An Analysis of Trans-Inclusionary and Trans-Exclusionary Discourse
Title
An Analysis of Trans-Inclusionary and Trans-Exclusionary DiscourseAuthor(s)
Directors
Lezcano, EmmaDate
2022Center/Dept./Entity
Universidade da Coruña. Facultade de FiloloxíaDescription
Traballo fin de grao (UDC.FIL). Inglés: estudios lingüísticos y literarios. Curso 2021/2022Abstract
[Abstract] In the past century, with the boom of the advocacy for gender equality, transgender
individuals have also pushed for their rights, although they have faced—and still do—some
animosity. This dissertation explores how the English language is used by transgender people
and trans allies on the one hand and by gender-critical (GC) feminists—who have variedly
negative views on transgender identities—on the other. In the past few decades of the 20th
century, discourse analysis appeared and branched into three main approaches. The last of these
approaches, that is, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), utilises a mixed methodology in which
linguistic, textual and social elements are considered. The present study has been carried out
by following CDA and, more particularly, Fairclough’s approach to it, which involves looking
into different linguistic features through the glass of socio-historical context. Fairclough’s
model emphasises the division of the three levels present in CDA: the textual dimension, the
discursive dimension and the social dimension. This dissertation studies thirty-two essays
posted on online blogs in the past 6 years: sixteen have been written by trans-inclusive feminists
and activists and the other sixteen have been posted by GC radical feminists. This dissertation
shows, by scrutinising the published material in as much detail as a work of this magnitude and
kind allows, how the use and repetition of certain terms and some linguistic subtleties has a
very real and relevant ideological purpose. To this end, I have focused on elements such as
compounding, deixis and connectors, emotional appeals, modal verbs and private verbs, among
others. This analysis has proven my initial hypothesis that linguistic and textual elements are
being used for the writers’ own profit, thus influencing the readership
Keywords
Critical Discourse Analysis
Transphobia
Feminism
Transgender
Discourse
Transphobia
Feminism
Transgender
Discourse
Rights
Os titulares dos dereitos de propiedade intelectual autorizan a visualización do contido deste traballo a través de Internet, así como a súa reproducción, gravación en soporte informático ou impresión para o seu uso privado e/ou con fins de estudo e de investigación. En nengún caso se permite o uso lucrativo deste documento. Estos dereitos afectan tanto ó resumo do traballo como o seu contido Los titulares de los derechos de propiedad intelectual autorizan la visualización del contenido de este trabajo a través de Internet, así como su repoducción, grabación en soporte informático o impresión para su uso privado o con fines de investigación. En ningún caso se permite el uso lucrativo de este documento. Estos derechos afectan tanto al resumen del trabajo como a su contenido