LGBTQ+ Perspectives in Linguistics: Metaphor, Religion, and Violence

1. LGBTQ+ Perspectives in Linguistics Tyler Kibbey, University of Kentucky Co-Convener, LSA Special Interest Group on LGBTQ+ Issues in Linguistics Email: tyler.e.kibbey@gmail.com

2. Metaphor, Religion, and Violence “By denying religion any basis in reality, by viewing it as a sort of bedtime story for children, we collaborate with violence in its game of deception.” – René Girard

3. Religious Metaphor • Extremist Rhetoric: Westboro Baptist Church sermons, ISIS propaganda, White Supremacist manifestos, and other texts • Conceptual Metaphor Theory: Metaphor is a cognitive process • The problem of ineffable concepts Ω IS CAUSAL-FORCE  [CAUSAL-FORCE] Ω [CAUSAL-FORCE] Ω IS AGENT  [CAUSAL-AGENT] Ω Religious ideologies are founded on these complex (Ilithyic) conceptual systems

4. Mitigating Religious Violence • GOD IS KING • God has ultimate authority on justice, morality, etc. • Reference to Biblical texts: “Homosexuality is a sin.” • GOD IS LOVE • Doesn’t work: “God wants you to be straight/cisgender because he loves you.” • Anti-LGBTQ+ religious ideologies already incorporate this system • Example: The Nashville Statement (2017) • Understanding/Deconstructing these conceptual systems can help us mitigate religious violence

5. Transcriptivism: A Linguist’s Moral Responsibility

6. Fulfilling Our Obligations • What are our obligations? • Use linguistics to help address language-related social issues • Critique our own “idiolects” • Make linguistics more inclusive of marginalized groups • “Do No Harm” does not necessarily “Do Some Good” • Descriptivism “at all costs” can further marginalize already oppressed groups • What are you giving back to the community? • Normalize public service as legitimate academic work • “Language lives in society, and so must we.” (Rickford & King 2016)

7. A Gay Master’s Student in the South • Working in a hostile climate • Banned from two churches in East Tennessee • Posters for LGBTQ+ events frequently torn down • Language used by politicians and bigots to oppress the LGBTQ+ community • Funding for LGBTQ+ Linguistics research is fairly limited (for graduate students) • “That’s not really linguistics.” • Few platforms, fewer Pride Centers • University of Tennessee Pride Center defunded (2015) over gender-neutral pronouns

8. The Manic Depressive Metaphorician A little bit (and perhaps too much) about me: • Bipolar Disorder Type II • Suicidal OCD • Paranoid Personality Disorder • Anhedonia • PTSD (with Benign Tremors) Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255 It is entirely possible to pursue a graduate education while living with mental health disorders.

9. How to be engaged – How to get involved • Start on your campus and in your community • Help your Pride Center or local LGBTQ+ community organization develop scientifically informed LGBTQ+ language • Student Linguistics Associations • Don’t have one? Found one! • Student Programming Grants for LGBTQ+ linguistics events • Organize panels and workshops at regional/national conferences • Get involved with an LGBTQ+ Science Organization • NOGLSTP, oSTEM • LSA Special Interest Group on LGBTQ+ Issues in Linguistics

10. Community Building Through Linguistics • Organizing LGBTQ+ Linguistics events on your campus • Brings LGBTQ+ linguists to your department to talk about their research • Provides additional resources to the campus community • Student Programming Grants! • Fighting Intolerance with Linguistics • Organize workshops around pronouns and their usage for the wider community • Recognize and identify anti-LGBTQ+ language strategies in state legislation • Inform people on LGBTQ+ language practices around the world • Provides visibility and uplifts LGBTQ+ linguists

11. From OUTL to Special Interest Group • Dr. Arnold Zwicky (LSA President 1992) • Out in Linguistics • Informal listserv/social group for LGBTQ+ linguists • Special Interest Group on LGBTQ+ Issues in Linguistics • Work began in 2014 • First organizational meeting at 2017 Linguistics Institute • Tyler Kibbey (University of Kentucky), Lal Zimman (UCSB), Gregory Ward (Northwestern) • Founded in 2018 • Co-Conveners: Tyler Kibbey and Rusty Barrett • First meeting at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the LSA (NYC)

12. LGBTQ+ SIG So Far • Included LGBTQ+ survey data in the 2018 Annual Report • Updated LSA profile demographic options for gender and sexuality • Filling out your profile helps! • Pronoun option for annual meeting name badges • Socials at Linguistic Institutes • 2019 Panel on trends in LGBTQ+ linguistics • Upcoming workshop at the 2019 Linguistics Institute • Working with COSWL on mentoring initiatives

13. Future Plans • Committee Status? • 2020 Annual Meeting in San Francisco • LGBTQ+ Travel Grants for Annual Meeting • Pamphlet on LGBTQ+ language and related issues • Co-ordinating with national LGBTQ+ organizations • Long-term goals: • Linguistics Institute Fellowship for LGBTQ+ linguists • Working with regional conferences to make linguistics more LGBTQ+ inclusive

14. Your next steps? • LSA members, want to join the LGBTQ+ SIG? • Email me: tyler.e.kibbey@gmail.com • Joining NOGLSTP • Help represent linguistics at national LGBTQ+ organizations • Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarships • Non-linguistics (LGBTQ+) conferences • Represent LGBTQ+ issues and linguistics • Start conversations! • Never self-select out!