He's A Big Oldgirl Speech

“‘He’s a Big Old Girl!’ Negotiation by Gender Inversion in Gay Men’s Speech”, by Ole Ringdal Johnsen and published in 2008 by The Hawthorn Press for the Journal of Homosexuality. A freelance writer and openly gay individual from Oslo, Norway, Johnsen graduated from the University of Bergen. Throughout this excerpt he explores international gay culture and consequently the linguistics of homosexual men. Before Johnsen, there had been no research put into gay slang, despite slang being considered a characteristic of the LGBT community, and this is why he chooses to study it (Johnsen pg. 151). His major finding, the concept of ‘gender inversion,’ refers to “the use of feminine words with a male referent,” and is the subject of his writing (Johnsen pg. 151). Using research from primary sources and personal experiences, Johnsen follows speech styles of gay men in communities ranging from San

Holding leather clothing, which Ole “needed. . . to be dressed appropriately for [his] field work,” his friend exclaimed “Alors, tu vas avoir tes affaires de salope! Then you 'll have your slut things!)” upon hearing the trunk containing the gear arrived (Johnsen pg. 163). A similar event at a restaurant in Copenhagen is documented by Johnsen. Upon being stared at for his leather garments, Ole’s friend Olav comments, “Han som satt ved bordet ved siden av oss, han satt og glodde da vi reiste oss. Har de ikke sett en ludder bunad for? (That man at the table next to us, he stared when we got up. Haven 't they ever seen a slut costume before?)” (Johnsen pg. 163). It is of importance to note that Johnsen finds when gay men use ‘slut,’ whether or not it falls under a ‘dishing’ category depends on the values of the speaker (Johnsen pg. 163). These rowdy affairs provide evidence that there is not only a common choice of language shared between gay men of separate countries, but perhaps clothing