Language and sexuality research has recently seen a heated debated whether the linguistic constitution of sexuality should still be focused on matters of identity or rather on that of desire. I want to argue that this is a non-productive dichotomy. We need to stop the counter-effective debate, and see desire as one aspect of the articulation of sexual identity and at the same time to re-imagine identity as a non-stigmatizing, inclusionary act of naming. In my presentation I will analyze the case of the initiative of the Hungarian Lesbian NGO, Labrisz, who has successfully organized discussions of dissident sexual orientation in secondary schools.
Short biography:
Erzsébet Barát is an associate professor of gender studies and social linguistics at University of Szeged, Hungary.
She is Editor-in-Chief of the Hungarian e-journal TNTeF: Interdisciplinary Journal of Gender Studies.
Recent publication: “Queering the intersection of legislative, religious, and higher educational exclusion: Revisiting the first case of collective LGBT litigation in Hungary”, in K. M. Wiedlack & S. Mesquita (eds.): Transport of Queer Theory. Vienna: Zaglossus, forthcoming in 2012.
