Coming out with it: the relationship between language and emerging identity in young LGBT+ people

Within fractions of a second, our voices tell listeners a lot
about ourselves, about our age, gender, level of education,
and for some, even our sexuality. For teenagers in neat
school uniforms, language is one of the few resources
available to actively present aspects of our identity and
distance ourselves from other identities and groups. While
research into language and adolescents demonstrates their
centrality in changing and progressing language, much less
research considers the nuanced and complex relationships
these young people have with categories of identity that
are imposed on them. With the increased visibility of
positive LGBT+ role models, who don't conform to gender
norms, alongside constant anti-LGBT+ backlash in the
media, the navigation of adolescent identity through
language offers an invaluable insight into the social
mechanics of language change, identity and discrimination.
This project will investigate the speech and language of
young in secondary school LGBT+ 'Pride clubs' across
London, as an new site for high school ethnographic
research in emerging identities across different contexts
that are more (or less) inclusive or tolerant. The
combination of qualitative and quantitative methods across
the multiple sites will create a body of data for analysing
aspects of language such as sound, but also become a
resources for use in wider research investigating aspects of
gender, sexuality and adolescence.