Performing Heteronormativity: Homosexuality in the Spontaneous Discourse of French Middle School Students
Date: Friday, May 22nd, 2026
14:00-17:00 (tea break: 15:30-16:00)
Location: H-103
Guest: Kosuke Hinai, Fukuoka University
Samuel Vernet, Aix Marseille University, CNRS, LPL
In this conference, we will examine how French middle school students invoke homosexuality in their spontaneous verbal interactions. Drawing on a corpus of audio-visual recordings of informal discussions among students from Grenoble-area schools, the study reveals that homosexuality - typically male - is frequently referenced within peer group verbal jousting. These utterances often adopt attributive linguistic forms and serve a disqualifying pragmatic function targeting the individuals involved. The paper argues that such uses should be interpreted as performances of a heteronormative order deeply interiorized by the students - an order of discourse that is both shaped by and enacted through young people's everyday language practices. Within this framework, heterosexual masculinity emerges as the socially valued norm and standard of measurement of other masculinities. The study shows that these linguistic practices, by enabling students to position themselves within a system of mutual recognition where homosexuality is derided and used as a negative counterpoint, operate both as mechanisms of peer-group integration and as tools of implicit social regulation.
Contact: AMMOUR-MAYEUR, Olivier (aolivier@icu.ac.jp)