Injurious Expressions in the Discursive Construction of Poetic Subjects: A Pragmatic Analysis of an Empowered and Dissident (Self)denomination

Abstract

Based on Butler's reflections on insult (1997), the purpose of this research is to realize an approach to the analysis of a corpus constituted of three poems in which the characters are discursively constructed as lesbian subjects. On the basis of contributions from the Theory of Enunciation (Benveniste), this research focuses on the study of various words or phrases present in the texts, but, specifically, on the use of terms traditionally recognized as insulting, expressions that are used in the poems for the characterization of the characters. The purpose is to analyze the effects of meaning of these terms —traditionally considered dysphemism— in the poems, and to find out why they are used in the construction of the figure of the lesbian subject in poetic texts. As will be seen, the approach will allow us to notice that, as Butler suggests, in certain contexts insulting terms can reverse their illocutionary force, and constitute identity marks that, far from functioning as derogatory expressions, collaborate with the construction of an identity. Therefore, it can be considered that the fact of using insulting expressions to designate oneself or to designate someone who is part of the same group can trigger an effect that "destroys" the power of the insult.