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Article published In: Gender, Sexuality & Linguistic Landscapes
Edited by Tommaso M. Milani
[Linguistic Landscape 4:3] 2018
► pp. 278–297

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Tel Aviv as a space of affirmation versus transformation

Language, citizenship, and the politics of sexuality in Israel

 | University of Gothenburg | University of the Witwatersrand
 | Queen Mary University of London
 | Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
 | Tel Aviv University
Published online: 26 November 2018
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ll.18006.mil
Abstract
In this article we investigate the spatial politics of sexuality in Israel by focusing on two different but related data sets: (1) the official video for Tel Aviv Pride 2013 produced by the Mizrahi Jewish music group Arisa; and (2) a protest against the Occupation of Palestine performed at Tel Aviv Pride in 2017. We analyze these examples with the help of a theoretical framework that offers a dynamic conceptualization of citizenship and its semiotic manifestations, drawing on Fraser, N. (1995). From redistribution to recognition? Dilemmas of justice in a ‘post-socialist’ age, New Left Review, I/2121, 68–93.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar distinction between affirmative and transformative strategies of social justice. In line with the remit of this special issue, we highlight the importance of taking sexuality as an entry point for Linguistic Landscape analysis. More specifically, we argue that a focus on sexuality in space opens up a window into the affective, intimate and embodied dimensions of politics.
תקציר
במאמר זה אנו בוחנים את הפוליטיקה המרחבית של המיניות בישראל תוך התמקדות בשני מקורות שונים של נתונים הקשורים זה לזה: (א) הסרטון הרשמי של מצעד הגאווה בתל-אביב 2013, שהופק על ידי קבוצת המוזיקה המזרחית ”אריסה“ (ב) הפגנה נגד הכיבוש שנערכה במצעד הגאווה בתל-אביב 2017. אנו מנתחים את הדוגמאות הללו במסגרת תיאורטית המאפשרת המשגה דינמית של אזרחות ושל ביטוייה הסמיוטיים, תוך שימוש בהבחנה שביצעה פרייזר (Fraser, N. (1995). From redistribution to recognition? Dilemmas of justice in a ‘post-socialist’ age, New Left Review, I/2121, 68–93.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) בין אסטרטגיות אפירמטיביות לאסטרטגיות טרנספורמטיביות של צדק חברתי. במסגרת מוקד העניין של גיליון מיוחד זה, אנו מפנים את תשומת הלב לחשיבותה של ההתייחסות למיניות כנקודת מוצא לניתוח הנוף הלשוני. בפרט, אנו טוענים שההתמקדות במיניות פותחת צוהר להבנת הממדים הרגשיים, האינטימיים והמגולמים גופנית של הפוליטיקה.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Performative citizenship – language, embodiment, and affect
  • 3.Sexual politics in Israel
  • 4.Intimate citizenship, desire and the politics of affirmation
  • 5.Embodied public assemblies, shame and the politics of transformation
  • 6.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Note
  • References
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This list is based on CrossRef data as of 26 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

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