … us in every culture in patriarchal history’, ‘a woman will always … define male maturity as being ready to submit to marriage’) to present their statements as factual truth and homogenise the respective out-group. On the other hand, interdiscursivity, while featuring in both data sets, show different ideological influences, such as socialism vs neoliberalism.
Despite the similarities in language, a crucial difference between the two groups is that lesbian separatism embraces a communal ethos and seeks to realise community goals, while MGTOWs are notably more indivdualistic and can best be described as an “affective public” (Papacharissi, 2015) rather than as a political movement. Our study therefore suggests that persuasive features and functions in texts can be used by groups that are different in character and organisation, and be used to express diametrically opposed ideologies.
https://digitalcommons.ciis.edu/lavlang/2021/saturday/15
