Part of: Queer Inclusion and
Exclusion I
Abstract:
This study explores how gatekeeping of identities manifests itself in discourse on LGBTQ+ subreddits and how conflicts arising from differing views on acceptable expressions of queer identities are handled. Identities are constructed and gain meaning in discourse (Bucholtz and Hall 2005). When it comes to group identities, following norms is central to the shared identity and the protection thereof (Castillo et al. 2007; Limatius and Nevala 2024), as atypically performed group identities can lead to gatekeeping, resulting in restricted access to identity exploration resources through intragroup marginalization (Castillo et al. 2007; Dellers et al. 2024; Fathallah 2024). Othering based on atypically performed gender and sexual identities may lead to conflicts when interactants have differing views on what constitutes a legitimate queer identity.
In this study, the exclusion of queer minorities is explored through corpus-assisted discourse studies (CADS) (Baker 2023). The LGBTQ+ Reddit Corpus (ca. 44 million words), compiled by Hekanaho et al. (2024), serves as the data. More specifically, concordance analyses of search terms (e.g., “not * enough,” “too feminine/masculine,” and “not * trans”) and keywords are used to explore and contextualize gatekeeping discourse on queer subreddits.
An initial exploration of a subset of the corpus, extracted from r/transgender and r/NonBinary, (ca. 800.000 words), reveals that experiences of gatekeeping and intragroup marginalization stem, among other things, from feeling underrepresented in a group. For instance, a thread posted to r/NonBinary draws attention to how nonbinary identities get absorbed into the broader transgender category, indicating that nonbinary people are a minority within gender minorities and need to rely on the larger minority (i.e., binary trans people) to gain visibility also within queer spaces. Other gatekeeping issues in the r/NonBinary data include whether a nonbinary person is allowed to identify as nonbinary while simultaneously claiming a cis identity and/or experiencing no gender dysphoria.
Feeling like an outlier within a marginalized group is not unique to nonbinary people; similar sentiments are echoed on r/transgender, where trans men report feeling othered due to the assumption that the forum users are first and foremost trans women. Reproducing this assumption in discourses others trans men. For example, questions regarding passing tend to receive comments regarding “sufficient” femininity and suggestions on how to improve it. r/transgender, while supposedly welcoming all trans identities, is de facto primarily a space for trans women, excluding trans men and potentially nonbinary people who claim the trans identity: acts of gatekeeping evoke a concept redditors on r/transgender refer to as transgirl privilege.
Beyond identifying what constitutes an identity as “nonbinary enough” or the “right kind of trans” in online discourse, this study will describe the linguistic strategies employed to manage heated discussions between disagreeing interactants. The aim is to unveil how gatekeeping is linguistically realized and how conflicts regarding expressions of marginalized queer identities are resolved.
Works Cited
Baker, Paul. 2023. Using Corpora in Discourse Analysis. 2nd ed. Bloomsbury Academic. https://www-bloomsburycollections-com.libproxy.helsinki.fi/monograph?docid=b-9781350083783.
Bucholtz, Mary, and Kira Hall. 2005. “Identity and Interaction: A Sociocultural Linguistic Approach.” Discourse Studies 7 (4–5): 585–614. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445605054407.
Castillo, Linda G., Collie W. Conoley, Daniel F. Brossart, and Alexander E. Quiros. 2007. “Construction and Validation of the Intragroup Marginalization Inventory.” Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology 13 (3): 232–40. https://doi.org/10.1037/1099-9809.13.3.232.
Dellers, Leander Y. E., Amanda L. Duffy, and Melanie J. Zimmer-Gembeck. 2024. “Manifestations and Harms of Intragroup Marginalization within the Male Gay Community: A Qualitative Study of Gay and Bisexual Men.” Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, ahead of print, June 13. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000724.
Fathallah, Judith. 2024. “‘BEING A FAN OF A SERIAL KILLER IS NOT OK’: Gakekeeping Reddit’s True Crime Community.” New Media & Society 26 (10): 5638–5657. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448221138768.
Hekanaho, Laura, Turo Hiltunen, Minna Palander-Collin, and Helmiina Hotti. 2024. “Exploring Self-Identification and Functions of the Identify as Construction in the LGBTQ+ Reddit Corpus.” In Linguistics across Disciplinary Borders: The March of Data, edited by Steven Coats and Veronika Laippala. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350362291.
Limatius, Hanna Katariina, and Minna Nevala. 2024. “Intragroup Marginalization in Social Media: Self- and Other-Reference on a Plus-Size Fashion Brand’s Instagram Page.” In Self- and Other-Reference in Social Contexts: From Global to Local Discourses, edited by Minna Nevala and Minna Palander-Collin, vol. 342. Pragmatics & Beyond New Series. John Benjamins.
