Max Recommends

The following are sources I recommend for anyone interested in learning even more about queer language, communicative repertoire (Rymes, 2014)  and identity:

1. Gender Museum: This Instagram account is the brainchild of Jamie Grace Alexander. Trans individuals submit an image along with an accompanying caption, in which they describe their gender identity.  Gender Museum showcases the unique identities of transgender people and the language people choose to identify themselves.  Of particular interest is one submission which features a person who has written the phrase “I am Marissa” (soy Marissa) in Arabic, although the individual’s L1 is Spanish; I find this to be a powerful means of communicative repertoire and using different language for different reasons (Rymes, 2014). The contributor explains that this was a means to hide their identity from their parents.

   

2.  them: is perhaps one of the most comprehensive LGBTQ websites on the Internet, them.us covers topics such as media, history, health, and politics.  In relation to queer communicative repertoires, them.‘s InQueery series goes over the history of specific queer, English terminology.  Also of interest are the videos “Nyle DiMarco & Chella Man On Being Queer and Deaf” and “Nyle DiMarco & Chella Man Teach Us Queer Sign Language,” led by two queer, Deaf men sharing their language and experiences as it relates to queerness.

   

3. Kyng Rose (Blxck Cxsper): Originally from France, but partially educated in the U.S., and living in Montreal since coming to the city to complete a Bachelor’s degree, Kyng is a Black, trans jack-of-all trades who has made quite a career as a rapper, producer, activist, singer, songwriter, videographer, and visual artist.  They write, rap, and sing in English and French and is the founder of Trans Trenderz ,a nonprofit record label for transgender artists.  Their communicative repertoire ranges from the two languages they speak, to the language of hip-hop, to reclaiming slurs, as seen in the name of his record label.  Rose proves that language is one of the most powerful tools in expressing a queer identity.

Works Cited

Rymes, B. (2014). Communicative repertoire. In C. Leung & B. Street (Eds.), Handbook of  English Language Studies (pp. 287-301). New York, NY: Routledge.