The Language and Sexuality Reader is the first of its kind to bring together material from the fields of anthropology, communication studies, linguistics, medicine and psychology in an examination of the role of sexuality in written and spoken language. Organized into thematic sections, the Reader addresses:
- early documentation of vocabulary used by male homosexuals and later work on the existence of a discourse style signifying gay identity
- the use of language by individuals to present themselves as sexual and gendered subjects
- the way language reflects, reinforces or challenges cultural norms defining what is 'natural' and desirable in the sphere of sex
- the verbal communication of sexual desire in different settings, genres and media.
The Language and Sexuality Reader includes extracts from: Hideko Abe, Laura M. Ahearn, Rusty Barrett, Deborah Cameron, Kathryn Campbell-Kibler, Donald W. Cory, Justine Coupland, Louie Crew, James Darsey, Penelope Eckert, Susan Ehrlich, Joseph J. Hayes, Scott F. Kiesling, Celia Kitzinger, Don Kulick, William L. Leap, Gershon Legman, Momoko Nakamura, Sally McConnell-Ginet, Julia Penelope, Robert J. Podesva, June Machover Reinisch, Sarah J. Roberts, Stephanie A. Sanders, David Sonenschein, and David Valentine.
Introduction: Language and Sexuality Part 1: Laying the Foundations. Anti-Languages: Homosexual Slang and Argot. Gayspeak: Language, Identity and Community. Part 2: Contemporary Debates. Sexual Styles and Performances. Heteronorms. The Semiotics of Sex and the Discourse of Desire
Biography
Deborah Cameron is a sociolinguist, and currently holds the Ruppert Murdoch Chair of Language and Communication at University of Oxford. Her previous publications include Verbal Hygiene (1995) and The Feminist Critique of Language (1998).
Don Kulick is Professor of Anthropology and director of the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality at New York University. His books include Travesti (1998) and the co-edited Fat
Together, Deborah Cameron and Don Kulick are the authors of Language and Sexuality (2003)
