(De)construction of Homosexual Identity in Conversation. Socio-cultural Implications in Galician Gay Discourse

Abstract

In this paper, we will study the processes by which identity is constructed around sexuality in a group of non-heterosexual Galicians aged between 20 and 30 and from a variety of socio-geographic backgrounds. After introducing the topic, outlining the methodological and theoretical principles which guide our work, and summarising the corpus which will serve as our empirical basis, we will present some extracts of the real spoken conversations that we recorded for this purpose. We aim, therefore, to analyse the spoken corpus which we have collected to form a discursive study on contemporary sexuality, starting from Critical Discourse Analysis, the application of identity theories to language, and the contemporary propositions of post-identity from Gender and Sexuality Studies. The particularities of Galiza form a backdrop to our analysis, in particular the lack of intellectual and academic thought surrounding this issue. Finally, with this in mind, we suggest some future paths of study on the topic of language and socio-discursive aspects of non-normative sexualities.