Implicit homophobic argument structure: equal marriage discourse in the Moral maze

This article analyses the linguistic and discursive elements which contribute to the production of implicit homophobia. Explicit homophobia has been well documented and strategies for countering discriminatory language have been developed (Baker, 2014; Leap, 2012). However, our interest here is in d...

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Main Authors: Van der Bom, Isabelle, Coffey-Glover, Laura, Jones, Lucy, Mills, Sara, Paterson, Laura L.
Format: Article
Published: John Benjamins Publishing 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/29757/
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author Van der Bom, Isabelle
Coffey-Glover, Laura
Jones, Lucy
Mills, Sara
Paterson, Laura L.
author_facet Van der Bom, Isabelle
Coffey-Glover, Laura
Jones, Lucy
Mills, Sara
Paterson, Laura L.
author_sort Van der Bom, Isabelle
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description This article analyses the linguistic and discursive elements which contribute to the production of implicit homophobia. Explicit homophobia has been well documented and strategies for countering discriminatory language have been developed (Baker, 2014; Leap, 2012). However, our interest here is in documenting implicit homophobia, where homophobic beliefs are only hinted at, are disassociated from the speaker, or are embedded within discursive and argument structures. We decided to analyse the debate in the media around the introduction of equal or same-sex marriage legislation in the UK. We focused our analysis on a series of radio programmes on BBC Radio 4, The Moral Maze, (2011-12) where the issue of same-sex marriage was debated with a team of panelists and invited guests from a range of different organisations. Different perspectives on same sex marriage were discussed, in a seemingly objective and dispassionate way, where the interactants distanced themselves from homophobic beliefs and yet, implicitly subscribed to implicit homophobia. We used an analysis drawing on argumentation structure (Fairclough and Fairclough, 2012) and through focusing on stance, recontextualisation, imaginaries, and metaphor, we developed an analysis which made the way that implicit homophobia works more visible. In this way, we hope to foreground implicit homophobia, and develop a linguistic and discursive `toolkit’ which will enable it to be challenged and countered.
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spelling nottingham-297572020-05-04T20:12:04Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/29757/ Implicit homophobic argument structure: equal marriage discourse in the Moral maze Van der Bom, Isabelle Coffey-Glover, Laura Jones, Lucy Mills, Sara Paterson, Laura L. This article analyses the linguistic and discursive elements which contribute to the production of implicit homophobia. Explicit homophobia has been well documented and strategies for countering discriminatory language have been developed (Baker, 2014; Leap, 2012). However, our interest here is in documenting implicit homophobia, where homophobic beliefs are only hinted at, are disassociated from the speaker, or are embedded within discursive and argument structures. We decided to analyse the debate in the media around the introduction of equal or same-sex marriage legislation in the UK. We focused our analysis on a series of radio programmes on BBC Radio 4, The Moral Maze, (2011-12) where the issue of same-sex marriage was debated with a team of panelists and invited guests from a range of different organisations. Different perspectives on same sex marriage were discussed, in a seemingly objective and dispassionate way, where the interactants distanced themselves from homophobic beliefs and yet, implicitly subscribed to implicit homophobia. We used an analysis drawing on argumentation structure (Fairclough and Fairclough, 2012) and through focusing on stance, recontextualisation, imaginaries, and metaphor, we developed an analysis which made the way that implicit homophobia works more visible. In this way, we hope to foreground implicit homophobia, and develop a linguistic and discursive `toolkit’ which will enable it to be challenged and countered. John Benjamins Publishing 2015 Article PeerReviewed Van der Bom, Isabelle, Coffey-Glover, Laura, Jones, Lucy, Mills, Sara and Paterson, Laura L. (2015) Implicit homophobic argument structure: equal marriage discourse in the Moral maze. Journal of Language and Sexuality, 4 (1). pp. 102-137. ISSN 2211-3770 Homophobia Argumentation Same-sex marriage Imaginaries Metaphor Stance Recontextualisation http://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/jls.4.1.04mil doi:10.1075/jls.4.1.04mil doi:10.1075/jls.4.1.04mil
spellingShingle Homophobia
Argumentation
Same-sex marriage
Imaginaries
Metaphor
Stance
Recontextualisation
Van der Bom, Isabelle
Coffey-Glover, Laura
Jones, Lucy
Mills, Sara
Paterson, Laura L.
Implicit homophobic argument structure: equal marriage discourse in the Moral maze
title Implicit homophobic argument structure: equal marriage discourse in the Moral maze
title_full Implicit homophobic argument structure: equal marriage discourse in the Moral maze
title_fullStr Implicit homophobic argument structure: equal marriage discourse in the Moral maze
title_full_unstemmed Implicit homophobic argument structure: equal marriage discourse in the Moral maze
title_short Implicit homophobic argument structure: equal marriage discourse in the Moral maze
title_sort implicit homophobic argument structure: equal marriage discourse in the moral maze
topic Homophobia
Argumentation
Same-sex marriage
Imaginaries
Metaphor
Stance
Recontextualisation
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/29757/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/29757/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/29757/