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Article published In: Journal of Language and Sexuality
Vol. 13:2 (2024) ► pp.201–226

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Navigating ‘safe’ and ‘non-safe’ queer spaces

A study of style-shifting in Singapore

 | University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
 | University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with University of Edinburgh.

Published online: 12 July 2024
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https://doi.org/10.1075/jls.00036.kho
Abstract
It is well documented that gay people adopt behavioural strategies to navigate the heteronormative expectations and norms of social space. These practices are likely to be particularly pronounced in socially conservative countries which have seen less progress for LGBTQ+ rights. This study examines how two gay men (Rui and Kenni) stylistically negotiate their sexual identities in a socially conservative country – Singapore – by analyzing the variation in two phonetic variables that have been linked to gender and sexuality: Pitch and /s/. We show that both speakers style-shift across queer-friendly and heteronormative environments though the rate and degree of shifting is influenced both by the situated social meanings of the features and the interactional context. Concluding, we argue that research should consider how minoritised individuals are required to style-shift in order to adhere to the hegemonic norms and expectations of society.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Heteronormativity and LGBTQ+ rights in Singapore
  • 3.Gender, sexuality, and style
  • 4.Method
  • 5.Phonetic analyses
    • 5.1Fundamental frequency
    • 5.2Variation in /s/
    • 5.3Metalinguistic awareness of style-shifting
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Note
  • References
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