Comments on: Gay men, English and desire in Bangkok

By: saf

saf — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 09:53:22 +0000

I assume lots of people (including me) want to hear the progress (as well as the result) of your thesis writing 🙂 Update us, if possible!

Cheers,
a fellow international student in Bangkok

By: Shih-Wei (Willie) Cheng

Shih-Wei (Willie) Cheng — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 06:16:57 +0000

In reply to Brian King.

Thank you so much, Dr. King. It is my pleasure that you are willing to see the results of my research!
Rodney H. Jones’ article looks very interesting. Hopefully, I will be able to read it. While doing my research, I totally understand what you meant about ‘heteronormativity’ in King (2008). Therefore, it is always so good to see any researches about English language learning and sexuality.

King, B. W. (2008). “Being Gay Guy, That is the Advantage”: Queer Korean Language Learning and Identity Construction. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 7(3), 230-252.

By: Brian King

Brian King — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 04:52:47 +0000

Verbal hygiene in the Hong Kong gay community

RODNEY H. JONES

ABSTRACT: This paper explores the status and function of English among gay men in Hong Kong through the analysis of postings about English on a popular gay internet forum. The forum, gayhk.com, while mainly featuring discussions about sex, fashion, entertainment and relationships, also contains a surprising amount of discussion about the English language, mostly taking the form of what Cameron refers to as ‘verbal hygiene’ – the enforcement of language ‘standards’ through the criticism of the language use of particular individuals or groups. The analysis of these postings sees them not just as evidence of language attitudes within the gay community, but also as tools with which Chinese gay men in postcolonial Hong Kong position themselves in relation to one another, in relation to ‘foreign’ gay men, and in relation to the wider population of Hong Kong.

By: Brian King

Brian King — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 13:45:40 +0000

Great to hear about your research Shih-Wei. I’m looking forward to seeing your results when they’re ready. You might be interested to hear that Rodney H. Jones is publishing an article that’s related to your current interests:

Jones, Rodney H. (2013) ‘Verbal hygiene in the Hong Kong gay community’. World Englishes 32(1): 75-92.

I’ll try to get you an advance copy if Rodney’s able. Best wishes – Brian

By: Buddy McIntire

Buddy McIntire — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 13:53:20 +0000

Years teaching ESL in China. Girls make up 95% of the students (English majors at unis) and of the boys, I estimate, about half are gay. What’s this all about? I don’t know but you are looking at something interesting….

By: Jee

Jee — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 09:46:20 +0000

Hi Shih-Wei, Your blog has brought back my old memories when I was one of those people roaming the places you mentioned. I do support your venture into this academic interrogation of the relationship between gay sexuality and English learning. I have many gay friends, some speaking English well, some average, and some maybe not at all. — Jee+

By: Shih-Wei Cheng

Shih-Wei Cheng — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 13:56:47 +0000

In reply to Mario. Hi Mario, thanks for the reference. I really appreciate it :D

By: Shih-Wei Cheng

Shih-Wei Cheng — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 13:54:11 +0000

In reply to Hanna Torsh. Thanks Hanna Torsh. I have read the article by Cynthis D Nelson called Vanishing Acts in Language and Culture: reflective narratives and the emergence of identity. It is fascinating. Thanks.

By: Mario

Mario — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 20:02:37 +0000

It is an interesting topic, way to go! Since you seem to know already what you will conclude in your thesis, the following article might be of help – it does not tackle the issue of gay men’s desire to learn English in particular, but the concept of “sociolinguistic consumption” it introduces and discusses might serve you well in reflecting on anyone’s desire to learn a language. Good luck!

Stroud, Christopher and Lionel Wee (2007) ‘Consuming identities: language planning and policy in Singaporean late modernity’. Language Policy 6(7): 253-279.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/x285051140166720/

By: Agi

Agi — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 23:40:33 +0000

In reply to Alwin. I agree, lets do away with 'the box' so there won't be a need to be inside or outside of it :) That would make a real change. Great project!

By: Alwin

Alwin — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 06:15:34 +0000

Hi Wille, I strongly support your points, and I think you can crash those boxes. I think we don’t need to set a gap between ‘inside the box’ and ‘outside the box’, we can just jump out of the box, then you can see a ray of sunshine go through the cloudy sky, just let the dreams lighten the reality.

By: Hanna Torsh

Hanna Torsh — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 01:05:20 +0000

Hi Shih-Wei

You make a fantastic point – who defines what the box is and why should we accept their definition? Sexuality in ELT is something I have long been interested and was fascinated to come across an article by Cynthis D Nelson called Vanishing Acts in Language and Culture: reflective narratives and the emergence of identity, where she discusses the invisibility of the queer community in language teaching and the heteronormativity of much teaching material and approaches. What I found particularly interesting was her point that her relationship was made invisible in a ‘simple’ language exercise where the teacher ‘corrected’ her pronouns so that they represented a heterosexual couple rather than her and her girlfriend; in other words the ideological process of language teaching became at that moment particularly visible as such. I’m sure that your research will be extremely valuable in making visible how language learners resist and approriate such domination for their own purposes.
All the best with your research!