x-rated linguistics

Question 1

Sadomasochism inherently is the partaking/enjoyment of sexual practices that are characterised by both sadism and masochism. In simpler words, participants of sadomasochism engage in fantasies that involved humiliation and pain. Participants generally agree on a ‘safe word’ prior to indicate the immediate cessation of whatever the other partner is doing. Before going into the nature of the ‘safe word’ Read more →

hello and welcome to our in-class/take-home/do-it-wherever exam!

please pick two questions, answer them in a single blog post, categorize the post as ‘it’s raining men‘ and schedule it to be published at 3:30pm. make sure to draw on the material we have covered so far (the textbook) as well as other online sources which you should reference (hyperlink) in your essay. 

enjoy!

Q-1

Julie and Mike are into sadomasochistic sexting. Which among these emojis is Read more →

Just thinking about food has the ability to make one’s mouth salivate and stomachs growl. Eating involves so many of our senses. Remarkably, these are the similar senses involved in sex. Also, hunger and procreation are part of our primal instincts as humans, making it sensible that somehow these two are linked. What links these two? Language.

It is only fair Read more →

The documentary ‘Do I sound Gay?’ by David Thorpe addressed many issues about the stereotyped “gay voice”, how it is perceived as a signal for one’s sexuality, how it could be acquired and whether it is indicative of a person’s sexual orientation. The documentary touched on many interesting topics but did not delve too deeply into each. Thorpe conducted street Read more →

The study of language and sexuality revolves around (the beliefs) of accepted norms. In other words, a person’s language style, behavior and maybe even preferences would be attached to being a ‘him/her’. (Something like girl=pink, boys=blue) However, studies on such patterns have proven otherwise as even those belonging to the same sex group may disagree on specific language Read more →

The “sound-ly” relationship between Speech, Voice and Mannerism

          ‘Do I Sound Gay?’ is produced and directed by David Thorpe (ThinkThorpe LLC, 2014). The 77-minute film takes on a first-person framework with the self-documentary of Thorpe. To summarise, Thorpe shares that he is over 40 years old and has broken up with his long-time Read more →

The connection between food and sex is not foreign to us. At a glance, we understand that they are both vital to human survival. With a little more knowledge, we will be able to make connections in the forms of aphrodisiac foods or even food play in sexual activities. The interaction of food and sex with language, however, Read more →

Discuss some aspect(s) of the nexus of language, sex, and food (or food talk).

Language, sex and food function as a system of communication, with issues in food and sex inextricably encoded in the negotiation of identity as mediated by language. Some aspects of the nexus of language, sex and food to be discussed include food replacing sex as an identity Read more →

“Do I Sound Gay?” (Thorpe, 2012) follows the 40-year-old main protagonist-cum-director, David Thorpe on a semi-anecdotal, semi-serious study on the existence of a ‘gay voice’; diagnosing and treating its prodromes whilst exploring negative effects from suffering this tragic ‘disease’. The crippling insecurity that manifested in Thorpe posthumously, following a devastating break-up, was the main personal motivation for this Read more →

Over several centuries, the multi-faceted topic of sex has constantly been associated with metaphors of food its consumption, through the means of language use. Food imagery is also typically framed as a form of seduction and even a sin: greasy, hearty junk food that we love to indulge in is usually described as “sinful”, yet we crave for it every Read more →

‘Queer’ was first introduced in the 19th century to mean ‘homosexual’. Homosexuality then, was seen as a deviant and homosexual acts were heavily legislated. Queer was stained as the negative institutionalization of homosexuality back then. Even in modern dictionary, it is indicated as a ‘derogatory’ or ‘offensive’. Linguistic reclamation of Queer has proven tough, especially with mixed feeling Read more →

David Thorpe’s documentary Do I Sound Gay looks at what it means to sound stereotypically gay and explores the journey of a gay man, Thorpe himself, as he struggles to find his ‘real voice’ and whether doing so might be to get rid of his gay sounding voice. He studies the opinions of friends, specialists as well as entertainers to investigate what Read more →

Queer linguistics is the analysis of language data using Queer Theory (Motschenbacher & Stegu, 2013), which first emerged in the 1970s and 1980s as a reaction to the gay and lesbian rights movement. To discuss Queer linguistics, we would first have to talk about Queer theory. Queer theory was first introduced when society started to question how one’s sexuality can influence Read more →

How to Lose Your Wife on Valentine’s Day

By

Jaslyne Loh Jia Ling

Disclaimer: This blog post is the perfect guide on what to do on Valentine’s Day if you wish to be kicked out by your wife, as we embark on a story of a husband taking his wife out on a romantic dinner Read more →

Queer linguistics is defined as an extensive range of language studies related to the intersections of gender and sexuality in language use (Maree, 2015). Contrary to popular belief, queer linguistics is not simply the study of the language used by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) speakers. Instead, it is the application of ideas from the queer theory to Read more →