Wasted Sperms, Lost Ovaries: Linguistic Opposition and Reception of Cross-Dressing in the Nigerian Social Media Space
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54536/jnll.v4i1.4956Keywords:
Critical Discourse, Analysis, Cultural Studies, Digital Media, Language, Nigerian Queer, SexualitiesAbstract
The representations and receptions of gender and sexuality borderline-crossing actions, such as cross-dressing, or homosexuality and homosexual narratives, have always sparked negative reactions among Nigerians in real-life or digital spaces. This paper approaches the discourse from another perspective by paying attention to the ‘minorities within a minority,’ which are MtF cross-dressers. We examined public engagements and reactions to a video of one of Nigeria’s famous cross-dressers and self-proclaimed drag queen, James Brown, which was posted on a Facebook platform. We sampled 20 of the comments to examine the perspectives of Nigerians concerning MtF cross-dressing. Through the comments, we examined how opposition to MtF cross-dressing is communicated through various linguistic tropes or markers by the commenters, using Critical Discourse Analysis as a framework. The reception of Mtf cross-dressing in Nigeria is negative, and in line with the findings of previous studies, Nigerians draw upon culture, religion, and standards of sanctity to substantiate their opposition against cross-dressing.
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